This is the weekend the Miami Hurricanes have been waiting for. The final visit weekend before the beginning of the early signing period on Wednesday is going to find Miami’s Coral Gables campus PACKED with official visitors.

And this is intentional. The vast majority of Miami’s 2019 recruiting class will be on campus for their OV’s this weekend with very few exceptions. Those exceptions — LB Tirek Austin-Cave, LB Corey Flagg Jr, DE Romello Height, WR Dazalin Worsham, and S Jalen Harrell — all took their OVs to Miami earlier this cycle. They could pay their own way to come down on an unofficial visit this weekend, but they’d also have to pay for dinner at the Rusty Pelican and the other Miami-funded excursions that fill an OV weekend. OR, they could take an OV elsewhere. Which might happen for one prospect. But we’ll talk about that later.

Anyways, here’s the very long list of players coming to Coral Gables for their OV’s this weekend:

Miami Hurricanes Official Visits

4-star QB Tyler Van Dyke. Miami’s QB of the class, and thereby potential QB of the future, Van Dyke will make his way to Coral Gables this weekend. The 6’4” 215lb signal caller is coming off a strong senior season in which he led Suffield (CT) Academy to an undefeated season and New England Prep Schools Championship. He’s an early enrollee.

4-star RB Donald Chaney Jr. The highest rated commit in Miami’s 2020 class, Chaney will be on campus this weekend for his OV. While other teams have tried to gauge Chaney Jr’s interest in visiting or communicating with them, the Army All-American has been steadfast in his pledge to the Canes. Chaney is another early enrollee.

4-star RB Jaylan Knighton. One of Miami’s most recent commitments, Knighton is scheduled to be on campus for his OV this weekend. The former FSU commit decommitted from the Noles when Willie Taggart was fired, and made the move to join Donald Chaney Jr. as RB commits in Miami’s 2020 class. Knighton is another early enrollee.

3-star ATH/WR Xavier Restrepo. Knighton’s teammate at Deerfield Beach (FL), Restrepo is a multi-talented athlete who starred on both sides of the ball for DBHS this season. Miami has viewed Restrepo as a slot WR since his days at St. Thomas Aquinas, and that’s what hell play in college. Restrepo transferred to Deerfield from Aquinas to play on another championship-caliber team, and bc Aquinas doesn’t allow for early enrollees due to a religion course requirement. But, since he’s not at Aquinas anymore, Restrepo is another early enrollee for Miami this cycle.

4-star WR Michael Redding III. A big bodied and muscular WR with skills, Redding III will be on campus this weekend as well. Redding III will study Aerospace Engineering at Miami, and that major was a key element in getting him to commit here. And, you guessed it: he’s an early enrollee.

3-star TE Dominic Mammarelli. A talented blocker with potential to be a nice interior receiving option, Mammarelli is one of the longest tenured commits in Miami’s 2020 class. He missed the majority of his junior year with a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery, and that caused his rating to drop from 4-star to 3-star. But he’s shown good skills and athletic ability this fall, and should be a good addition for the Canes. He, too, is an early enrollee.

4-star OL Jalen Rivers. A massive lineman at 6’6” 331lbs, Rivers is the blue-chip caliber player up front that Miami has gotten precious few of in recent years. While he plays OT in HS, there’s been talk that Rivers could move inside to Guard in college. Either way, he should add size and talent to the OL group in a big way. He, like every other player on this list so far, is an early enrollee.

4-star DE Chantz Williams. Rivers’s close friend and teammate at Orange Park (FL) Oakleaf, Williams is one of the best DEs in the country. He’s a tenacious pass rusher and well built at 6’4” 238lbs. He and Rivers will both play in the Under Armour All-American game before, you guessed it, enrolling early this January.

4-star OL Chris Morris. Prior to committing to Texas A&M, Morris was very vocal about the fact that he wanted a Miami offer back in the Summer. VERY VOCAL. How vocal? Am I overselling things? Read this quote from the linked piece by Bud Elliott and decide for yourselves:

“One school that Morris still wants to hear from is Miami.

He said so emphatically.

“MI-A-MI,” Morris said. “They could jump into my top five. I literally like Miami the school, not just the city, I have 40-something offers, but Miami just doesn’t want — they just never offer me. I’m like, ‘Come on.’ I hope you quote this. I’d text them, but I don’t even know who to text. Miami needs to stop playing.”

Yeah. He said that. Verbatim. Yeah.

It took a while for that offer to come, but since it has, Miami has worked to gain traction with this West Memphis (AR) native. Obviously, since he’s committed to Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher and company hare fighting to keep in Morris in the class, and block him from taking this visit. Will they succeed in keeping Morris from traveling to Coral Gables this weekend? That’s one of the biggest storylines to watch, in my opinion. But, if Morris DOES come on his visit, then Miami may have a shot at a flip here. Either way, stay tuned.

3-star OL Chris Washington. A tall (6’7”) and relatively thin (265lbs) lineman, Washington is a player with decent skills and a frame that should be able to support weight gain over time as he goes through Miami’s nutrition and strength and conditioning programs. Like so many others on this list, Washington will enroll at Miami in January.

