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Recruiting Radar: Weekend recap 1/18

There were more than a few things that happened on the recruiting trail over the past few days. Get caught up in today's Recruiting Radar.

By Cameron J. Underwood
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

If you missed it, the Hurricanes were recruiting hard this weekend. Here's a quick rundown of what went down

National Signing Day StoryStream

As we continue the sprint to National Signing Day, I've put all our recruiting updates in a StoryStream. Link is below:

Now, on to today's update

CB Malek Young commits

This one had been in the works for a while. After Mark Richt was fired from Georgia, CB Malek Young decommitted. And, when Richt was hired at Miami, the Canes became the prohibitive favorites to land a commitment from Young, a talented player and U.S. Army All-American.

All of that came to fruition on Saturday, when Young committed to Miami. You can read more in the link below.

WR Latrell Williams commits

Miami kept recruiting momentum going when, on an official visit to Coral Gables, late-rising WR Latrell Williams committed to the Canes.

Williams, who recently decommitted from USF, followed his primary recruiter, Ron Dugans, from the Bulls to the Canes.

While Williams may not have the "Star rating" that many would like, he has the skills and talents to be a very good player at Miami. He has legit 4.3 speed, and is a threat to score from anywhere on the field, any time he gets the ball. More on this commitment in the link below:

Jeff James commits....or does he?

So, this one is a mystery. Jeff James, a safety from the Orlando area, tweeted that he'd committed to Miami on his visit to campus this weekend. James, whose uncle is Hurricanes legend Edgerrin James, has good physical talent, but has only played football for 1 year. BUT, in that year he was named 2nd team All-State for class 8A in Florida.

But....the story doesn't stop there. David Lake of InsideTheU.com reported that James is not a take for Miami, and his offer was non-committable. Back that up with the fact that there was no "bat signal" tweets from the staff (and there DEFINITELY WERE for both Young and Williams) and it stands to reason that James' commitment was not accepted by Miami.

In my opinion, James is a plan B (maybe plan C) option for the Hurricanes. And, with many other equally talented but more skilled players being targeted, I have no problem with the staff slow-playing or denying James. And no, simply being related to a former player does not guarantee that Miami should or will take you.

What's up with Sam Bruce?

I get asked this question more than any other single recruiting question. And, as of now, who really knows.

4-star WR Sam Bruce canceled his in-home visit with Mark Richt last week due to a conflict (reportedly, Bruce was recording a video or documentary and that time conflicted). Bruce was seen throwing up The U with new WR coach Ron Dugans, though.

This recruitment is far from over. Bruce was very close to former WR coach Kevin Beard (Beard was Bruce's HS coach for 2 years and has been close with Bruce for longer than that), and the fact that Beard is gone from Miami is a factor here. Many schools are trying to make moves with Bruce, including South Carolina, whom he visited this past weekend, and Ohio State, who is reportedly pushing VERY hard for him.

Miami is still on the books as Bruce's last visit. So, I'm sure we'll swing for the fences then. Stay tuned.

"One of the best experiences of my life"

Statements that positive don't happen that frequently in the world of recruiting. However, Miami received this high praise on the heels of an official visit from 3-star CB JJ Givens.

Givens, a talented athlete from Virginia, had an unquestionably good visit to Coral Gables. And, to back that up, Givens will receive an in-home visit from Miami coaches this week. This visit is said to be to clear up/secure his scholarship offer, and if his parents sign off on it, I fully expect Givens to commit to Miami during that in-home visit.

Highlights? Highlights.

Surprise visit from 4-star DT

So, the visit weekend was getting off to a good start when the following came down my Twitter timeline:

Unbeknownst to the recruiting world until this moment, 4-star DT Briston Guidry was on an official visit to Coral Gables with his family. Guidry, who was offered months ago by the former staff, is currently an Arkansas commit. But, he, like Givens, had high praise and a glowing review of his visit to Coral Gables.

