Storm Tracker Podcast – What Addae’s Departure means for Miami?

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You are now tuned in to the storm tracker podcast welcome back family to the stor Trager podcast Marcus Benjamin here with my guy Frank Tucker representing the crib South Florida to together we represent KES count.com part of the rivals.com Network make sure you subscribe to the website for free use

The promo code mii3 also subscribe to this YouTube channel like share and subscribe here at live from KES County plenty of news this week it seemed like it was going to be like a quiet week when it started but a lot of big news came out this week you got Jamila die

Who decides to take a job with the Buffalo Bills leaving Miami Lonzo heith the GM of Miami also leaving foriana NL to the Patriots and we may have a new running backs coach in Matt Meritt as well yesterday was national Signing Day I think a lot of people don’t even

Realize it even happened yesterday with the new early signing period uh in this new day of college football uh so we’ll talk a little bit about the 2024 class how Miami closed out and predictions for the 2025 class but big news man Jamila die decides to go to the

NFL it was a surprise for me because this this is a guy that was actively recruiting in the past couple of weeks he was of course in Coral Gables uh you know greeting and talking to a lot of different kids for their Elite Prospect day but the NFL Came Calling Frank so

What was your reaction when you heard the news I wasn’t surprised I would you know this is something that we’ve kind of heard Rumblings about for a little over a year now since last off SE season you know there was the issue of was he going to get a contract extension or not

This off season has thing have things been solid on the quarterback front from a development standpoint with Coach aai absolutely I think he’s one of the better coaches at the position on from an onfield perspective now if you look at how things were in recruiting wise he

Didn’t do a great job right since Ryan Mack there wasn’t a single quarterback that committed to the University of Miami and that was for the majority of the second half of 2023 where you didn’t have a single quarterback lock in to the University of Miami I think Ryan Mack

Ended up I think Ryan Mack ended up being a steal for Miami right he’s more of a three star Prospect and and a legacy guy that I think wanted to go to Miami regardless of who the quarterback’s coach is but if you look at how the position was recruited it was

Kind of a failure in that regard right you missed out on Ellis Robinson you missed out on Xavier Lucas and that was two of the bigger targets at the position that they were focused on throughout the process anybody else that they really try to go after that was a

Fourstar prospect or higher really ended up not really thinking about Miami to that magnitude so I think he kind of put all his eggs in that Ellis Robinson back it it didn’t really work out in this past cycle the cycle before that in 2023 you know they grabbed deari brown

But was deari brown and Jamila Die edition I don’t know if he was right so overall I I don’t necessarily know how great of a job he did as a recruiter I know how great of a job he did as an on field guy but I think Miami was

Potentially looking for more at that cornerback position and I think that you know he was looking for opportunities outside of the University of Miami for the better half of a year so for me I think this was more of like a mutual separation that you know was bound to

Happen at some point he has bounced around a lot in college football whe whether it was at West Virginia whether it was at Georgia whether it was at Miami in the last just few stops um but overall I think that there was probably it was probably time for a change it was

A good year for him to kind of jump off of because of the development of Daryl Porter and Jaden Davis at the outside Corner Spot obviously you got two safeties going in the draft I don’t necessarily know how much credit he gets for that just because Lance gidry took the Reigns at

The safety position in this last season overall was probably good for him to end up trying to make that move now especially with the contract situation circling over his head and I think that Miami is GNA find a guy that fits what they’re wanting from a recruiting standpoint and an onfield development

Standpoint yeah I got to agree with you as far as the recruiting is concerned uh there weren’t any big home runs when it comes to the cornerback position or even uh or even his involvement as far as safety is concerned I mean yeah you do get a zaquan Patterson but that that’s a

Guy that you probably already thought was probably going to commit to Miami regardless if Jam Adai was there or not but I think what you lose is a guy Who develops Skies he does I I believe he gets some credit for developing a Daryl Porter Jr who’s really kind of elevated

