I just want to share my thought about the game and add some information about players and coaches.
Players that impressed me on Flanagan
CB Stanford Samuels III: He is one of the top players in south florida for 2017 & he completely shut down Columubus WR Jerron Rollins, he was a big reason why Flanagan was able to shut down the Columbus offense.
LB Devin Bush Jr: His play on the field speaks for its self but what really impressed me was how much of a leader he is on this team. Flanagan did not have his last year in their matchup against Columbus which played a huge factor, this year was a whole different story. I spoke to some coaches about Bush and they said "He's the best players on the team; he the leader of the defense, and he puts guys in the position they need to be to win games."
-Columbus
CB Trajan Bandy: It's bizarre to me that Miami has still not offered him, he's 5'9 but he plays like he's 6'3, I've watched him play all year and as a Junior he was the leader of this team and one of the main reasons why Columbus made it this far. His speed is incredible and from talking to people in school, he feels like Miami is sort of ignoring him with the sense of how he have offers from Alabama, Clemson and others, but the school that's 5 mins away hasn't offered???
Miami Commit CB Josh Jobe: He's only a Sophomore and he still has a lot of time to mature, but the talent and the play making ability is there. Columbus was down by 3 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter and Jobe gets a handoff from the Columbus 20 and takes it to the Flanagan 10 yard line. I'm mentioning this cause it shows what type of playmaking ability he has. He also can lay the rock on someone as he did many times yesterday.
*I spoke with Jobe about the hire of Mark Richt, he told me he couldn't say much about him cause he's never met him, but he said that Richt has a good track record coming over from Georgia & he thinks Miami can win very quickly. His commitment is Solid
Notes on the hiring of Mark Richt
I spoke with the Columbus coaches this week about the hiring of Mark Richt, key word most of them said Mark Richt is a "Homerun" for Miami
Head Coach Chris Merritt told me that he can see an a quick turnaround for the Miami program next year; he also said that Richt is a very nice guy and he knows how to recruit the area of Miami.
I also spoke with Columbus DL coach Pedro Marti about what how does the hiring of Richt benefit Miami with Columbus elite players; "Well it can only benefit, he's won 10 games a year consistently in the hardest conference in football," Coach Marti said "so i think it can help by the fact that he's a winner and he was 1 play away from going to a national championship."
I also spoke with some Flanagan coach after the game about Richt & how he can impact recruiting in south florida. Most of them said Richt is a winner and that's all you can really ask for; kids want to play and go to a school that wins, so bringing in a coach like Mark Richt will help the program tremendously.
Some notes on the Recruiting coaches that were in attendance for tonights matchup and current UM Players
Michigan: was in attendance
Colorado St. LB coach Marty English
Akron: CB coach Otis Mounds
Auburn: DB Travaris Robinson *I will give more info below
Miami: WR coach Kevin Beard, DB coach Paul Williams, OLB coach Kareem Brown & DL coach Randy Melvin
Miami: S Deon Bush, CB Tracy Howard, CB Artie Burns, S Jaquan Johnson, WR Stacy Coley & WR Rashawn Scott
- Miami DB Deon Bush, Tracy Howard & Artie Burns were talking to Columbus DB's Josh Jobe and Trajan Bandy for around 10 mins after the game, i would assume it was about the game and about Miami. I wouldn't be surprised if Trajan Bandy received a Miami offer in the next few days, his performance yesterday was amazing and he has waited long enough for that offer.
- Auburn DB coach TRob was talking to Miami players and coaches a lot, not speculating anything here but it's just something to add, he was also seen talking to Miami S Jaquan Johnson and telling him to continue to stay focused.
Last thing I'm going to mention, i will be trying to get interviews with some Columbus players like Trajan Bandy, CJ Henderson & Josh Uche so stay tuned for that