During the Miami Hurricanes Tuesday morning spring practice, North Palm Beach (Fla.) The Benjamin School running back
Chauncey Bowens made his way down to Coral Gables for the first time in 10 months for an unofficial visit with head coach
Mario Cristobaland his staff.
The four-star prospect, who has been committed to
Florida since August 2022, has been in contact with the Hurricanes frequently as of late and went in-depth on how the visit went and the relationships he is building in Miami.
“The visit went pretty well, and I was glad to see the intensity of the practice in person,” Bowens told CaneSport. “I’ve been in contact with coach Cristobal, but I wanted to get down there to meet coach
Tim Harrisand coach
Benedick Hyppolitesince he’s a guy that came from Florida and we have a good relationship.”
During his time at UCF, Harris recruited Bowens and began building a strong rapport with
the No. 17 running back and No. 215 prospect in the 2024 class according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
“He told me he’s always going to be the same guy and that he’s just bringing his energy to a different school,” Bowens said. “
The 5-foot-11, 221-pounder was also happy to reconnect with Hyppolite, who played a large role during his recruitment and when he committed to Florida.
“Of course, it sucked to see him leave Florida, but I was happy to see my guy get another opportunity,” Bowens said. “He’s been keeping me in the loop and telling me how good the o-line is looking right now with everyone and the early enrollees.”
While on campus, Bowens spoke with Cristobal for some time and was impressed with what he had to say.
“He compared the team now to
Alabama and
Oregon on how dominant their o-lines were,” Bowens said. “And basically how he’s going to bring the same level of dominance to Miami this year. There are not a lot of head coaches around who are offensive line geniuses like coach Cristobal. It’s rare to find a guy like that who has experienced it firsthand.”
Despite being committed to Florida, the Hurricanes are not trying to force their hand with Bowens but instead letting things unfold naturally, which is something that he loves.
“They never pressure me or anything but always tell me the opportunities that I do have at Miami,” Bowens said. “That definitely stands out to me because I know for other people it might not be the same, but it just shows the quality of people that they are.
“A lot of people would try to convince you that we’re better than another school, but that never came out of their mouth, not one time. They just tell me the opportunities that I do have if I decide to come there, but they do respect that I’m committed to Florida.”
Bowens added that the fact that Cristobal and his staff are mostly Miami alums is what the program needs to help revitalize the Hurricanes.
“There’s nothing better for Miami than to have a guy (Cristobal) that’s all in on bringing them back to what they were before,” Bowens said. “It’s really good that coach Cristobal has played at Miami, and a lot of the coaches have experience at ‘The U’. So it’s not necessarily someone from a different background or standpoint. Cristobal played for ‘The U’, coach Hyppolite is from “The U’, Mike Rumph is from ‘The U’, and I could keep going, so there are a lot of coaches there who played for ‘The U’. It’s a common goal, and they know what success looks like and what they need to do to have that success because they’ve been a part of it.”
Miami is not the only school actively recruiting the Gators commit, as programs such as
Georgia,
Ohio State, and
Tennessee are showing a ton of interest, but he does not have any plans to visit any other schools besides Florida following his recent trip to Miami.
“I’m pretty much done, actually,” Bowens said. “I’m going to Florida’s spring game Thursday, but outside of that, I’m done.”
While Bowens remains locked in with Florida, he is unclear what would have to happen for him to reconsider his commitment, but he did mention how Hyppolite being in Miami may play a factor in his final decision.
“There is nothing specific they’d have to do,” Bowen said. “But, coach Hyppolite did play a huge part in me committing to the University of Florida. It’ll just be a certain feeling that I’ll have to get. As long as they keep recruiting me, we’ll see.”
CaneSport’s take
With Hyppolite now back in Miami, it is intriguing to see Bowens return to Coral Gables after ten months following his arrival in March. Bowens was a prospect Miami recruited following his commitment to the Gators, and it looks as if they are positioning themselves to make another run at the four-star running back.