2019 Christ the King (NY) 3-star OT Adam ElGammal committed and signed with the Canes on Thursday morning just days after his official visit to Coral Gables.
The 6-5, 260-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, ElGammal is the #1,497 player nationally, the #125 OT in the country, and the #7 player in the Empire State. His commitment moves Miami’s 2019 class ranking to #33 on 247Sports and #41 on Rivals.
The Player
Adam ElGammal was a little known offensive lineman from New York that was committed to Cincinnati and had no other major offers to his name. He planned to sign with the Bearcats early and be done with everything; however, Miami came calling and that changed his recruitment. Soon ElGammal was hearing from Penn State, Arizona State, and Virginia, all of which attempted to get him on campus for a visit. ElGammal instead went to Miami, though, taking his official to Coral Gables the weekend before signing day. Soon after, ElGammal decommitted from Cincinnati, but wanted to wait until February to sign to really explore all his new options. However, Miami got in his ear and got him to sign early instead.
As players, ElGammal and fellow OT signee Zion Nelson are similar in that they have comparable builds that are wiry and athletic for an offensive lineman. Projecting out, that’s a nice frame to work with, and ElGammal actually has a little bit more muscle than Nelson right now at a listed 6’5” 260. However, he currently has nowhere near the size or strength needed to play offensive line at the college level and it is going to take him some time to get there.
It’s not always easy to tell considering the competition level of New York football is generally subpar, but despite his frame lacking in the size department, ElGammal actually shows good potential as a run blocker. ElGammal is able to lock onto his opponent and shows the awareness to drive defenders exactly where he wants them to go to create a big lane for his back. I’d like to see him fire off the ball a bit better and show more initial punch, but part of that will come in gaining more strength.
ElGammal also demonstrates quality traits in pass protection, using his quick feet to recover if he is beat off the snap to still make his block. His length is also something that stands out as well, and that is a physical trait that is tough to find and will help keep him at tackle long-term. While there’s enough here to suggest ElGammal could be a quality tackle down the line, it is going to take a lot of hard work and coaching to get him there. Same as Nelson, he will be a developmental prospect that Miami surely won’t see immediate dividends on.
The Class
ElGammal is the 15th commit overall in the 2019 class and the third offensive lineman, along with Grayson (GA) 3-star OC Jakai Clark and Sumter (SC) 3-star OT Zion Nelson. The Canes have been shooting for 3-4 linemen the entire cycle, but with Nelson and ElGammal more developmental prospects at this stage, they will likely want to take 4. Something to also keep in mind that could affect the numbers here is that Miami picked up grad transfer OT Tommy Kennedy, so the Canes could potentially feel set even though Kennedy isn’t technically part of Surge19.
Now that the craziness of signing day is essentially over, the board is sure to be changed up and new names will emerge. Unfortunately a lot of that is unclear right now, and Miami will likely be less willing to take an under the radar guy now that they’ve already taken two of those types at tackle.
UM will probably go all out for a top target and call it a day either way, and the only real target still on the board is Mississippi State commit Darius Washington. Washington made an OV to Miami back in October for the FSU game, and although he is committed to the Bulldogs, did not sign with them at his first opportunity in the early signing period. Definitely a negative sign for his chances of sticking with Mississippi State and a positive development for all of his other suitors.
While some believe the Canes have a better shot than is being reported, Miami will certainly have to get Washington back on campus to feel confident in making the flip. He most recently visited FSU unofficial before the dead period, but does not currently have an offer from the Noles. South Carolina is also involved for the Pensacola tackle.
The Team
Like I’ve discussed a few times recently and as most are already well aware, Miami’s tackle depth is abysmal compared to top level Power 5 teams. Tyree St. Louis is gone and while he was no savior, he won’t be easy to replace either. Kennedy grad transferring in was a godsend, and with his experience, he’ll have the first shot at replacing St. Louis. Delone Scaife probably shouldn’t have played much as a true freshman that didn’t really have the strength you’re looking at the Power 5 level. He started at RT with mixed results, and he’s really more of a guard type that is better suited to stay on the right side if anything.
Rising senior George Brown is coming off injury and barely looked serviceable before that. Second year tackles Kai-Leon Herbert and Zalon’tae Hillery have shown absolutely nothing yet. John Campbell was a true freshman this season and may have more upside than any of these names, but needs to continue to add to his frame and become adept at the mental side of the game.
So, there is playing time available for ElGammal, he doesn’t have the physical build at current to take advantage of that situation. Due to being so underweight, Miami likely won’t know what it has in ElGammal until year 3 and he is almost certainly going to redshirt his freshman season at UM.
