In this installment of the Recruit Notebook, we meet the latest player in a family with plenty of athletic ability: WR Evidence Njoku

Bio

Miami has looked to bring in talent (and speed) at WR since Mark Richt took over as HC. To that end, WR Evidence Njoku is a player that Miami will look to to round out the receiving corps. The younger brother of star TE David, Evidence is a taller, leaner athlete who uses his size and speed to great success. Listed at 6’4” 198lbs to start his senior season, the younger Njoku has hit a growth spurt and is up to 6’6” now. For those who are skeptical, here are pictures of Evidence and David (who is 6’4”) standing next to each other.

From the Russell Athletic Bowl:

From Evidence Njoku’s official visit:

Here’s a picture of Njoku with the other Canes official visitors from January 13th weekend (he’s on the left, and next to him is 6’5” 240lb DE DJ Johnson, for comparison’s sake)

Recruiting Ranking

On the 247sports composite, Njoku is a 3-star prospect, the #90 WR in this class, #13 in the State of New Jersey, and #612 overall. With his newfound growth spurt up to 6’6”, and his athletic bloodlines, there’s a case to be made that Njoku could be ranked higher. On top of that, Njoku produced on the field throughout his HS career, so this isn’t just about future projection. He’s a good player now and could develop into a better player in the future.

Njoku picked Miami over 18 other offers, including Georgia, Nebraska, and Oregon.

Njoku as a player

Njoku has a good combination of size and speed. He’s a tall, lanky WR with a long stride and deceptive speed. Like many taller players at his position, Njoku is very adept at at jump balls, using his height and leaping ability to great success.

Njoku can use some refinement in running his routes, but that’s typical of taller HS receivers (they tend to rely on their size to out position defenders). On film, Njoku shows good hands, making several highlight catches, including a couple beautiful one-handers (like the first play on his HLs). I would be interested to see if his hands stay consistent as he plays more advanced competition, and if he’s asked to go over the middle at all.

2017 Outlook

Miami needs WRs in a bad, bad way. There’s talent on the roster, what with freshman All-American Ahmmon Richards, Lawrence Cager, Braxton Berrios, and Dayall Harris at the position already. Njoku could bring added height (he’d be the tallest player at WR or TE on the roster) and deep speed to the group that it’s currently lacking.

My main question about Njoku is his frame. Like his brother David coming out of high school, Evidence is thin — more thin than David was. While he has room to grow with time in the weight room, that may be a season away...or more.

Chance for a redshirt: 8/10

Evidence Njoku has a chance to be a very nice player at Miami. I think that, like his brother, he’ll show that on the field next year after taking a RS as a freshman.

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

Go Canes