2021 Canes Recruiting Wishlist: 5-star Cornerback, Jason Marshall Jr.

Manny Diaz and his recruiting staff are taking the college football world by storm right now, and now it’s time to put the finishing touches on the 2021 class. With only a few remaining spots open, one of the biggest targets for the Canes right now is 5-star cornerback Jason Marshall out of Miami Palmetto High School.

Though his original top-3 schools back in April didn’t include Miami, Marshall put out a new list on July 17th with a top-5, and the hometown Hurricanes made the final cut.

While most people believe it’s a race between Alabama and Florida, the recent recruiting success for Miami, especially in South Florida, has some thinking that the Hurricanes could be steal the Dade County superstar from UF and the Crimson Tide.

On Sunday, Miami landed a verbal commitment from one of Marshall’s teammates at Palmetto, wide receiver Brashard Smith. Another Palmetto player, 4-star defensive tackle Savion Collins, has also verbally committed to the Hurricanes for 2021.

Also, Miami looks like they could in the driver seat for 5-star DT Leonard Taylor, another Palmetto star. Taylor is set to announce his decision on August 6th. Then finally, the last out from the “Palmetto 5”, 4-star safety Corey Collier will be making his announcement on August 10th.

247 Sports composite has Marshall ranked as the #2 cornerback in the 2021 recruiting cycle, #7 player in the state of Florida, and #29 player in the country. The website compares Marshall to Xavier Rhodes, cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings.

Standing at 6-2, Marshall has good height for the position, and is effective in both man and zone coverage. Also, at 180 pounds, Marshall has room to fill out his frame once he gets to college. As a junior in 2019, Marshall recorded 5 interceptions, 15 pass-breakups and 44 tackles. Marshall was a Miami Herald All-Dade 8A-6A first-team selection, and helped Palmetto to a 10-2 record.

Playing also as a wide receiver for Palmetto, Marshall has great ball skills and high-point ability, and is a natural playmaker wherever he is on the field.

Miami has two cornerbacks committed in the 2021 class as of now, 3-star Tim Burns, and 3-star Malik Curtis. If the Hurricanes were to land Marshall, he’d be the highest CB recruit that Miami has had in years.

If the Hurricanes somehow snag Marshall, they could have one of the top secondaries in all of college football in the near future, especially with the verbal commitments of 4-star safety Kamren Kinchens and 5-star safety James Williams. Not to mention, 2020 signees like Avantae Williams, Jalen Harrell and Isaiah Dunson.

Miami has had solid cornerbacks since Mike Rumph took over as position coach in 2016, such as Trajan Bandy or Michael Jackson Jr. However, they haven’t had a real superstar at CB like Marshall in a long, long time. If they can put a player like Marshall at corner, combined with the plethora of young talented safeties Miami has, the Hurricanes secondary could be elite.

Plus, Al Blades Jr. and DJ Ivey will be seniors in 2021, and Miami will be looking to stack at cornerback, and landing Marshall would be yet another home-run for the Hurricanes recruiting staff.