There were all the recruits on Miami’s campus this weekend.
And then there was 5-star Miami Monsignor Pace High School DE
Shemar Stewart.
That’s probably how some fans viewed the weekend visitor list.
As it turns out, to some extent, that’s also how UM treated the visit. Stewart prefers not to be part of the big recruiting groups on visits so he can learn more about programs and get the most out of a visit with individual attention, and Miami accommodated that by having events with the other visitors and then separate events for Stewart.
That started Friday night when Stewart arrived - he and his high school DL coach/mentor that accompanies him on visits, Moe Marquez, ate at Prime 112 on Miami Beach while the rest of the recruits on visits were eating across the Rickenbacker Causeway.
The staff split up as a result, and joining Stewart for the meal was Cane personnel Joe Salave’a, Stephen Field, Demarcus Van Dyke, Mike Rumph, Edwin Pata and Sabbath Joseph.
A highlight of the meal?
Former Cane Rohan Marley was eating there separately and came up to say hello … and then one of the Cane coaches heard that Shaquille O’Neal was also eating there. After going to talk with O’Neal, Stewart went over to say hello to the big man.
“Shemar said he was huge,” Marquez said.
On Saturday a highlight was a sit-down with Salave’a.
“We talked football, it was good, he was going over cutups of how they want to use Shemar, what he’d play for him, how he’d develop him to be better,” Marquez said.
And yes, Salave’a told Stewart he would only play end and not work at tackle, a sticking point for the 5-star.
Throughout the day Stewart had different events with different coaches, and it all worked out well.
“We had a total separate itinerary … they had to give the other recruits attention as well so they’d dip in, come back,” Marquez said. “They did a pretty good job at that.”
One event where Stewart, who was hosted by James Williams and Leonard Taylor, did meet up with all the other recruits? That was for bowling with Mario Cristobal and his family on Saturday night.
“That was fun,” Marquez said. “We got to meet Mario’s family.”
The Sunday highlight was a photo shoot, and Mario Cristobal had a 30-minute meeting with Stewart and Marquez before they left campus.
“He wanted to go over the visit and how it was and what we thought,” Marquez said. “After this weekend I know they’d be good coaches for Shemar. They are definitely going to be able to get Shemar to where he needs to be.”
6.1
30
NATL
5
ST
4
POS
SHEMAR
STEWART
UNDECIDED
6'5" | 260 LBS | SDE | 2022
MONSIGNOR PACE
OPA LOCKA, FL
A lingering issue, though, is the defensive coordinator situation.
“That’s absolutely a factor for Shemar in this (decision),” Marquez said. “No matter what Mario says, it’s not going to make us comfortable until they have a guy in place. Mario said it’ll be done soon, but he wouldn’t say it would be before signing day.”
It’s a two-team battle now between Miami and Texas A&M, and Marquez says the Canes could still be the big winner even without a coordinator.
If so, it would be due to this weekend’s visit.
“It really went great,” Marquez said. “Miami is definitely in a good spot. Just because, the whole visit you realize how close it is compared to other places and being able to get a face of the team, the fit.”
If Stewart picks Texas A&M, what would be the rationale?
“He’s had a relationship with those guys for three more years (than Cristobal and his staff), and their staff is put together,” Marquez said.
Stewart is set to announce at his school’s chapel at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, perhaps an apt setting given there will no doubt be a lot of praying going on by Miami and Texas A&M fans as he announces the choice.
The next step now with the dead period here?
“We sit down, we put our heads together, pros and cons together and he makes his decision,” Marquez said. “I think what he’ll choose is still up in the air (as of now).”
CaneSport’s take
It’s interesting that this is the first time in numerous conversations with Marquez and Stewart that distance was brought up as a possible factor. The ease with which Stewart can go see his local support system could help sway this ultra-close decision. We’ll go out on a limb and say the Canes are the pick on Wednesday, but this is far from a done deal. The good news is the Canes really did a great job with Stewart’s visit, and that usually winds up helping put an on-the-fence guy in the win column. So stay tuned
