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Miami Hurricanes Recruiting: Official Visit preview, 12-7

Time to kick things into high gear with another official visit weekend

Miami commit Anthony Solomon will be a key player to watch on this weekend’s official visits
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Welcome back, recruiting fans. It’s time for another Official Visit weekend across the CFB world! With under 2 weeks left until the Early Signing Period, these visits are huge, and will likely go a long way to determining how Miami’s 2019 recruiting class takes shape.

Here’s what to watch for Miami, both in the Gables and elsewhere.

Miami Hurricanes Official Visits

4-star LB Anthony Solomon. The only Miami commit on this list, Solomon will take his visit to Coral Gables at a good time. There have been rumors swirling recently that the Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas standout may be reconsidering his decision to come to Miami. Solomon picked the Canes over Michigan back in April, but a desire to leave SoFLA may be pushing the Wolverines back up in Solomon’s eyes. This weekend’s OV to Coral Gables will either lock Solomon into this class, or prove he’s headed elsewhere. Either way, it will be worth the time and effort.

4-star DE Justin Eboigbe. This Alabama commit is a big fish that Miami looks to reel in. The Forest Park (GA) standout has been committed to Alabama since June, but Miami has been communicating with him for a good long time. At 6’5” 263lbs, Eboigbe would be a great addition to this class and would likely see the field right away in the Chad Thomas/Joe Jackson DE spot for the Canes. Obviously, going up against the leviathan that is Alabama in recruiting is a tall task, but DL coach Jess Simpson has done well so far and has strong ties to the Atlanta area. Those ties are what have gotten Eboigbe to visit, now we’ll see if they’ll push him to flip to the Canes.

4-star CB Kaiir Elam. A Florida Gators legacy — his cousin Matt was a standout Safety for Urban Meyer in years past — Elam is a player who has been under the radar a bit for Miami. In that he’s a UF legacy, most people have assumed he was headed to Gainesville. But, Safeties coach Ephraim Banda has worked over time to get Elam amenable to coming to Miami, and this visit is a big step toward that. This is a visit worth watching, but even with a strong push this weekend, Miami will have a fight on their hands to get Elam to Coral Gables.

4-star DT Derick Hunter. This one is for my boy JP. Hunter, a one-time Miami commit, is now committed to Florida State. The Ft. Myers (FL) Dunbar standout has great size at 6’5” 285lbs, and has been one of the players Miami has consistently recruited at DT. Hunter is well known for his social media antics, but he has talent to be sure. Like the others, this visit will go a long way to understanding whether or not Hunter is serious about Miami.

3-star CB Martin Emerson Jr. A Mississippi State commit, Emerson Jr. has great size for a DB. The Pensacola (FL) Pine Forest star stands 6’2” 185lbs, so he has height and length, which both play well in the secondary. Miami is working to potentially flip Emerson Jr. away from the Bulldogs, and will roll out the red carpet for this weekend’s visit in hopes of doing so.

3-star OL Jakai Clark. The most recent 2019 offeree, Clark is an interesting player. The Loganville (GA) Grayson player is yet another Georgia native Miami is chasing. Clark was committed to Auburn, but was dropped/flipped to Illinois recently. Miami has worked quickly this week — he received his offer on Wednesday (after my last recruiting update) and scheduled his OV on Thursday — to get a foothold with Clark. Out of all the players visiting this weekend, Clark is the one I have on commit watch.

3-star CB John Dixon. A player I’ve had both on and off the list in my monthly Class Breakdown series, Dixon is back on the radar for Miami. This Tampa (FL) Chamberlain standout will be visiting Miami as the Canes look for DBs to join the 2019 recruiting class. Florida, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Penn State are other teams recruiting Dixon, but with him coming to Coral Gables this weekend, Miami could look to make a serious move before he visits elsewhere.

Targets taking Official Visits Elsewhere

Miami isn’t the only team hosting visits. Here’s where Canes commits and targets may be visiting this weekend that isn’t Coral Gables:

5-star OL Evan Neal - Georgia. Far and away Miami’s #1 target on OL and maybe overall, Neal will visit Athens this weekend ahead of his December 19th announcement. All signs point to the 6’8” 360lb Tackle picking Alabama, but Miami is doing everything they can, including having hosted Neal on an Official Visit last weekend.

4-star ATH/RB Mark-Antony Richards - Auburn. Younger brother of former Canes star WR Ahmmon Richards, Mark-Antony has been one of the most heavily recruited players in America. He will visit Auburn this weekend, but Miami is going to keep pushing to get him in this class until the very end, no matter what.

4-star OL Dontae Lucas - Florida. The other Official Visitor last weekend along with his teammate Neal, Lucas will be one of several players heading to Gainesville for Florida’s huge recruiting weekend. Lucas is committed to Florida State, but Miami and others like UF continue to try to push for a flip.

4-star TE Keon Zipperer - Florida. Miami’s top target at TE, Zipperer will be at UF this weekend. His recruitment has long though to be a Miami-UF battle, and he’s scheduled to visit Coral Gables next weekend. But this is a big visit, so pay attention. Not only to him but also to...

4-star DE Lloyd Summerall - Florida. Zipperer’s HS teammate at Lakeland, the 6’5” 220lb Summerall and the 6’2 240lb Zipperer have reportedly become a package deal, wanting to go to the same University. And, like Zipperer, Summerall’s recruitment is largely viewed as a Miami-UF battle so pay attention to this visit.

3-star CB Jarvis Brownlee - UCF. This Miami commit is visiting Orlando to see UCF. I’m not sure the Miami-native Brownlee would flip to the Knights, but visits matter so keep an eye out on this one, too.

3-star RB Jamious Griffin - NC State. This record-setting RB from Georgia will visit the team to which he is committed: NC State. Griffin received his offer from Miami on Wednesday night, so we’ll see if Miami can gain traction. Or, if this visit to the school that he’s been committed to for months shuts things down for Griffin.

3-star DT Jared Harrison-Hunte - Penn State. One of the players to have recently received a Miami offer, Harrison-Hunte is a well built DT at 6’4” 285lbs. He’s a NY native, so Miami will lean on commit Jason Blissett to help out here. Harrison-Hunte has been connected to Penn State and Ohio State so far this cycle, so this is a top-tier visit. Hopefully he comes down to Miami for a visit next weekend, as currently scheduled.

3-star RB DJ Williams - Alabama. This Miami legacy — his uncle is former Canes star RB Edgerrin James — is one of the fastest rising players in the country late in this cycle. After averaging an astounding 10.5 yards per carry (not a typo) as a senior, Williams has garnered attention from far and wide. He’s already taken an OV to Miami. And now, he’s going to visit Alabama. Greaaaat. /sarcasm

3-star LB Octavius Brothers - North Carolina. A new name on the radar what with Solomon potentially flipping, Brothers will visit UNC and their new/old coach Mack Brown this weekend.


That’s it for the visits this weekend. Remember, friends: recruiting is a fluid situation. Visits get canceled and secret visits pop up all the time. And, if any of that happens, I’ll be back on Monday to tell you all about it.

Vote in the poll, and let me know what you’re feeling as we head into visit weekend.

Poll

Dec 7th OV O/U: 0.5 - how many commits do the Canes get this weekend

This poll is closed

  • 18%
    Way Over (2+)
    (89 votes)
  • 39%
    Over (1)
    (185 votes)
  • 41%
    Under (0)
    (196 votes)
470 votes total Vote Now

Go Canes