Guidry will visit Arkansas this weekend, the team to whom he is committed, and where 2 of his former HS teammates play. We'll see if his visit to Croal Gables this weekend is enough to overcome Arkansas connection to this talented player.

Coach Kool has his top target

This one has been talked about before, but the top target for DL coach Craig Kuligowski is 4-star DT Glen Logan, an LSU commit.

Logan has been connected to Miami, at least with interest and curiosity, for quite some time. But, now that Coach Kool is here, Logan is the #1 target to add to this class along the DL. Logan will visit Coral Gables this upcoming weekend, and if Miami is going to make a move here, that will be the time.

WR Target effectively eliminates Miami

Miami Senior HS WR Keyshawn "Pie" Young has updated his visit list. And, as the previous one, Miami is not included.

Seems as though both parties are looking in other directions.

Miami drops 2 commits

I wrote about this in last week's Class Breakdown, but it's been further reported that Miami is both distancing themselves from 3-star DE Jaquwan Nelson and have completely stopped recruiting 3-star CB Deion Jackson.

It has been clear for quite some time that neither one of these players would be in this class. And, save the formality of the players announcing a "decommitment", they are no longer connected to Miami and, in my mind, should not be considered committed recruits.

Because of this, as we move forward, I'm dropping them from any commit list or article. I wish both players the best in the future, but we can safely say that

New DL target emerges

InsideTheU.com reports that 3-star DL Tyreic Martin will visit Coral Gables on January 29th. Martin was committed to Missouri but decommitted after Coach Kool was not retained by the new staff.

This, to me, is a lot like Malek Young following CMR from UGA to Miami. Martin was committed to Mizzou to play for Kool, decommitted when he was let go, and now wants to visit the school at which he now coaches. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see Martin commit during his OV to the Gables. But, before that, Martin will visit Mizzou this weekend.

Other Blips on the Radar

Just a quick hitting list:

  • Miami is said to be comfortable with 4-star RB Travis Homer as the only back in this class. They'll continue to gauge interest in others, but if Homer is the only addition to this position, that will be fine.
  • TE Jovani Haskins is a top target to join this class. He'll visit Miami this weekend.
  • WR Nate Johnson said he could find early playing time at Miami. The current Michigan commit reiterated that he is solidly connected to Jim Harbaugh's team, but Miami definitely made a positive impression on him. Even so, the chances that Johnson ends up as a Hurricane seem low.
  • WR Ahmmon Richards, arguably the top target for Richt and the Canes at this point, reportedly had a very very good visit. Miami is pushing hard to get Richards, a one-time Canes commit, to rejoin this class. The top competition still seems to be Alabama. Even so, Miami is said to feel very good about their chances here.
  • JUCO WR Javon Wims, a current Georgia commit, also had a good visit, reportedly. A South Florida native,t he 6'4" 215lb Wims has a connection to the UM program, and could come in and play right away. With 2 years to play 2 after attending JUCO, immediate PT is a major factor for Wims, who reportedly said there's a "great chance" he ends up at Miami. A big factor here is that Wims has a Georgia visit lined up for the last weekend before NSD, and new Georgia WR coach James Coley (remember him?) is a strong recruiter. Stay tuned.
  • CB Shyheim Carter enjoyed his visit last weekend, but there's been a run of predictions of him ending up at Alabama.
  • 3-star OT Lucas Niang is down to 3 schools: Auburn, TCU, and Miami. Niang will be on campus this weekend for an official visit.
  • Deerfield Beach HS teammates James Pierre and Aaron Robinson did not make it to campus last weekend. They're reportedly set to visit this weekend, instead.
  • Not recruiting related, but the University of Miami med school and Miami-Dade public schools have partnered for a groundbreaking study on Concussions in Young Athletes. I suggest you give this a read.
That's it for now. Be sure to check back for many more updates as we continue the sprint toward National Signing Day.

Go Canes

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