3-star DE Quentin Williams. As athletically talented as any player in this class, Williams will visit Miami this weekend. It’s been well-noted that Williams’s father is a Canes fan, and that helped Miami get this talented defender from Charlotte (NC) to take his talents to Coral Gables. Williams is one of precious few non-early enrollees in Miami’s 2020 class.

3-star CB Marcus Clarke. A blazing speedster who mainly played WR until this year, Clarke will add that track-star speed and developing technique to Miami’s secondary. Clarke has decent size for a CB at 5’11” 175lbs, and should be able to develop into a nice player here in time. The fact that he’s among the fastest players you’ll see on a football field is a bonus. Clarke will sign early, but enroll at Miami in May.

3-star S Brian Balom. A local standout from Miramar (FL), Balom is a cerebral and instinctual player with good fundamentals and size. He can add some weight and strength to his 180lb frame, but that will come in time. Like Clarke, Balom will sign in December but enroll in May.

4-star S Keshawn Washington. A tall ant thin player at 6’2” 177lbs, Washington could play either S or STRIKER in the future, depending on his physical development. A local player from Homestead (FL) South Dade HS, Washington will enroll early at Miami in January.

4-star S Jaiden Francois. A VERY familiar name for those who follow recruiting, old friend and Washington’s teammate at South Dade, Francois has committed to — and decommitted from — Miami TWICE already this cycle. The first in-and-out was with Mark Richt as coach and then retiring, and the second round about was with Diaz as coach. A talented player who tied to Miami-Dade HS single-season interception record as a junior with 12 picks, Francois has transitioned from CB to S, and will stay inside at the college level. Whereas it once looked like Ohio State would be the destination, Francois’s recruitment is down to Miami or Nebraska. Francois was out in Lincoln a couple weeks ago and coming to Miami now. I know some will push back on taking a 3rd commitment from a player, but Francois is talented enough where I — and Miami — would likely take that chance. We’ll see what happens on the 18th when he signs before enrolling at his school of choice in January.

3-star DB Daran Branch? Name looks familiar, right? Well, the one-time Miami commit Branch, who recently flipped to Ole Miss before then-coach Matt Luke was fired, may be considering a visit to Coral Gables and maybe flipping back to the Canes. Yes, the Amite (LA) native reportedly flipped to Ole Miss due to an ill family member (so being closer to home was preferable), but this recruitment may not be over. And if he pops up on campus this weekend, then the game may truly be afoot.

Targets Taking Visits Elsewhere

5-star LB Justin Flowe — USC. The nation’s #1 LB has visited Miami twice previously, and will visit local program USC this weekend. While previously it would have been a foregone conclusion that a SoCal native of this caliber would play for the Trojans, that is not the case at present. Many think Clemson maintain the lead for Flowe, with Miami trying to position themselves as a darkhorse of sorts. USC’s recruiting class is a shambles at present, but making a strong move to keep Flowe home in LA would be a MASSIVE win for embattled coach Clay Helton.

5-star TE Darnell Washington — Tennessee. A week after visiting Miami, The Nation’s #1 TE will make his way from Las Vegas to Knoxville to check out the Vols. Obviously, getting the last visit is big, but nothing is done until Washington signs. Washington is one of the biggest and best players in the country, and Miami is in a fight (likely an uphill battle) to get his commitment.

4-star LB Keyshawn Greene — Florida State. A week after visiting Miami — and decommitting from FSU while at Dinner on the first night of said visit— Greene is going to take another OV to FSU. New coach Mike Norvell has smartly made Greene a top priority with the goal of getting the rangy OLB with sideline to sideline speed back in the fold. Even with this being the case, Miami feels like they made moves with Greene last week and will continue to push for his commitment as the Early Signing Period approaches.

3-star S Doneiko Slaughter — Tennessee. An Arizona State commit, Slaughter just visited Miami last weekend, but there doesn’t seem to be a connection there. Miami, with 3 Safeties already committed in this class and guys like 4-star Jaiden Francois (a 2 time commit AND decommit) and 3-star Ole Miss (and former Miami) commit Daran Branch (Amite, LA) still on the board, will focus on those options instead, it seems.

4-star DE Romello Height — Auburn? So, yeah. Per multiple reports, Auburn has made contact with Height, and Tigers coach Gus Malzahn is trying to get the Dublin (GA) native, and Canes commit, to take a trip to the plains to see Auburn this weekend. Obviously, Auburn pushing for a visit and potential flip isn’t the best thing in the world, but it shows that Height is a talented player that many top teams covet. This visit is not assured, and it’s not NOT assured, either. So stay tuned.

4-star RB Jaylan Knighton — Florida State? I’ll keep this short: new FSU Coach Mike Norvell met with Knighton to try and get him to cancel his Miami OV and go on another one to FSU (allowed because of the Noles’ coaching change) instead. It doesn’t seem that he was successful in convincing Knighton — or more specifically his parents — in this change, but stranger things have happened.

A packed OV weekend — the final one before the dead period ahead of the Early Signing Period — is on deck in Coral Gables, and elsewhere as well. We haven’t had an ACTUAL secret visit yet (there were rumors of one last week but that wasn’t true, unfortunately) so it feels like this owuld be the weekend for one, maybe.

In any event, what will you be watching this weekend? Oh, and be sure you vote in the OV weekend poll. And then hop in the comments and discuss the crootin’.

Go Canes