#Storm18 Gaining Strength in Coral Gables
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A storm is brewing in Coral Gables, Fla., as the University of Miami officially welcomed the first 19 members of the #Storm18 signing class.
The newest Hurricanes made history, signing National Letters of Intent in the first early signing period for football in NCAA history. Their signatures officially made them Canes, giving head coach Mark Richt and his coaching staff an impressive start to their 2018 recruiting class.
“For us, it was outstanding,” Richt said. “We are very excited about this group of young men that have decided to sign at this point.”
Richt has a lot to be excited about, as Miami’s early signing class is rated No. 5 by 247Sports and Rivals.com. Fifteen of Miami’s 19 early signees hail from the talent-rich state of Florida. Miami signed 12 players ranked among ESPN’s Top 300 and 247Sports Top 247, while 11 signees appeared on the Rivals Top 250. Nine of Miami’s signees will participate in All-America games in January, while nine were invited to The Opening — a premier summer showcase event for high school recruits — prior to the 2017 season.
Miami anticipates 10 or 11 of its early signees to enroll in January for the spring semester, including Jarren Williams, who will join current quarterbacks Malik Rosier, Evan Shirreffs, N’Kosi Perry and Cade Weldon on the roster.
“We got one quarterback, he’s from Central Gwinnett in the Atlanta area,” Richt said. “He’s 6-2, 206 [pounds] – that’s about right. He’s a guy with some more growth potential. He’ll probably be a 215-pounder, would be my guess, before he’s done. He moves well, he throws it well, he’s a very strong student of the game. We think he’s a mature kid. We think he will come in and compete well…he’s on target to be a midyear enrollee.”
U.S. Army All-American Lorenzo Lingard is joined by running back Camron Davis and fullback Realus George, who Richt described as “big, strong and physical.”
The Canes signed a trio of talented receivers that Richt is very excited about in Mark Pope, Brian Hightower and Daquris Wiggins.
“I think they all have their gifts, but they’re good route runners, ball catchers,” Richt said. “But we got some guys who have a little bit more size, which I think is very important. Pope isn’t a giant guy but Pope is a pretty dynamic speed and agility guy. The other guys are great wide receivers, but they’re big. Hightower is 6-foot-3 and almost 200 pounds. We got Pope, who I mentioned before, and you got Dee Wiggins, who is 6-foot-3, 175 pounds and he has a frame to grow into.”
Miami also added an outstanding duo at tight end, as Under Armour All-American Brevin Jordan and standout Will Mallory are considered elite prospects.
“Our tight ends, Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory, they were exactly who we targeted,” Richt said. “We had the number one guy at one spot – more of a tight end / h-back type guy – basically the things [Christopher] Herndon can do and maybe a little bit more. And a guy like [David] Njoku in Mallory. Brevin is more like what Herndon had done in the past. That’s why they both know they can get on the field at the same time. We did a lot of that last year when we had two tight ends with that kind of skillset. Both of those guys are outstanding.”
Under Armour All-Americans Cleveland Reed and Delone Scaife, Jr. were joined by John Campbell Jr., who is ranked as one of the best tackles in the country, to give Miami a formidable trio of offensive linemen heading to Coral Gables.
There are plenty of standouts on defense heading to Miami, as well. Defensive backs Al Blades Jr. and Gurvan Hall headline the group, as the duo will participate in the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 4.
The son of former Miami standout Al Blades and nephew of UM national champions Bennie and Brian Blades, Blades Jr. is one of two Miami legacies in the #Storm18 class. Fellow defensive back Gilbert Frierson is cousins with Hurricanes legend Frank Gore.
Defensive back DJ Ivey and linebacker Patrick Joyner Jr. both come to Miami from South Dade High School, while defensive lineman Gregory Rousseau will bring his 6-foot-6 frame and explosive quickness to Miami from Champagnat Catholic in Hialeah, Fla.
The abundance of talent heading to Coral Gables is impressive, as Miami signed 12 offensive players, six on defense and a top-ranked kicker in Bubba Baxa. But Richt and his staff are still looking to strengthen the #Storm18 class ahead of National Signing Day on Feb. 7, 2018.
“We’re still working offensively,” Richt said. “I think we would take another receiver. I think we would take another lineman – one, maybe two even. Defensively, there are some d-linemen we’d like to get, there are some [defensive backs] we’d like to get. I’m not sure if we’re working the linebacker [position] or not, but there’s a possibility of that, too. We got our kicker, so we feel like we’re in good shape from the specialists point of view.”
Click here to view the #Storm18 page featuring player bios, photos and videos.
