All Hurricanes

Miami Recruiting Intel

Looking at Miami recruiting information from the past week, and what’s ahead.

Brian Smith

Miami Recruiting Intel
Miami Recruiting Intel /
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Article photo: Jimothy Lewis from Thursday's IMG Academy pro day; credit Brian Smith

When Mario Cristobal took over to be the head coach for the Miami Hurricanes, those in the recruiting media knew he’d bring top talent to Coral Gables.

Miami’s 2023 recruiting class was exhibit A. Now that Cristobal has hired Kevin Beard to be his new wide receivers coach, the staff has a full contingent of personnel to once again sign the nation’s top football prospects.

The following information represented recent intel from Under Armour Atlanta, the IMG Academy pro day, and multiple other aspects of recruiting information heading into tomorrow’s Orlando Under Armour event, which will bring even more intel about future Canes. Let’s start with Atlanta and the state of Georgia in general.

From the class of 2023, Miami signed three prospects from Georgia. Consistently supplementing the elite talent in Florida with a few top Peach State prospects will certainly help Miami.

The Canes have just started to recruit quarterback Jake Merklinger, and he would like to visit Miami. Cristobal and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson just extended an offer to quarterback Judd Anderson.

It’s obvious that Anderson was excited to be offered by the Hurricanes, and many quarterback recruits will likely be intrigued by the air raid offense. Just as important, the Canes have made a concerted effort to stay involved in and around the greater Atlanta area.

There’s a story coming up on All Hurricanes about 2023 linebacker signee Raul Aguirre that will further explain the effort Cristobal and his staff put into recruiting top Georgia players, but know that the off the record conversations, in addition to interviews conducted at Atlanta Under Armour, were quite positive for the Canes.

Moving back down into Florida, the IMG Academy pro day was intriguing for the class of 2024 and 2025 prospects.

Beyond the good news about elite cornerback prospect Ellis Robinson taking an official visit to Miami, and elite defensive lineman David Stone also planning a visit to Coral Gables with his family, the IMG Academy pro day also brought information about 2024 defensive lineman Jayden Jackson. 

Here’s what the 6-foot-2 and 295-pound defensive tackle stated about Miami, beginning with news about Jackson and visiting Miami:

“I recently had (a visit scheduled to) Miami, but I had to push the date back due to some circumstances. So, I’ll be down there (at Miami) probably on March 24 or 25 of this month.”

Miami’s defensive line coach Joe Salave’a, has been in consistent communication with Jackson. Look for Miami to be in the thick of the race for the talented defensive tackle with offers from the likes of Penn State, Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Tennessee beyond Miami.

Continuing with IMG prospects and back on the offensive side of the football, Miami has been recruiting talented pass catcher Jerrae Hawkins. He’s a receiver that will probably play slot in college, and he’s attracted the attention of Miami and many other schools with offers. Hawkins plans to visit Coral Gables and has been talking with multiple Miami coaches, starting with Dennis Smith.

Cristobal loves his offensive linemen, and there’s no doubt that Jimothy Lewis will be a prime target until he signs his letter of intent. The competition will be stiff as Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama and a host of other prime programs will be coming after him. That stated, Lewis has a good relationship with Miami. The key for the Canes will be getting him on campus this spring before taking an official visit as well.

There are several other top-notch IMG Academy prospects that could end up taking official visits to Miami; it’s early in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Looking ahead, remember the name Gavin Nix from the class of 2025. He’s originally from Orlando prior to transferring to IMG Academy. He’s a linebacker that can really run. Check out Nix’s 40-yard dash from Thursday evening:

Looking at the roster for the Orlando Under Armour event on Sunday, several prospects that have Miami offers will be there.

Looking forward to seeing all of them compete in the drills, as well as the always fun to watch one-on-one drills with top-notch wide receivers from across the state of Florida.

From the in-state prospects with Miami offers, Here are a few of the other notable 2024 prospects that will be attending the event:

Zaquan Patterson, S, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna

Chance Robinson, WR, Fort Lauderdale (Saint Thomas Aquinas)

Jamari Howard, CB, Hialeah (Westland Hialeah)

Willis McGahee IV, DE/LB, Miami (Columbus)

AJ Hairston, QB, Coconut Creek (Monarch)

Alberto Mendoza, QB, Miami (Columbus)

Booker Pickett, DE, Tampa (Wharton)

Ryan Mack, CB, Fort Lauderdale (Saint Thomas Aquinas)

D’Antre Robinson, DT, Orlando (Jones)

Dimitry Nicolas, DT, Miami (Norland)

Jeremiah Marcelin, LB, Miami (Norland)

Kendall Jackson, DE, Gainesville (Buchholz)

Chris Whatley-Humphrey, RB, Fort Lauderdale (Dillard)

Stacy Gage, RB, Fort Lauderdale (Saint Thomas Aquinas)

Earl Kulp, CB, Miami (Central)

Lawayne McCoy, WR, Miami (Central)

Vincent Shavers, LB, Miami (Central)

Eddie Pierre-Louis, OL, Tampa (Catholic)

Brandon Jacob, S, Orlando (Evans)

Look for videos and updates about some of these prospects, as well as others, from the All Hurricanes Twitter handle: @AllHurricanes, and multiple stories on Sunday and Monday as well.

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Brian Smith
BRIAN SMITH

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.

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