A hearty, “Welcome to The U” to Miami’s sixteen newest Canes on Signing Day (as well as recent tight-end transfer Blake Ayles).
Al Golden and staff built on the six official verbals they inherited late December, adding ten more quality kids to a class that Miami coaches feel will supplement the current roster.
Below, some notes on the latest and greatest Canes and coming up Friday, the announcement from Dwyer quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who is said to be choosing between Miami, Florida and Wisconsin. Stay tuned.
Dalton Botts – Three-star punter originally out of Taft, CA and a JUCO transfer (Moorpark) who chose Miami over Louisiana State. Botts will strictly handle punting and is expected on campus by June.
Anthony Chickillo – Four-star defensive end out of Tampa, Chickillo is Miami’s first third-generation Hurricane and is rated No. 24 overall on ESPN’s Top 150. Chickillo slightly backed off his commitment after the coaching change, but a late January visit had the top prospect “200% committed” and he made it official this morning.
Dallas Crawford – Three-star defensive back out of Fort Myers, Crawford was a Michigan commit who wound up on Miami’s radar after the coaching change. Ranked No. 144 on ESPN’s Top 150, Crawford was also looking at North Carolina, Southern Cal and West Virginia before deciding to stay close to home.
Phillip Dorsett – Three-star wide receiver out of Ft. Lauderdale and another St. Thomas Aquinas product headed to Coral Gables. Dorsett originally pledged his allegiance to Miami last June and stuck by his commitment even after the coaching change. Florida, Ohio State, North Carolina, Georgia and others were in the running but Dorsett had ‘The U’ as his dream school from day one and there was no looking back.
Thomas Finnie – Three-star defensive back out of Miami Central and a long-time former South Carolina commit that jumped on the Canes’ radar after the coaching change. Finnie was days away from heading to Charleston, instead heading to Hecht and hearing out Miami’s coaches. From there, an early commitment and Finnie has been in campus since late January getting acclimated and ready for spring football.
Taylor Gadbois – Three-star offensive lineman out of Georgia, Gadbois committed early January but was said to have been wavering a bit after an offensive line coaching change. Georgia came into the picture late, but in the end Gadbois stuck with his Miami commitment, stating that he was sold on the new coaching staff.
Matt Goudis – Two-star kicker out of West Hills, CA. Goudis is the thirteenth-ranked kicker nationally (Rivals.com) and backed off his Michigan commitment late December with Miami entering the picture. With Goudis handling kicking and Botts taking care of punting duties, it’ll mark the first time in years that a Canes special teamer isn’t handling two jobs.
Jalen Grimble – Four-star defensive end out of Las Vegas, Grimble was Miami’s first surprise of the day. A former Southern Cal commit, Gimble is listed as a top twenty strongside defensive end and the best prospect in the state of Nevada. Grimble looks like a perfect hybrid fit for Miami’s defensive system as a defensive end / defensive tackle.
Kevin Grooms – Three-star athlete out of Hollywood (FL) who chose Miami over Florida State and Virginia Tech, even after a late push from the Hokies. Grooms was ranked No. 85 overall on ESPN’s Top 150 list and made his UM commitment official today after verballing a few weeks back. Grooms is slated to arrive in June and is another Cane ‘lifer’ who always wanted to be part of ‘The U’.
Eddie Johnson – Three-star outside linebacker / athlete out of Atlanta who was somewhat of a Signing Day surprise. Johnson had over a dozen offers from quality programs and had been leaning towards Louisville before choosing Miami on Wednesday morning. Johnson visited UM’s campus last weekend – the final weekend of recruiting season – and was sold after getting some quality time with the new Hurricanes coaching staff. Johnson also has ties to UM as defensive back A.J. Highsmith is his cousin.
Antonio Kinard – Three-star linebacker out of Hargrave Military Academy, Kinard committed to Miami weeks back and made it official this morning. UM’s former staff never recruited the former Michigan verbal, though the new staff has him slated to play strongside linebacker.
Gionni Paul – Three-star linebacker out of Lakeland, Paul is ranked the 33rd best outside linebacker nationwide (Rivals.com). Paul was a former Arizona State commit (sorry, Dennis) who switched to UM late January after visiting campus. Like several other commits, Paul was a Hurricanes fan growing up and simply needed an offer and visit to ink with his dream school.