His game in the last two years he’s going to have get some credit to uh to develop Tyreek Stevenson who’s now balling out in the NFL as well as developing a DJ Ivy in that last year which was La obviously his best year as a Miami Hurricane enabling him to be

Drafted as well so I think he wanted to be more just on the football side of things you know you can kind of see it with what he did at the University of Miami because we just kind of said that he wasn’t the best

Recruiter um he did I think a a a well enough job but I think the way these other positions have been recruited here at Miami it it just seems like he is you know one of those guys that weren’t as good as a Kevin beard or or as as a

Jason Taylor or an Alex Mirrorball or something like that it’s like uh he didn’t really Elevate the level of recruiting I think um to the level in which he could and I think he kind of maybe saw that and was like okay well let me just go to the NFL where I could

Just develop guys you know where I can just you know be a guy to just coach guys and I won’t have to worry about recruiting so what I do worry about though is the future of of recruiting with the uh defensive backs position because because he was the main guy in

Recruiting DJ picket you know and Miami uh you know definitely wants the five star to be added to the 2025 roster and I I feel like he is going to be you know a guy that will be missed in that regard of course Miami’s also recruiting Chris Ewald at the

Defensive back position so Frank how does his departure really affect recruiting oh I think it’s going to affect it on the shortterm front with Onis Conan bny right like Onis Conan bny had built a strong relationship with Jamila D you know the you know the foreign relationship

That they have because of their you know family adjustment to you know the American Life uh you know was something that he talked about when when we uh you know had a discussion with him I I think that the relationship was starting to really build and I think that he was

Needing a commitment to the University of Miami I you know I did put him in a future cast uh for him to end up at you know at Miami and I think that you know I still feel confident about it I think the visit overall with the staff you

Know was solid not just with a die but I I think that he was a major part of that recruitment um I I think that the things I think things were in the moving in a positive direction with Ewald as well uh you know I think that he was putting his

Best foot forward in communication especially since his decommitment uh you know everything that I heard was that you know that relationship was building not with just not just with Chris Ewald Jr but with the family overall you know there were there were you know multiple visits uh to campus for Ewald uh since

His de commitment and hon honestly it was something where he started to become uh you know the coach that they were hoping for from a relationship standpoint um so I I think it’s going to hurt in the short term just because there’s gonna be some unknown I guess

You could say at that cornerback position until they hire somebody and I think that that cornerback position is one of those hot spots um from position coach standpoints that it’s supposed to be a recruiter type position right like you hear like the the common names like Corey Raymond like an elite recruiter

Pat ceran is a hot name in recruiting right like Steve clink scale who was at Michigan was a guy who was big in recruiting like just those are just a few names like T Rob another guy who coaches cornerback like those guys are are known as recruiters of the position

Not just as developers so I think for the short term like teams top teams around the country that have really good defensive back coachs are gonna kind of take advantage of Miami maybe in the next you know few weeks saying oh you don’t know what’s going on there right

Like you’re walking into a little bit of an un unknown situation with DB coach wise but overall I think that Mario chrisal is going to do the right thing and hire the right guy at the position um and I’m sure we’re going to go over

The options in a little bit but uh you know I think I think I was going to say let’s just go over those options that that that are that are out there man um you got shavis Jackson that that’s out there um you mentioned Pat certan who

Could return home I think that would be a perfect fit reuniting with his old teammate uh uh Jason Taylor uh and just kind of returning to his old stopping grounds being that he was the head coach of Powerhouse American Heritage couple of guys there that Miami is interested

In Brandon Harris of course if he he’s out there and there’s some other guys uh you know uh and that could be possibility as well who do you think ends up getting this job uh I I think Travis Jackson is probably the hot name to talk about right now just because the

Relationship uh with defense coordinator Lance gadri it’s he’s a good coach he’s a young guy 38 years old has SEC experience he’s a former standout at LSU coached at the power five level at Kansas with Les Miles uh you know was a Nick sa recruit right won a national

