Peach State QB Wants to Visit Canes
The state of Georgia has seen numerous talented quarterbacks come through its prep ranks over the decades, and the class of 2024 will be another example of big-time signal callers.
The Canes have been recruiting Prentiss Air Noland for quite some time, and he's not the only Georgia signal caller on the Miami recruiting board.
One of them would be Jake Merklinger from Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day School. His talents have garnered him not only a lot of scholarship offers, but he also had the opportunity to compete at the Under Armour Atlanta Combine. He performed well as expected, and took time afterwards to discuss his recruitment.
The 6-foot-3 and 195-pound Merklinger has shown a talented arm throughout his prep career, and his overall talents have allowed him to earn offers from the likes of Miami, Auburn, Louisville, Michigan State, Duke, Tennessee, North Carolina State, Ole Miss, UCF, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh among others.
As for his overall recruiting plan, Merklinger provided the following answer.
“Just taking it slow, you know? I feel like God has a plan for me and I trust him. So, just continue to pray and take the (recruiting) process slow.”
As for Miami, his recruitment has just begun with the Canes after the hiring of offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson.
“No, I actually had no idea,” Merklinger commented on whether he knew the Canes would be extending him a scholarship offer. Dawson and the Canes offered Merklinger back on Feb. 20.
“We got on the phone, I think it was late at night, I was laying in my bed. It was super awesome. It’s a blessing to receive any offer.
"You know, Miami has a prestigious history of winning. And, the kind of cool swagger that comes with the program. I’m really interested in that as well.”
Dawson was not the only Miami coach Merklinger spoke with to date.
“I’ve spoken with coach (Mario) Cristobal a couple of times. It was really cool. I hope that I can get down there for a visit.”
To begin to narrow down his school list, Merklinger will adjust where needed.
“I feel like it varies for each school. Some schools I want to go to, I’ve seen a lot. Some schools – Like UNC – I haven’t seen. I’d love to see a practice there…I’m going to go see a practice there. So, you know, I feel like it varies with each school.”
As for UNC and Merklinger’s interest, he talked about getting to know more about their new offensive coordinator.
“I went up to Chapel Hill for the first time in January. I really liked it; I connected really well with the new offensive coordinator, coach (Chip) Lindsey. I can’t wait to get back.”
Merklinger has yet to pick out any official dates, and he has no specific school that he’s dead set on taking an official visit to. That stated, he wants to use spring time to figure out which schools will be best for him to use those visits.
As for the schools he’s seen the most so far, Merklinger mentioned three programs.
“Probably Michigan State, Tennessee and UGA. I’ve been to Michigan State five or six times. I’ve been to UGA five or six times, and I’ve been to Tennessee four or five times.
“I just want to say, my parents are awesome about getting me on visits. They’re really supportive of me. If I need to go somewhere, they are good about getting me there.”
AllHurricanes.com is your home for all things Miami Hurricanes football, recruiting, basketball and other athletics, all the time. Follow along on social media at @AllHurricanes on Twitter and All Hurricanes on Facebook for round-the-clock news and analysis.