Denzel Perryman – Three-star linebacker out of Coral Gables, Perryman is following the path of fellow Cavalier and Cane linebacker Jon Vilma. Perryman had over two dozen offers and early in the process had narrowed things down to Florida, Southern Cal, Oregon, Notre Dame, Florida State and Miami, solidifying his commitment to ‘The U’ in late January. Perryman is yet another Cane lifer who loved Miami as a kid and dreamed of playing for his hometown program.
Olsen Pierre – Three-star defensive end out of Fork Union Military Academy, Pierre was the new coaching staff’s first commit back in late December. A product of the northeast, Pierre was recruited by UConn, Rutgers and Boston College out of high school but went the prep school route due to grades. Pierre is already on campus and is gearing up to compete this spring.
Rashawn Scott – Three-star wide receiver out of Melbourne, Scott was targeting Miami, South Florida, Michigan State, West Virginia and several others before choosing the Canes a few days back. Scott is another in-state product who received little love from Miami’s old staff, but much more from the new crew.
Ricardo Williams – Three-star defensive end out of Homestead, Williams was heavily pursued by Miami, Florida State and North Carolina, choosing the Canes in the end. Williams officially verballed to UM early January and is another diehard, long-time local lover of ‘The U’ who wasn’t offered a scholarship from Miami’s former staff. Williams is another hybrid-type defensive player who can switch between outside linebacker and defensive end.
Hey Allcanes, I wasn't able to watch the signing day special on ESPN but was wondering if you could comment on some of the things that Randy Shannon said. I heard bits and pieces from local radio and some of it seemed disturbing. Thanks, great class. Reminds me alot of guys like Vilma, Taylor, and ed Reed. Lots of athletes that know how to play the game.
Al Golden is great. Do he have a twin that can coach the basketball team? The basketball team looks like a Randy Shannon football team. Zero guidance from the coach in tough times. No emotion. We need a great recruiter like Al.
Excellent reporting. Now, all we need is commitment from Brissett. Go Canes!
So Miami has losted it's wow factor. We cannot even get one qb to sign!!!!!!!!!!!Can I say this class means nothing unless we get another QB that knows his team colors. #12 is an interception machine and Morris may not make it because of grades!!! So that leaves us with Whippe son.
I hope his defense is really good because the offense is a laughing stock. We did not even make it in the top 25. Maybe Miami needs to play in Division II or III then we might win!!!!!!!!!!!
Love how you emphasized the long time lifers of the class. I think we need to target these kinds of kids early, and lock them down. The Gionni Paul story of getting a "[]_[]" tatoo after comitting is freakin' priceless. The history of the success of this program is littered with stars that lived and died, and still do, by this program. Im exceptionally excited about Chick, Paul, Perryman, and believe it or not, Scott! I don't know how this kid flew under the radar, but he's a physical speciman and on film, just explodes off the ball, sure handed, and is always turning up field. He reminds me of Keyshawn Johnson, but faster!
Allcanes,
I cant understand why a kid like Brissett would choose Florida ove the U..On the outside it looks like the Gators made a great pickup, but the way I see it, is that either Mr. Driskell or Mr.Brissett is never going to see the field..at least any meaningfull playing time that is..Its either going to be one or the other..So why in hell would Florida go after two top flight QBs in the same class knowing full well that you are destined to dissapoint one of them, and why would Brissett choose the Gators over the U knowing full well that Driskell was their No.1 QB target to begin with..It doesent make sense anyway you slice it..Unless you look at the angle of "Matt Elam is my best friend so Im going to the same school as he is"..How is that a sound decision?..I think this kid just made a monumental mistake that he will look back on with huge regret. If you want to go to a school with diamond encrusted toilet seats then by all means go to Florida..They have deep pockets to be sure..But if you want a chance to make football a livelihood, and work out with NFL all pros, and hall of famers, then Miami is the place for you..Florida does not produce NFL QBs ….Period..How do we get out recruited by the #&%#@#(ing gators for this kid when he didnt even get a visit from Muschamp?..Something stinks here!
ibis19,
How many decisions do you regret when you're 17 or 18? Look at how many QB's end up transferring when they aren't used to their potential. The kid wants to compete, he obviously thinks he can outplay Driskell and Brantley and fight to be a starter. He could also want the college experience which doesn't get offered as well at Miami as it does at UF. Maybe he really wanted to play under Charlie Weis.
There are a million reasons the kid could've chosen UF over Miami but I can assure you, it's not the schools "deep pockets" or diamond encrusted toilet seats. The bathrooms at UF are some of the oldest, dirtiest, and most decrepit bathrooms I've been in.