Recruiting Notes for Miami, Florida, FSU and UCF
All four of Miami, Florida, Florida State and UCF have huge official visit weekends that already started, and they must capitalize move up in the national college football recruiting rankings.
The following will be a bullet point process highlighting notes about several recruits for each of those programs, plus a few extra points regarding top recruits coming in later this month. Let’s start with Miami and a few of its June 2 official visitors.
*Watch out for the Canes with talented wide receiver Dre’lon Miller from Silsbee (Texas) High School. He’s a priority for the Miami coaching staff and the Canes look to be battling Southern California for his services. He’s expected to make a decision later this month.
*This will also be a weekend that Mario Cristobal and his staff gain an opportunity to make up ground on top-notch defensive lineman Kamarion Franklin. He recently dropped his top five.
5⭐️ 2024 DL Kamarion Franklin drops his Top 5 final schools: @KamarionFrankl1 pic.twitter.com/OK5yzIqY11
— MAX (@maxescarpio) June 2, 2023
Franklin has reportedly been leaning towards joining Rocky Top and the Vols. With Miami’s need for big-bodied defensive lineman like Franklin in this class, this should be a recruitment that both Tennessee and Miami fans watch closely.
*There’s also been discussion about Miami for a quarterback committed to a SEC schools, quarterback Colin Hurley. He’s been a LSU pledge since Nov. 4, 2022. While it’s still early, and the Canes could take a second quarterback beyond current commitment Judd Anderson, look for the LSU coaching staff to do whatever it can to keep its prized passer in the 2024 recruiting class.
If Hurley makes any kind of visit to Coral Gables, however, all bets are off. He’s originally from the Miami area and has visited the Canes prior to his LSU commitment.
More Recruiting: Miami’s June Official Visits
*If you want a sneaky pick to commit to the Canes this weekend, look no further than Cameron Pruitt. Miami gained his first visit and no other trips have been known to be lined up. He’s a hybrid safety-linebacker from Theodore (Ala.) High School. He’s fast and packs a punch when he ran into ball carriers during his junior season.
*Looking down the line for Miami, the June 9 recruiting weekend will be huge – both in terms of the number of recruits and the size of some of them – for Cristobal and his staff. Again, Miami needs multiple big-bodied defensive linemen in this recruiting class. There will be David Stone and Aydin Breland visiting, two of the nation’s top interior defensive line prospects.
Miami probably trails for each of them, but it’s not out of the question either or both could end up in Coral Gables. Additionally, the June 16 weekend will have big-time defensive tackle Justin Scott on campus. That’s a battle that could see the Canes gain a commitment this summer from the Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius prospect.
*For Florida, it all starts with quarterback commitment DJ Lagway bonding with several top prospects that made it to Gainesville this weekend. Jeremiah Smith, arguably the nation’s top recruit, will undoubtedly be on Lagway’s list of prospects to talk with and try and convince he should flip to UF from Ohio State.
Smith has already visited Georgia (May 19), and has Ohio State (June 9), Florida State (June 16) and possibly a trip to Miami coming up as well (probably June 21).
*UF’s official visitors list, overall, was impressive heading into the weekend. Credit to Billy Napier and his staff from bringing in Florida prep talent as well as prospects from Oklahoma (Stone has been at UF this weekend), Texas, Georgia, Alabama and Virginia.
*From the list, the Gators have two in-state defensive lineman to keep a close eye on. One is the massive D’antre Robinson from Orlando (Fla.) Jones, as well as Kendall Jackson from nearby Gainesville (Fla.) Buchholz. Jackson will visit Miami (Jun3 23) and it could be a Gators versus Canes battle. That certainly would not be the first time that’s happened.
*Sticking with the DL theme, watch out for UF with Texas A&M defensive line commitment Dealyn Evans from Longview (Texas) Pine Tree. He’s been teeter-tottering with decommitting from the Aggies, depending on what a person wants to believe. Napier and his staff have strong ties to the highly-talented East Texas area where Evans comes from so watch out here. He’s also visiting TCU (June 9) and the Horned Frogs could also make a move.
*Another flip candidate would be Franklin (Ga.) native Jonathan Echols that has played at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. The flex tight end has been committed to Tennessee since July 4, 2022. He selected the Vols because of how hard they recruited him and the high-flying offense. That does not mean Tennessee will be a sure bet for his signature.
Florida has developed a really good relationship with Echols and he has a family member – top-notch Gators softball player Charla Echols (.360 average, 12 home runs, and 68 RBI) – already in Gainesville. While it will not be easy to flip Echols from Tennessee, Florida looks to have the best chance to do so.
