The first of two signing days begins next Wednesday.
And, ahead of college football’s first early signing period ever (Dec. 20-22), Miami is bringing in quite the haul of talent for official visits this weekend.
The Hurricanes’ coaching staff has long set aside this specific weekend as their big recruiting extravaganza; 18 of Miami’s 21 commitments will be in Coral Gables this weekend, while no additional targets are expected at this time. Still, the 18 visitor contingent is thought to be the most official visitors Miami has ever had on campus for one weekend. All are solid commits that are fully expected to sign with Miami either in December or February. This weekend is the last chance for some of these guys to bond with their future teammates and coaches, while also reaffirming their pledge to Miami, before they put pen to paper.
Many of these visitors will be instant impact players on the team in 2018, so now is the time to begin getting to know them. Note that this list can change at a moment’s notice; some players listed may not show up and surprise players may make an appearance as well.
Cam also has you covered on who from the 2018 class is signing next week:
Miami Hurricanes Recruiting Radar: Early Signing period will be a boon for the #Canes. Plus, wassup w/Jobe? #TheU https://t.co/XAKUXLXjPC pic.twitter.com/ROpor1bJn7
— StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) December 11, 2017
Who Will Be On Campus
- RB Lorenzo Lingard - your starting running back for 2018.
- RB Camron Davis - could be the Robin to Lingard’s Batman. Davis has great pass-catching skills out of the backfield.
- FB Realus George - your starting fullback for 2018.
- WR Mark Pope - another talented skill player that will see early playing time, Pope will be in the receiver rotation in 2018.
- WR Brian Hightower - Miami’s IMG pull on the year, Hightower is a possession receiver that also shows the ability to win jump balls downfield.
- WR Daquris Wiggins - one of the more underrated players in this class. Wiggins is such a fluid strider, it looks like he glides across the field.
- TE Brevin Jordan - your starting tight end for 2018.
- TE Will Mallory - very impressive elusiveness and agility for a tight end prospect. Someone as big as Mallory should not be able to move like he does.
- OT John Campbell - he needs some time to develop, but has the most upside of all the lineman in this class.
- OG Delone Scaife - immediate contributor on the two-deep of an O-Line without much depth or trusted performers. Scaife has grown-man strength in HS.
- OG Cleveland Reed - recovering from a knee injury, but will be fully recovered in time for fall camp. I still think he redshirts, though.
- DE Gregory Rousseau - he’s undersized weight-wise for defensive end right now at 6’6” 225 lbs. and is a sure redshirt, but his speed off the edge jumps off the film.
- LB Patrick Joyner - he’s a guy Manny Diaz really wanted and fought head-to-head with FSU for months to win him over.
- CB Al Blades - a Miami legacy and then some, orange and green runs through his veins. Blades has the potential to be a real fan favorite at safety or corner.
- CB DJ Ivey - like Wiggins, one of the more underrated guys in the class. Ivey gets Artie Burns comparisons.
- S Gurvan Hall - my personal favorite of the ELITE defensive back class Miami is bringing in. Nick Saban wanted him real bad, but Hall is all Cane. He’ll be the best DB of the 5 currently committed.
- S Gilbert Frierson - like Blades, Frierson can play safety or corner.
- K Bubba Baxa - getting plenty of distance on his kicks, “Leg-o-land” is your starting kicker for 2018.
Who Won’t Be On Campus
Miami is trying to go for a clean sweep at American Heritage, and high-priority targets from that defense, like Patrick Surtain Jr., Tyson Campbell, and Andrew Chatfield, are all expected to take their official visits to UM during January. Storm18 member and Heritage teammate Nesta Silvera will visit with them and try to sway the close-knit Patriot defenders to the good guys, a nice little tactic by the coaching staff. Miami’s most recent commit, Jarren Williams, already took his official visit back in November for the Notre Dame game weekend. Both Silvera and Williams are extremely solid commits.
That leaves Josh Jobe as the final Storm18 member that won’t be on campus this weekend and many believe he is likely to flip, as he is the only commit taking an official visit to a place that isn’t Miami this weekend. To who, you ask? Well, Nick Saban and Alabama of course. Jobe originally told Mark Richt’s staff he was coming for their big weekend, backed out for his trip to Tuscaloosa, and has yet to reschedule his UM visit. The problem is that Jobe is also planning on signing early next week on Dec. 20. The Canes are making a push to have Jobe wait until February to sign so he can take a UM official in January, but Alabama will be pulling in the opposite direction for Jobe to sign next week and lock him down for good. The saga continues.