Miami Commit Jayden Wayne Looks Back on Decision
For highly-touted 2023 edge-rusher and Miami commit Jayden Wayne, his pledge to the Hurricanes brought relief in that it signaled the end of his recruiting process.
"Yeah definitely. It feels good," Wayne told All Hurricanes at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's media day about his recruitment ending. "It got very stressful, coaches hitting me up every single day, phone calls, it's just stressful really."
The Hurricanes became players for Wayne once Mario Cristobal, who gave the then-rising freshman his first offer, made the move to Miami. The defender credits the head coach as one of the main reasons he committed to UM.
"Really just my relationship with Coach Cristobal and really just seeing the brotherhood that has come to the U," Wayne said of why he committed to Miami. "I've been watching them for a long time."
"The communication with me and my family, between me and Cristobal and all the coaches," Wayne said.
Once Wayne enrolls at Miami as an early enrollee in the spring of 2023, the Hurricanes' coaches have a plan on how they intend to use the versatile and ultra-athletic edge defender.
"They're gonna have me [as a] hybrid, drop back in coverage, mostly rushing the passer," Wayne explained.
Wayne has not had much experience in pass coverage up to this point, but he has been working on this a lot at IMG Academy, where he has already transferred for his last season of high school football.
What Wayne lacks in coverage experience, however, he makes up for aplenty in making plays in the backfield. Over the last two seasons at his former school, Tacoma (Wash.) Lincoln, Wayne has posted 11 sacks and 19 tackles for loss.
A recent player who was used in a similar way at Miami was defensive lineman Jaelan Phillips, who in his one season playing with the Hurricanes recorded 45 tackles and eight sacks and went on to become the No. 18 selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
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Luke Chaney is a contributing writer for Sports Illustrated-FanNation's AllHurricanes.com, covering recruiting and Miami Athletics. You can also find Luke on WVUM 90.5 FM as a play-by-play broadcaster. He is also the Sports Editor for The Miami Hurricane. Follow Luke on Twitter @luke_chaney4.