*There’s also a very important head-to-head recruiting battle for Napier’s staff. Talented offensive tackle Ethan Calloway has been on campus, and he’s also going to trek to Georgia (June 9) and Penn State (June 16). If the Gators want to get back to even being close to Georgia’s talent level, it must start winning more battles against the Dawgs on the recruiting trail. Plus, UF needs offensive tackles in this class and Calloway should be considered one of the nation’s best.
*Florida State needs to recruit its own backyard better to help complete its comeback as one of college football’s best programs. A good way to do that would be keeping safety Ashton Hampton in Tallahassee, as he plays for University School. The Noles will get him on campus on Dec. 8, but he’s also visiting Clemson (June 2), Florida (June 9), Miami (June 16), and Arkansas (June 23). He’s an explosive athlete and one that can make an immediate impact at the Power 5 level.
*Out of state, FSU has been trying to lure cornerback Wardell Mack to Tallahassee from Marrero (La.) John Ehret. He’s a national prospect that LSU wants and it can be difficult to defeat the Tigers for in-state prospects. The Noles need cornerbacks in this class, so that could be one of the key selling points for FSU head coach Mike Norvell.
*Speaking of out of state battles, it’s looking like talented running back Christian Clark will not be staying in his home state for college. He’s from Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe but has trips set to FSU (June 2), Oregon (June 9), Texas (June 16) and Georgia (June 23). He’s a tremendous between-the-tackles runner and one that brings speed, power and last-second moves to avoid defenders. Great prospect!
*Like the Gators, the Noles need offensive tackles in this class. Watch out for FSU with Nyier Daniels from Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic. He’s a massive young man at 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds. To operate Norvell’s power-spread scheme, recruits like Daniels will be a must to add to the Seminoles’ roster. He’s also visiting Miami (June 9) and Texas (June 23) so the competition will be intense for FSU.
*If a person wants a dark horse candidate for FSU to land it could be linebacker Edwin Spillman from Nashville (Tenn.) David Lipscomb. Many believe the Vols, or perhaps the Buckeyes, will eventually sign him on the dotted line. FSU (June 2) gets the first crack at an official visit, however. He will trek to Ohio State (June 9), Tennessee (June 16) and Georgia (June 23) afterwards. Do not discount the Dawgs with Spillman either.
*As for UCF, it will see over 20 prospects on campus this weekend for official visits. The Knights have hit Georgia hard with eight Peach State prospects on campus.
*In particular, Gus Malzahn and his Knights have been a major threat with interior offensive lineman Waltclaire Flynn from Loganville (Ga.) Grayson. He’s been high on UCF for a long time. Could he make a commitment to UCF? Would not be a shock.
*Another offensive lineman to watch the Knights with would be Jordan Floyd from Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview, as he’s at UCF on an official visit this weekend. He’s a future college offensive tackle so that’s also important as UCF needs to improve its depth at that position. Kentucky (June 9) and Georgia Tech (June 23) could be road blocks for UCF signing him.
*From Humble (Texas) Summer Creek, LSU linebacker commitment Xavier Atkins has made the trip to UCF.
one of the coolest head coach ever , love it here at UCF @CoachGusMalzahn @ErnieSims34 🫶🏾 pic.twitter.com/W607faPIf7
— Xavier “DEEBO” Atkins (@XavierAtkins8) June 3, 2023
He would be a coup for Malzahn and the Knights to flip. Tremendous linebacker prospect that can run sideline to sideline. That's not the only linebacker UCF wants to flip either.
*UCF will be attempting to change the mind of Nebraska linebacker commitment and Miami (Fla.) Columbus prospect Willis McGahee IV. He’s on campus this weekend and it’s interesting to see if he’d rather stay closer to his Miami home or head to Lincoln, Neb.
*One of the nation’s most underrated prospects made the trip to Orlando this weekend, and that’s defensive end Elias Williams from Hudson (Fla.) High School. Despite going under the radar, Williams has the ability to come off the edge and be disruptive in the passing game. Because of his size and length, do not be surprised if a few more programs attempt to line up official visits with Williams later this month, as well as during the 2023 regular season. Tremendous upside.
*Another under the radar recruit to watch out for would be cornerback Andrew Brinson from Tampa (Fla.) Gaither. He’s an all-around athlete that could help at cornerback, nickel, or perhaps even at safety. He’s also on UCF’s campus this weekend.
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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.