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With this week’s pickup of Derrick Griffin, Miami is finishing its 2013 recruiting class in fine fashion—on its own timetable, too.
The Hurricanes’ finish is a reminder that it is really a national signing period, not just a national signing day. An athlete can sign a letter of intent until April 1. While Ole Miss and other schools got the headlines on the first day of the signing period, Miami has made use of the days that came afterward.
Miami signed WR Derrick Griffin as the Hurricanes are working well beyond national signing day to bring in an elite class. (Credit: 247Sports.com)Even as late as a month ago, it appeared the Hurricanes were in line for one of their worst recruiting classes in recent memory. The class size was tiny and top talent was being siphoned away from their talent-rich backyard of south Florida. When the ‘Canes are losing talent from close to home, it’s an indicator of where things stand for the school.
But the last few weeks have proven to be good ones for Miami—even with the news looming that the NCAA is continuing its look at the school’s “lack of institutional control.” Usually that kind of news damages a recruiting class, but it didn’t hurt the Hurricanes down the stretch.
Texas native Griffin is clearly the ‘Canes top pickup in this class. The former Texas A&M recruit is also an outstanding basketball player, as evidenced last summer at the AAU National Championships where he had one highlight-reel play after another. He is a 6-foot-7 athlete who, if he gets on the football field, could shred defenses at the wide receiver or tight end positions.
Last summer, he told Sporting News he wasn’t a solid commitment with Texas A&M and there was a good chance he would change schools. He definitely wants to play both sports in college, and there were some slight academic issues to iron out too—thus the change in schools.
Griffin was a huge pickup this week, but last week’s pickup of Parade All-American Cornelius Elder was another nice late addition to the class. One of the state of Tennessee’s top prospects, Elder could dominate at several positions. He rushed for 6,500-plus yards his last three years of high school, he averaged more than 20 yards per reception while catching the ball out of the backfield as a senior, and he’s deft at returning kickoffs and picking off passes on defense.
Elder arguably is just as big a pickup as Griffin. Auburn was also hot after both prospects, while Ohio State also coveted Elder. So, the Hurricanes managed well by getting them both.
The big first-day pickups for Miami were SN 125 WR Stacy Coley from South Florida—which was a head-to-head battle between Florida State and Miami—and also another South Florida product, LB Jermaine Grace. In addition, the nation’s top fullback prospect, Augustus Edwards out of Staten Island (N.Y.), dropped Syracuse the week before signing day and picked Miami.
Losing SN125 LB and South Florida product Matthew Thomas to Florida State on signing day hurt, but overall this finish by Miami could be a quieter version of what Ole Miss did on the first day of the signing period.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-fo...-griffin-corneilus-elder-recruiting-2013-ncaa
The Hurricanes’ finish is a reminder that it is really a national signing period, not just a national signing day. An athlete can sign a letter of intent until April 1. While Ole Miss and other schools got the headlines on the first day of the signing period, Miami has made use of the days that came afterward.
Miami signed WR Derrick Griffin as the Hurricanes are working well beyond national signing day to bring in an elite class. (Credit: 247Sports.com)Even as late as a month ago, it appeared the Hurricanes were in line for one of their worst recruiting classes in recent memory. The class size was tiny and top talent was being siphoned away from their talent-rich backyard of south Florida. When the ‘Canes are losing talent from close to home, it’s an indicator of where things stand for the school.
But the last few weeks have proven to be good ones for Miami—even with the news looming that the NCAA is continuing its look at the school’s “lack of institutional control.” Usually that kind of news damages a recruiting class, but it didn’t hurt the Hurricanes down the stretch.
Texas native Griffin is clearly the ‘Canes top pickup in this class. The former Texas A&M recruit is also an outstanding basketball player, as evidenced last summer at the AAU National Championships where he had one highlight-reel play after another. He is a 6-foot-7 athlete who, if he gets on the football field, could shred defenses at the wide receiver or tight end positions.
Last summer, he told Sporting News he wasn’t a solid commitment with Texas A&M and there was a good chance he would change schools. He definitely wants to play both sports in college, and there were some slight academic issues to iron out too—thus the change in schools.
Griffin was a huge pickup this week, but last week’s pickup of Parade All-American Cornelius Elder was another nice late addition to the class. One of the state of Tennessee’s top prospects, Elder could dominate at several positions. He rushed for 6,500-plus yards his last three years of high school, he averaged more than 20 yards per reception while catching the ball out of the backfield as a senior, and he’s deft at returning kickoffs and picking off passes on defense.
Elder arguably is just as big a pickup as Griffin. Auburn was also hot after both prospects, while Ohio State also coveted Elder. So, the Hurricanes managed well by getting them both.
The big first-day pickups for Miami were SN 125 WR Stacy Coley from South Florida—which was a head-to-head battle between Florida State and Miami—and also another South Florida product, LB Jermaine Grace. In addition, the nation’s top fullback prospect, Augustus Edwards out of Staten Island (N.Y.), dropped Syracuse the week before signing day and picked Miami.
Losing SN125 LB and South Florida product Matthew Thomas to Florida State on signing day hurt, but overall this finish by Miami could be a quieter version of what Ole Miss did on the first day of the signing period.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-fo...-griffin-corneilus-elder-recruiting-2013-ncaa
