There’s no reason to sugarcoat it, it was a rough recruiting weekend for the Canes.
**Let’s start off with LB Keyshawn Greene’s commitment to Nebraska on Sunday following his official to Lincoln. It completely caught the staff off guard, as they were very confident heading into Greene’s Nebraska trip. That loss compounded with the news that LB Justin Flowe started crystal ball trending to Oregon as well this weekend. Going against 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong is never advisable, so admittedly I’m less confident than I was 2 weeks ago, but Wiltfong made it seem like a best guess at current rather than a done deal for the Ducks:
“Perhaps the Trojans can change the pulse of this recruitment this week. Perhaps I'm undervaluing… Miami’s position now, but right now I like Oregon.”
Here’s what I know: I know the staff is less confident than last week, but feel they are still in the game. The thought is the losses at the end of the year hurt UM here more than they anticipated. I also know that Flowe has kept those in the media off-balance regarding his recruitment with secret visits and conflicting info. Like I stated 2 weeks back, I’m not going to die on the hill of an elite out of state prospect coming to Miami and pick the Canes when I don’t know for sure, but I also don’t think it’s over here by any stretch.
**DB Jaiden Francois left his Miami OV this weekend without a commitment, which made the staff a bit nervous. I’m told they are still cautiously optimistic, while those close to Francois continue to think the pick will be Miami. With a kid like Francois, though, who seemingly changes his mind every day, this has the feel of going down to the last minute.
**Rumors of a potential flip to Auburn persist with Miami DE commit Romello Height. As he already used up his Miami official over the summer, Height technically had an opening this weekend, but he claims not to have visited Auburn and claims he is sticking with Miami. The push to at least consider Auburn is coming from his father, something that’s not altogether surprising to me considering Height told CIS in an interview in October that dad might push him into taking a visit down the line. Height has been one of UM’s strongest commitments this cycle and hasn’t taken visits for months now even though he’s had the opportunity. I think he sticks with his UM commitment.
**Just passing along what I’m hearing, but word coming out of RB Jaylan Knighton’s Miami official visit was that the staff was starting to feel a little unsure if Knighton would stick due to FSU making a massive push for him. I’m told the Noles’ new staff offered to fly Knighton in after his UM official for the last few hours ahead of the dead period and were really pushing the opportunity for playing time next year with their lack of depth at RB. Fortunately, he didn’t make that visit and those close to him expect him to stick with the plan of signing early with Miami as of Monday night, so UM may have dodged a bullet there.
**I’m not sure what to make of OL Kobe Baynes’ situation right now. A source close to him says he still hasn’t made a decision yet as of Monday night, but the absence of overly positive intel in Miami’s favor certainly doesn’t look good for UM’s chances, and that was something I expected to hear a ton of the way he was talking about Miami in the lead up to his visit. I’d put this at about 75/25 right now, with Baynes likely keeping status quo and signing with Louisville if I had to make a pick.
**There’s not much to update elsewhere. I know the pick is still likely Georgia for TE Darnell Washington, but that there’s still a small shot for Miami and others. Last week, I talked about how there was really no positive buzz coming out of CB Davonte Brown’s UM official visit. The lack of chatter has continued this week, so I can’t feel confident in picking Miami whatsoever. I’m picking UCF.
**For a deeper discussion on early signing day and more, check out the newest CIS podcast featuring D$ and I released earlier today, and also follow the signing day tracker pinned to the top of the recruiting board for the latest updates regarding signing times for both commits and targets.
**Let’s start off with LB Keyshawn Greene’s commitment to Nebraska on Sunday following his official to Lincoln. It completely caught the staff off guard, as they were very confident heading into Greene’s Nebraska trip. That loss compounded with the news that LB Justin Flowe started crystal ball trending to Oregon as well this weekend. Going against 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong is never advisable, so admittedly I’m less confident than I was 2 weeks ago, but Wiltfong made it seem like a best guess at current rather than a done deal for the Ducks:
“Perhaps the Trojans can change the pulse of this recruitment this week. Perhaps I'm undervaluing… Miami’s position now, but right now I like Oregon.”
Here’s what I know: I know the staff is less confident than last week, but feel they are still in the game. The thought is the losses at the end of the year hurt UM here more than they anticipated. I also know that Flowe has kept those in the media off-balance regarding his recruitment with secret visits and conflicting info. Like I stated 2 weeks back, I’m not going to die on the hill of an elite out of state prospect coming to Miami and pick the Canes when I don’t know for sure, but I also don’t think it’s over here by any stretch.
**DB Jaiden Francois left his Miami OV this weekend without a commitment, which made the staff a bit nervous. I’m told they are still cautiously optimistic, while those close to Francois continue to think the pick will be Miami. With a kid like Francois, though, who seemingly changes his mind every day, this has the feel of going down to the last minute.
**Rumors of a potential flip to Auburn persist with Miami DE commit Romello Height. As he already used up his Miami official over the summer, Height technically had an opening this weekend, but he claims not to have visited Auburn and claims he is sticking with Miami. The push to at least consider Auburn is coming from his father, something that’s not altogether surprising to me considering Height told CIS in an interview in October that dad might push him into taking a visit down the line. Height has been one of UM’s strongest commitments this cycle and hasn’t taken visits for months now even though he’s had the opportunity. I think he sticks with his UM commitment.
**Just passing along what I’m hearing, but word coming out of RB Jaylan Knighton’s Miami official visit was that the staff was starting to feel a little unsure if Knighton would stick due to FSU making a massive push for him. I’m told the Noles’ new staff offered to fly Knighton in after his UM official for the last few hours ahead of the dead period and were really pushing the opportunity for playing time next year with their lack of depth at RB. Fortunately, he didn’t make that visit and those close to him expect him to stick with the plan of signing early with Miami as of Monday night, so UM may have dodged a bullet there.
**I’m not sure what to make of OL Kobe Baynes’ situation right now. A source close to him says he still hasn’t made a decision yet as of Monday night, but the absence of overly positive intel in Miami’s favor certainly doesn’t look good for UM’s chances, and that was something I expected to hear a ton of the way he was talking about Miami in the lead up to his visit. I’d put this at about 75/25 right now, with Baynes likely keeping status quo and signing with Louisville if I had to make a pick.
**There’s not much to update elsewhere. I know the pick is still likely Georgia for TE Darnell Washington, but that there’s still a small shot for Miami and others. Last week, I talked about how there was really no positive buzz coming out of CB Davonte Brown’s UM official visit. The lack of chatter has continued this week, so I can’t feel confident in picking Miami whatsoever. I’m picking UCF.
**For a deeper discussion on early signing day and more, check out the newest CIS podcast featuring D$ and I released earlier today, and also follow the signing day tracker pinned to the top of the recruiting board for the latest updates regarding signing times for both commits and targets.
