Miami got a needed boost to the 2022 recruiting class on Wednesday evening when Sandersville (GA) Washington County 3-star OL Falentha “Flip” Carswell went public with his commitment to the Canes.

A proficient basketball player, the 6’7” 275lb Carswell has recently made the move from the hardwood to the gridiron. Carswell’s prowess as a basketball player hints at plus athleticism for a lineman, and many top tier linemen and elsewhere have a history of playing basketball (or soccer), and the footwork for those sports has allowed those players to transfer their movement skills to football. Such is the hope with Carswell in his career at Miami.

While there are many players who have had a similar transition from being a talented-if-undersized big man in basketball to being impact players on the football field, a target developmental path for Carswell could be former Miramar (FL) and West Virginia OL Yodny Cajuste.

Cajuste moved to football as a HS senior. redshirted as a freshman at WVU, and then stepped into a bigger role, starting at LT for the Mountaineers. Cajuste earned 2nd team All-Big12 honors as a redshirt junior, before becoming Big12 Offensive Lineman of the year, 1st Team All-Big12, and a 2nd team All-American (FWAA and Phil Steele). Following that stellar performance for the Mountaineers, Cajuste was a 3rd round draft pick of the New England Patriots.

Again, look at that developmental path. 1 year of HS Football. 5 years (1 cut short by injury) at a Power 5 team. Ended up as the best OL in the conference, a 2nd team All-American, and a 3rd round draft pick. If Miami can get that (or better) from Carswell, that’s a big, big win for the Canes.

This commitment is a big win for OL coach Garin Justice on the recruiting trail. After his official visit to Miami, teams like Oregon and Michigan (among others) made moves to offer Carswell and get him on campus for Official Visits. Good for Miami, however, is the fact that despite their best efforts, no other team was able to get Carswell on campus, and in the end, he picked the team that first identified him as a prospect and offered him a scholarship: the Miami Hurricanes.

At the time of his commitment, Carswell was the 5th player to join Miami’s 2022 recruiting class. He joined QB Jacurri Brown, WR Landon Ibieta, and CBs Khaumari Rogers and Chris Graves.

The 2022 recruiting class has a ways to go, but getting a player of Carswell’s stature and potential is a big step in the right direction.

Welcome to the U, Flip!