Friday Recruiting Notes
Miami recruiting has seen six verbal commitments just in the month of April alone, with the last pledge being safety Isaiah Thomas being the most recent prospect to give his pledge to the Hurricanes.
With the next two to three months being the most important of the recruiting calendar, here are a few notes prior to Miami continuing to build its recruiting class.
Totally Random Commitment
Which recruit will it be? At some point during the next months, there's going to be a surprise commitment, perhaps two or three of them, that end up signing with the Hurricanes.
As an example, that prospect that everyone said Miami didn't have a shot with or at the ver least not much at all. For the 2023 recruiting cycle, that might have been eventual Miami running back signee Mark Fletcher. He committed to Ohio State early and then changed his mind.
That's recruiting.
Like the above video with Alex Donno and John Garcia, Jr. with them discussing Saint Thomas Aquinas running back Jordan Lyle, recruiting can change in an instant. Keep that in mind April turns into May and prospects set official visits.
No question, there will be some surprises. There has been one sure thing with Miami though, and it's the quarterback that's committed to play in Coral Gables.
Judd Anderson the Recruiter
Before this recruiting campaign goes any further, Miami fans need to give a big shout out to the quarterback and lead recruiter from the Canes commitments, Judd Anderson. He’s flat out been doing work to help Miami, as the following tweet demonstrates.
It starts in the trenches. You know what rhymes with greatness? Every single name surrounding you in this picture. Seems like the name @juustinscott just might fit up there somewhere. Time to start making those moves to join that club. #TrenchWork ‘24 🧡💚🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/OVHcdVinSQ
— David Franklin #TrenchWork (@_DFranklin) April 28, 2023
That definitely matters, too. Recruits commonly talk on the phone and communicate across the country nowadays. Especially since he’s the quarterback commitment, it cannot hurt that Anderson has connected with players like Scott (more about him down below) top prospects the Canes want to sign.
Overall when communicating with Anderson, it’s always clear that he’s stoked about being a part of the 2024 Miami recruiting class. He’s also been happy about getting better and competing.
MORE: 2024 Miami Commitments
Can’t wait to see him spin it at the Elite 11 regional in Carrollton, Ga. on May 13. While Anderson should probably be considered a raw prospect due to his lack of starting experience, there hasn’t been any questioning his size, arm strength, athleticism, and especially his heart.
Anderson will always be a guy that this writer roots for. That’s a fact.
Justin Scott Trending Towards Miami?
While there’s probably a long, long way to go for any school to gain elite Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius defensive tackle Justin Scott’s commitment and ultimately his signature, when 247 Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong placed a crystal ball prediction for Miami to land him, it did open some eyes.
It should have. Wiltfong has not been one to just needlessly throw out predictions.
From the other side of the conversation, Georgia, Ohio State and Notre Dame, among others, will not give up no matter where Scott commits or what Wiltfong predicts.
They shouldn’t even if Scott pledged to Mario Cristobal and the Canes today or another day either. He’s that rare 300-plus-pound defensive lineman that can play strong side defensive end (yes, literally he can) just as well as he does interior defensive line positions.
So, a verbal commitment would be great, but this will be a recruitment that’s likely not done until Scott signs his National Letter of Intent and the lucky school that receives it can finally rejoice.
Also of note, Scott finished up a multi-day Miami visit during spring game week and did not make it to Notre Dame’s spring game. Telling? Maybe, maybe not. It was interesting though.
Brown Brothers Reunited
College football can sometimes have unique family stories. Well, one of those will soon begin in Coral Gables.
Cornerback Davonte Brown transferred to Miami from UCF this off season, and his younger brother and fellow cornerback Damari Brown signed with the Hurricanes as part of the 2023 recruiting class. The younger Brown posted on Twitter a reminder that the Freshmen will all be enrolling soon.
Yes, in early June the non-early enrollees will indeed be in Coral Gables to begin their Miami careers. As for Damari joining Davonte, the older brother made it clear after the Miami spring game that he was blessed and excited to have this chance to play with his sibling.
Indeed, that’s really cool. Here’s to future interviews and good times with the Brown brothers representing The U.
Canes Sending Out Underclassmen Offers
While it might be mundane to some recruiting fans, early offers for some prospects – as well as their family members and/or high school coaches – can be very important.
It’s a sense of sticking with a recruit even before he “blew up” in recruiting. That’s why offers like this following one can and often do matter once that prospect gets ready to take his official visits and choose a school.
Blessed to receive an offer from the university of Miami ! #GoCanes @Kevin_Beard9 @MiamiHurricanes pic.twitter.com/WVyHK48OZk
— Payton Cook (@Payton2good_) April 27, 2023
The recruiting process has sped up to the point that there’s a lot of projection. The term “measurables” comes into play. Miami had already several of the South Florida underclassmen in recent months, and players like Payton Cook from the above tweet and Akron (Ohio) Archbiship Hoban have represented a more widespread list of offers from outside the state of Florida.
It’s all a part of the modern recruiting process.
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.