In this installment of the Recruit Notebook, we meet an under-the-radar recruit whose talents could end up paying off huge in the future: WR Daquris Wiggins.

Bio

Miami has shifted their recruiting paradigm in the 2 years that Mark Richt has been head coach, and getting a commitment from Miami (FL) Southridge WR Daquris Wiggins is proof positive of that.

Wiggins is a talented player, but doesn’t have the recruiting profile of some others in the local area. In previous years, Miami may have overlooked a player like Wiggins, but with things begin different now, that wasn’t the case.

Wiggins plays for a dominant 7v7 team — Florida Fire — where he routinely made plays over the summer. He also showed well at several Miami camps, and flashed the top-end talent during the season at Southridge that made the Canes very, very interested in this talented speedster.

Miami secured a commitment from Wiggins a long time ago: October of 2015!!! He’s the longest tenured commitment in the 2018 BY FAR and has never wavered on his pledge to Miami.

Since his verbal to Miami, several of his Southridge teammates have subsequently committed to Miami — WR Mark Pope, OL Delone Scaife, and 2019 LB/S Diamante Howard being the 3 in that group. Each of those players has a higher recruiting profile than Wiggins, but make no mistake that Wiggins started the flood of commits from Southridge in this (and the next) cycle.

Wiggins’ numbers in HS have been small, but that’s due to the fact that Southridge doesn’t have a quality QB to get him (and Pope) the ball. Even with that being the case, Wiggins has the size and speed to impact games, and has done so routinely in HS.

Recruiting Ranking

On the 247sports composite, Wiggins is a 3-star prospect, the #76 WR in this class, #79 in the State of Florida, and #450 recruit overall.

Wiggins committed to Miami over 6 other offers: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa State, Temple, and West Virginia. He has the talent to be a 20+ offer kid, but with his early decision to commit to Miami teams understandably decided that trying to offer and then flip him wasn’t worth it.

Wiggins as a Player

At 6’3” 180lbs, Wiggins is tall and thin but with the frame to add weight in the future. Like many tall receivers, Wiggins is a matchup problem for smaller DBs, but needs to be more assertive in jump ball situations.

Wiggins has very good speed on the outside. That’s one of his biggest and best attributes, and should be a factor when he sees the field in the future.

Wiggins is quicker in and out of his breaks than you’d think for a tall thin “speed type” receiver, but still has a ways to go in refining his route running technique. Wiggins can also improve as a blocker, but that will come with repetitions and added weight/strength.

2018 outlook

Wiggins is an interesting prospect, but one who will likely need time to develop before seeing the field.

Chances for a redshirt: 9/10

Fellow WR commits Mark Pope (Wiggins’ HS teammate, btw) and Brian Hightower are more game ready, and therefore more likely to see the field next year for the Canes. Wiggins has the physical skills to be a very good player at Miami, but he needs another mango season or two before he’s ready for primetime.

That’s it for this installment of the Recruit Notebook.

Go Canes