His father spoke to Shodell at Rivals.
IMG Academy WR/TE coach Desmond Tardy told CaneSport that the visit was a simple result of Mario Cristobal and Stephen Field pushing from the first moment Cristobal was hired, culminating with the coaches going to see Skinner at IMG last week.
“After Miami came through he said `I’m going there (for the visit),’” Tardy said. “He’d always been a Roll Tide guy but a switch flipped when Mario came in, and he does like (Stephen) Field and Cristobal. Those two sparked his interest to go there. And my advice to him was simple: I said `Hey man, go where you feel more comfortable. Go fall in love with the school more than the coaching staff because it can switch, change.’”
Skinner's father, Tedric Lewis, was on the visit with Skinner, and tells CaneSport that "The plan is he’s definitely going to ‘Bama.”
With that said, though, Lewis does add “But everything is still on the table. We aren’t closing doors, anything is possible.”
Certainly Cristobal and UM put their best foot forward. And even getting the family on campus was an achievement. Dad says when they told Nick Saban they'd be taking the visit "I can’t say they were happy, but they were supportive. We told him and they supported us."
Because Skinner is from South Carolina but boards at IMG in Bradenton, his parents flew into Tampa, then drove and picked up Jaleel at IMG before heading to UM. It's why they didn't arrive on campus until after 9 p.m. on Friday. Dad says the remained on campus until heading back Sunday afternoon.
“The visit went great,” dad said. “Mario Cristobal is a very impressive dude. It was our second official (visit) to Miami and this time there was a lot more optimism in Miami. Everybody is excited, optimistic and it seems they’re ready to get it going.”
He says the purpose of the visit was simply “so we could make an informed decision,” and they let Cristobal know before leaving that they planned to stick with ‘Bama.
It really simply came down to where Alabama is at this moment vs. where Miami is at this moment.
“Alabama stands alone, the facilities, the staff, everything,” Tedric said. “It’s a lot of catching up for Miami to get to Alabama, but they are in the right direction with Cristobal. It’s just they have a little building to do. It’ll be a few years before everything is set and ready to go.