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Mark Richt and the Miami Hurricanes got a major major addition to the 2017 recruiting class today when 4-star CB Trajan Bandy, a one-time Oklahoma commit, gave his commitment to Mark Richt and the Canes.
THE BLOCK IS HOT
— Jorge Baez (@Coach_Baez) August 8, 2016
☀️ ☀️
WE JUST GOT BETTER
#DBU 3️⃣0️⃣5️⃣#WELCOME2THE[]_[]#SQ[]_[]AD17 pic.twitter.com/aq0yQZ1SQ6
— Chris Henderson Jr. (@Comeup_5) August 8, 2016
BREAKING: Four-star cornerback Trajan Bandy tells me he's committed to #Miami. Full story: https://t.co/qkQ2gHi6rV pic.twitter.com/bqW7tj1XQJ
— Ryan Bartow (@RyanBartow) August 8, 2016
Trajan Bandy says he committed to Miami last week. Going public today.
— Rob Cassidy (@Cassidy_Rob) August 8, 2016
BREAKING: Trajan Bandy (@BandyTrajan) commits to the #Canes. Miami's third commitment in less than 24 hours - https://t.co/fL0joui87P
— Peter Ariz (@PeterAriz) August 8, 2016
BLOCK: pic.twitter.com/xINThTTNyr
— Matt Doherty (@MDohertyCANES) August 8, 2016
S/O & Congrats to 2016 #TheOpening alumni Trajan Bandy on his commitment to #Miami! #TheU #GOTOPEN pic.twitter.com/uVQTB4Lyzq
— The Opening (@TheOpening) August 8, 2016
Getting Bandy to complete the flip from Oklahoma is a big recruiting win for Mark Richt and staff. Not only is Bandy an All-American level player, he's widely and uniformly respected by his peers in South Florida. Bandy, who was named to Nike's The Opening after a dominating performance at the Miami Regional, is a top talent and should make an immediate impact at the collegiate level. Bandy continued to showcase his top level skills at The Opening finals last week.
I had the pleasure of attending Nike's The Opening Miami Regional, and tracked Bandy (among others) throughout that day. Here is what I said of his skills and performance directly following that event:
"Miami Columbus CB Trajan Bandy can play. He's 5'8" but he's well built. Think Sam Bruce, but on defense. And, he has serious game. He was arguably the best DB on the field from start to finish today."
So yeah, I believe that Bandy can play and have thought so for a while. There's a bunch of college coaches, Miami included, who agree with me on that point.
Allow me to recap the path of Bandy's recruitment for those who may be new: Despite being one of the top players in Miami-Dade county, Bandy was not offered by Al Golden's staff. They had a singular critique of his game: his height. At 5'9", Golden's staff thought Bandy was too short to play at the collegiate level and therefore did not offer him.
When Mark Richt's staff took over, they had a similar thought, however left the door open for an in-person evaluation of his game. Once the staff saw Bandy during spring practice and the spring jamboree game for his HS -- Miami Christopher Columbus HS -- they had seen enough from Bandy to change their mind. He earned an offer near the end of the Spring Evaluation period. A few weeks after receiving his offer from Miami, Bandy decommitted from Oklahoma. And, today, well, you know the rest.
For Bandy's part, he had long said that he grew up a Miami fan and dreamed of playing for the Canes. When it looked like Miami wouldn't offer, he committed to Oklahoma in February 2016. However, once Miami offered and went all-in on trying to bring the diminutive but talented Bandy into the fold, the wide consensus was that a flip was only a matter of time. Despite several statements from Bandy that his commitment to Oklahoma was 100% solid, today that time came.
Bandy is one of the most talented CBs in the 2017, and figures to compete for immediate playing time at the collegiate level. Besides Oklahoma, the school he flipped to Miami from, Bandy claims 34 offers, including major P5 programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, South Carolina, and Louisville.
You can see the kind of player Miami is getting in Bandy's HUDL highlights below: