After some ups and downs (this is recruiting after all), Mark Richt and Co. were able to finally reel in a big get for the 2017 recruiting class today when 3-star WR Mike Harley Jr. flipped from West Virginia to Miami.

This flip is something that has been in the works for quite some time. To catch you up if you’re unfamiliar, Harley starred for powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), using speed and precise routes to impact games on a regular basis. Due to size concerns (Harley has been listed between 5’9”-5’10” and 155-170lbs), Al Golden’s Miami staff didn’t offer him. When Mark Richt took over, Miami still didn’t offer the speedster, but they started evaluating him.

In November, Miami finally pulled the trigger and offered Harley. After the initial boost of finally receiving a coveted offer, it looked as though Harley would commit. However, contrary to reports and general recruiting consensus, Harley said he would be sticking with WVU, and shutting down his recruitment.

Even still, Miami continued to recruit Harley, and got him to take an Official Visit on January 13-15. The visit went well according to all reports, and that was enough to get Harley to flip his commitment from West Virginia to Miami.

Moving from the narrative to the football side of things, Harley can play. He had 29 catches for 441 yards and 8 TDs. Add in 3 yards rushing, 182 punt return yards, and 230 kickoff return yards, and Harley totaled 856 total yards in 2016, and that only tells part of the impact of his play.

Harley is damn near uncoverable in 1-on-1 situations.

After his strong offseason, Harley was named a U.S. Army All-American. And, when he was in San Antonio for the week of practice, Harley put on a show, routinely beating DBs in practice time and time again. Take a look, it’s impressive:

Harley has seen his profile rise throughout his senior season. He flipped to Miami from West Virginia — to whom he was committed since June 2016 — and has scholarship offers from 28 schools, but that list would be bigger had Harley not spent the last 7 months committed to a school.

Harley is the 2nd WR in Miami’s 2017 recruiting class. He joins 3-star Evidence Njoku at this position group, and brings the vertical speed Mark Richt has been looking for at WR since arriving at Miami.

If you want to see more of what Harley can do, check out the HUDL highlights below:

Welcome to the U, Mike!