Recruiting Notebook 6-18

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Peter Ariz

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**It isn’t rare for a recruit to say they’re going to help recruit their class, but Brad Kaaya is taking it to a whole new level. Kaaya has been doing a lot of research on who Miami is recruiting, watching highlight videos, and even asking me questions about the class in order to get a clearer picture for himself. It is just amazing to me because you hear of recruits every year that say they’re going to get other top recruits along with them, but what Kaaya is doing is different. While he is constantly talking with other recruits, he is also genuinely interested in learning more about each prospect instead of just looking at their rankings on recruiting sites.

**Travonte Valentine is one of the biggest names that Miami is recruiting right now. There have been long-standing rumors that Valentine has poor grades, but I’ve recently heard differently. Apparently the issue with Valentine is not his GPA (2.9), but the number of credits he needs. He is taking multiple courses this summer to catch up with what he needs and a person working with him is optimistic he will be able to get everything squared away without going prep.

**I recently spoke with Georgia DE Justin Jones and I got very good vibes from him about the ‘Canes. He really enjoyed his visit a couple weeks ago and Miami isn’t going up against traditional powerhouses for him right now either. He wants to commit before his season and the sense I get is that Miami is the leader right now and is friends with recent commit Juwon Young. Jones loves the presence of Georgia players on the Miami roster right now. He visited NC State and Wake Forest last weekend.

**There have been a lot of people requesting an update on Dalvin Cook, but there isn’t much of one right now. The toughest part for Miami right now seems to be getting him on campus, where he hasn’t been since back in January. I really expect things to heat up with him during basketball season, when his brother DeAndre Burnett will be playing a big role on the upcoming season’s team. Cook will most likely be on campus a good amount during that period and that is when I see a big push being made. Miami still wants him.

**Little update on Carol City ATH Trayone Gray: He told me he wants to go to camp this weekend and I’ll be interested to see if he makes it out there. “Chocolate” is as impressive as anyone physically and Tito Benach had high praises for him at the Miami Dolphins 7-on-7: “-Trayone Gray from Carol City is a man-child. When standing next to Trayone and not knowing who he is your under the impression that he has to play linebacker or safety but his talent and size at QB is unbelievable. He is supremely talented and it's a scary thought to consider that he can most likely play multiple other positions as well.”

Gray had this to say about Miami camp: “I will go not just for offers but to compete with anyone. I will let my actions do all my talking there.”

**North Carolina WR Braxton Berrios will be at camp this weekend with the goal of earning an offer. Although Berrios recently released a top 5 without Miami in it, if the 'Canes offer then I expect them to jump right to the top of his list. Berrios has a strong family base in South Florida and his father graduated from Southridge in 1986. I'm excited to see him up against defensive backs from Florida.
 
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Good news all around, thanks Pete.

The part on Kaaya is the best. I was genuinely concerned about what would happen when he blows up, as far as west coast schools, but honestly he sounds as solid as Olsen was last year. Awesome.

Got a good vibe on Jones too, he looks like a good one.
 
DO WORK PETE!!

Awesome to have a guy like Kaaya committed and essentially being another recruiter on the staff.

Pete, in regards to Gray. Where do you see him fitting best in college?
 
Good **** Pedro.

The only thing that concerns me with Valentine is *****assness from Jon Drummond/Genron.
 
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**It isn’t rare for a recruit to say they’re going to help recruit their class, but Brad Kaaya is taking it to a whole new level. Kaaya has been doing a lot of research on who Miami is recruiting, watching highlight videos, and even asking me questions about the class in order to get a clearer picture for himself. It is just amazing to me because you hear of recruits every year that say they’re going to get other top recruits along with them, but what Kaaya is doing is different. While he is constantly talking with other recruits, he is also genuinely interested in learning more about each prospect instead of just looking at their rankings on recruiting sites.

What specific recruits is Kaaya reaching out to?
 
Kaaya doing what a quarterback recruit should do

^This. Olsen did very little recruiting for us last year. Could Olsen have had an impact if he'd reached out to prospects like 6, Collins...doubtful but who knows? Michigan and ND had strong classes last year in part because their commits were aggressively recruiting and building relationships with each other.
 
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Valentine is a big key for this class, hopefully the street agent doesn't push to loserville.
 
Kaaya doing what a quarterback recruit should do

^This. Olsen did very little recruiting for us last year. Could Olsen have had an impact if he'd reached out to prospects like 6, Collins...doubtful but who knows? Michigan and ND had strong classes last year in part because their commits were aggressively recruiting and building relationships with each other.
Yeah while I love our class from last year, I think we missed a duke type guy, while I don't think duke can ever be replicated, kaaya and mcdermott have really been dukesque for us this year
 
Kaaya is the epitome of a leader and I am proud to have him in this class. Love the news of Valentine and Jones and has me more hopeful that they will both be in this class, especially with Jones having Juwon Young in his ear
 
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Bless you, Kaaya!!!


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