The 6-5, 260-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, ElGammal is the #1,497 player nationally, the #125 OT in the country, and the #7 player in the Empire State. His commitment moves Miami’s 2019 class ranking to #33 on 247Sports and #41 on Rivals.
The Player
Adam ElGammal was a little known offensive lineman from New York that was committed to Cincinnati and had no other major offers to his name. He planned to sign with the Bearcats early and be done with everything; however, Miami came calling and that changed his recruitment. Soon ElGammal was hearing from Penn State, Arizona State, and Virginia, all of which attempted to get him on campus for a visit. ElGammal instead went to Miami, though, taking his official to Coral Gables the weekend before signing day. Soon after, ElGammal decommitted from Cincinnati, but wanted to wait until February to sign to really explore all his new options. However, Miami got in his ear and got him to sign early instead.
As players, ElGammal and fellow OT signee Zion Nelson are similar in that they have comparable builds that are wiry and athletic for an offensive lineman. Projecting out, that’s a nice frame to work with, and ElGammal actually has a little bit more muscle than Nelson right now at a listed 6’5” 260. However, he currently has nowhere near the size or strength needed to play offensive line at the college level and it is going to take him some time to get there.
It’s not always easy to tell considering the competition level of New York football is generally subpar, but despite his frame lacking in the size department, ElGammal actually shows good potential as a run blocker. ElGammal is able to lock onto his opponent and shows the awareness to drive defenders exactly where he wants them to go to create a big lane for his back. I’d like to see him fire off the ball a bit better and show more initial punch, but part of that will come in gaining more strength.
ElGammal also demonstrates quality traits in pass protection, using his quick feet to recover if he is beat off the snap to still make his block. His length is also something that stands out as well, and that is a physical trait that is tough to find and will help keep him at tackle long-term. While there’s enough here to suggest ElGammal could be a quality tackle down the line, it is going to take a lot of hard work and coaching to get him there. Same as Nelson, he will be a developmental prospect that Miami surely won’t see immediate dividends on.
The Class
ElGammal is the 15th commit overall in the 2019 class and the third offensive lineman, along with Grayson (GA) 3-star OC Jakai Clark and Sumter (SC) 3-star OT Zion Nelson. The Canes have been shooting for 3-4 linemen the entire cycle, but with Nelson and ElGammal more developmental prospects at this stage, they will likely want to take 4. Something to also keep in mind that could affect the numbers here is that Miami picked up grad transfer OT Tommy Kennedy, so the Canes could potentially feel set even though Kennedy isn’t technically part of Surge19.
Now that the craziness of signing day is essentially over, the board is sure to be changed up and new names will emerge. Unfortunately a lot of that is unclear right now, and Miami will likely be less willing to take an under the radar guy now that they’ve already taken two of those types at tackle.
UM will probably go all out for a top target and call it a day either way, and the only real target still on the board is Mississippi State commit Darius Washington. Washington made an OV to Miami back in October for the FSU game, and although he is committed to the Bulldogs, did not sign with them at his first opportunity in the early signing period. Definitely a negative sign for his chances of sticking with Mississippi State and a positive development for all of his other suitors.
While some believe the Canes have a better shot than is being reported, Miami will certainly have to get Washington back on campus to feel confident in making the flip. He most recently visited FSU unofficial before the dead period, but does not currently have an offer from the Noles. South Carolina is also involved for the Pensacola tackle.
The Team
Like I’ve discussed a few times recently and as most are already well aware, Miami’s tackle depth is abysmal compared to top level Power 5 teams. Tyree St. Louis is gone and while he was no savior, he won’t be easy to replace either. Kennedy grad transferring in was a godsend, and with his experience, he’ll have the first shot at replacing St. Louis. Delone Scaife probably shouldn’t have played much as a true freshman that didn’t really have the strength you’re looking at the Power 5 level. He started at RT with mixed results, and he’s really more of a guard type that is better suited to stay on the right side if anything.
Rising senior George Brown is coming off injury and barely looked serviceable before that. Second year tackles Kai-Leon Herbert and Zalon’tae Hillery have shown absolutely nothing yet. John Campbell was a true freshman this season and may have more upside than any of these names, but needs to continue to add to his frame and become adept at the mental side of the game.
So, there is playing time available for ElGammal, he doesn’t have the physical build at current to take advantage of that situation. Due to being so underweight, Miami likely won’t know what it has in ElGammal until year 3 and he is almost certainly going to redshirt his freshman season at UM.
