National Signing Day is officially underway and this thread will be updated throughout the day as letters of intent do, or don’t, roll in:
– Quarterback Kevin Olsen and offensive lineman Alex Gall were the first to fax in their signed letters of intent just before 7:00am this morning.
– Miami got its first surprise of the day when running back Augustus Edwards chose Miami over Florida State. Edwards is 6-foot-2 1/2 and 230 pounds, which provides ‘The U’ with that bigger back they were looking for in this class.
The Staten Island native, and former Syracuse commit, informed UM after his weekend visit that he planned to commit and on Wednesday morning he kept his word.
Edwards was originally leaning towards Florida State, but the Miami visit sealed the deal.
– Moments after Edwards committed, local defensive backs Artie Burns and Jamal Carter signed their LOIs.
– Fresh off his father’s Super Bowl win with the Ravens, Ray Lewis III officially became a Hurricane this morning.
– Four-star defensive lineman Alquadin Muhammad is officially a Hurricane.
– Defensive end Ufomba Kamalu officially became a Cane just before 9:00am.
– The two Booker T. Washington prospects chose elsewhere. Highly-touted inebacker Matthew Thomas is headed to Florida State, while offensive lineman Denver Kirkland chose Arkansas (over Florida State – Miami wasn’t even mentioned).
Let the Kirkland signing further fuel the rumors that Booker T head coach Tim Harris was steering the prospect to his old buddy and boss Randy Shannon, who is a member of the Razorbacks’ staff. (Makes more sense why Miami rescinded the scholarship offer a week ago, feeling Kirkland was headed elsewhere.)
– Three-star linebacker Devonte Bond has faxed in his letter of intent. The California prospect from Sierra Community College is officially a Hurricane.
– At 11:10am Oakland Park (Northeast High) four-star wide receiver Stacy Coley committed to the University of Miami.
– It’s being reported that running back Alex Collins has not signed his LOI with Arkansas, despite his declaration on Monday night. Collins wants to sign, but his family wants him to stay at home in Miami, so the signing ceremony was delayed.
– Delray Beach defensive tackle Keith Bryant chose Florida State, as expected. Once a Miami commit, Bryant decommitted weeks back and the Noles became the front runner.
– Moments after the Bryant announcement, Miramar linebacker Jermaine Grace chose Miami over Louisville and Tennessee.
Grace had Miami a top his list since December, but chose to wait until Signing Day. He is a four-star prospect and the eleventh-rated outside linebacker. He’s also a former teammate and friend of current Canes, defensive back Tracy Howard and wide receiver Malcolm Lewis.
Is anyone else wondering how Ole Miss is all of a sudden a recruiting juggernaut this year?
Guess we’ll have to ouscore everyone in shootouts since Onofrio and Franklin didn’t get the D Linemen additions we so desparately needed. No excuses in Year Three.
Grace was a good get. We did ok in the 2nd and 3rd tiers of our defense but the lack of interior additions hurts. Maybe Kamalu will slide inside at 6-5 280.
I think this is a solid class. Great players on average. I just wish we had gotten a few defensive tackles. You can’t sign up 35 players every year. I think pulling the offer from Denver was a mistake, but I’m not the pro at doing this, so I will trust that coach Golden and crew know what they are doing here.
Looking forward to seeing this class develope into great collegiate athletes. Enjoy your time in Miami, I know I did!
GO CANES!!!