Miami Hurricanes QB Recruiting Dominoes: Jaden Rashada's Decision Preview
UPDATE: In the hours since this story was published, All Hurricanes has learned that quarterback Jaden Rashada has pushed his college commitment back, a possibility that was acknowledged in the preview below.
Miami’s quarterback recruiting will reach a critical point this weekend, as quarterback Jaden Rashada is scheduled to make his college commitment on Saturday. Here’s the full view of Rashada’s recruitment and where Miami stands with him.
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound signal caller’s recruitment has been intense. He's taken numerous unofficial visits with teams from coast-to-coast trying to get him on their campus, as well as four official visits exclusively with SEC programs.
The Pittsburg (Calif.) High School prospect officially visited Ole Miss on April 22, then paid back-to-back-to-back to Texas A&M from June 3-5, LSU from June 5-7 and Florida from June 7-9.
That technically leaves one more official visit if Rashada is inclined to take it, as the NCAA allows prospects to take a total of five officials.
However, considering Rashada is set to announce his decision on Saturday, it would seem as though he'll pass up on his fifth OV, unless he were to postpone his decision or use it after making his pledge public.
Feb. 23, 2022 is when Rashada received his offer from the Miami Hurricanes, and he trekked to Miami for an unofficial visit just over a month later on March 31. He’s been a priority recruit for the Hurricanes staff ever since that trip.
Interviewed at the recent Overtime 7-on-7 tournament in Las Vegas, Nev., an exhausted Rashada spoke with John Garcia, Jr. of SI All-American, freshly removed from his stretch of three official visits and over ten flights in roughly a week.
What’s left to figure out before making his decision?
“Nothing. Just [need to] take this time to think,” Rashada said.
With regards to definitively making his college intentions known on June 18 as originally planned, Rashada provided the following quote: “Yeah, I should be. If not, then I’ll push it back.”
The seemingly uncertain answer about his commitment date led to a follow-up question: Has Rashada's college decision already been finalized?
“No, no, it’s not," Rashada proclaimed adamantly. "No.”
Rashada added that it is unlikely he will utilize his final official visit before June 18 arrives.
Later on, however, he made a statement that provided a different view of his situation with Miami, pressed specifically on the chances that the Hurricanes could receive an official visit before his recruitment is wrapped up — whether he sticks to his planned commitment date or pushes it back.
“We’ll see," Rashada admitted, "I’m working on that right now.”
Without an official visit, Miami’s chances do not appear to be good for this Saturday. But that does not automatically mean Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal and UM's new coaching staff will give up on eventually getting Rashada into their 2023 signing haul.
As Rashada noted, he’s still contemplating taking an official visit to Miami. And if there is one thing that Cristobal has a history of, it’s flipping a commitment from another school on or around Signing Day. He's already done so in his short time with the Canes.
Remember when Miami was able to flip top tight end Jaleel Skinner into its 2022 recruiting class? He was an Alabama commitment for over two months at that time, a program that is well-known to secure elite recruits, but Cristobal and his coaching staff were able to poach Skinner from the Crimson Tide anyway with a strong pitch in crunch time.
Miami’s quarterback dominoes will begin to fall this Saturday with Rashada’s decision, no matter which program he announces for. Don't rule the Hurricanes out of his recruitment until he signs the dotted line, but assuming he commits elsewhere, the decision will prove monumental in UM's signal-caller recruiting efforts in the class of 2023.
Note: All Hurricanes will feature Miami’s chase for quarterbacks Dante Moore and Emory Williams on Friday.
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