Title at LSU like I I think that he’s a good upand cominging coach that would be you know a solid hire a couple other guys that I think are strong candidates uh and would be interesting would be Nick Monroe uh you know I think he’s the co-defense coordinator right now at

Minnesota uh he’s done an excellent job of recruiting South Florida during his time in college football was a defensive backs coach at Syracuse and was able to snag some guys out of the South Florida area um including from places like American Heritage and others right like he you

Know was always at St Thomas aquinus right was was a common face at Miami Central like he’s known in throughout the south Florida circles uh and then obviously he’s he’s upped himself from a position standpoint now at Minnesota um and is still in the power five ranks so

He’s an interesting name to me just because of I think he’s a plus recruiter U and and then the other name is Steve clinkscale from Michigan there’s so much uncertainty uncertainty at Michigan right now because of the hard ball situation him leaving to go to the the Chargers that whole entire defensive

Staff basically leaving to go to the Chargers uh I think that he’s a guy that would be in home run higher just from a recruiting standpoint an onfield development standpoint and a transfer portal potential standpoint right because there’s going to be a spring window that opens up and if you bring a

Steve clink scale in I think things open up not just at Michigan but around the country in regards to guys wanting to come to University of Miami and I like what Miami has right now at the defensive back spot at from a quarterback and safety perspective but

Overall you could add some guys like what if Will Johnson wanted to come to the University of Miami right what would you turn that down right to add him with the Daryl Porter and have still two young guys underneath those two experienced players uh and then obviously I think that would almost lock

In Chris ewal as as a former Michigan commit uh you know that had a strong relationship with clink scale as a twoe as a guy who was committed for almost two years in the process to that coach so I I you know and then before that

Like been at Cincinnati I think he was at Tennessee before that like he’s been at a few different places where he’s recruited South Florida heavily now he’s a national champion he comes in he’s experienced he’s an elite recruiter one of the best in the country regardless of

Position coach title he’s going to be expensive but Miami if they want to win a National Title you got to be able to spend with the big boys and this would be a perfect opportunity for Mario crystal ball uh and and obviously the boosters to to come and and you know

Swing a big stick and grab the best guy I think that’s available scared money don’t make no money we’ll see we’ll see how that work um another name I kind of want to throw out there was Cory Parker a quarterback coach at Toledo I think

He’s done a really great job as of late developing guys like quinan Mitchell expected to be a NFL draft pick and also familiar with South Florida guys like RJ Delany and Chris McDonald also uh Andre Fuller who also is from seminal Ridge which is down here so I think I think he

Could be a possibility as well Toledo’s defense intercepted like 12 passes in 2022 and they were like 10th uh when it the Pro Football Focus I’ve got a full story on KES county.com of five names to know for Miami’s vacant defensive back coach job which we of course will continue to

Monitor in the next couple of days um but um also wanted to talk about Alonzo heith uh just quickly we could talk about that don’t have to go really long on it but he’s a guy that kind of came in as the general manager to really kind

Of up the roster which he helped to do do for sure but I always kind of heard uh you know from sources that he wasn’t very involved in in in process in processes in this last year uh he was kind of more so overseeing things and really not

Doing I guess as much as you know the other staff members I guess were doing as far as recruiting and and you know putting together this roster so I think he wanted another challenge I think this guy is kind of more fit his personality is more fit for the NFL definitely happy

For him of course he’s a he’s a an Alum of of the school great guy every time I had a chance to talk to him always kept it real um but you know just your thoughts quickly on Alonzo heith leaving for the New England Patriot it hurts

Because he’s one of the best talent valuators whether that’s college or Pro right it we know that he’s had his hands on on a few of the evaluations that ended up at the University of Miami from like a transfer portal perspective jco perspective uh obviously col young was

One of his you know home run editions he’s at Georgia now and and they’re excited about his potential I I think that you’re 100% right though NFL is is his calling card he’s going with a guy that he knows from the Green Bay Packers it’s it’s an opportunity for him to to

Resurrect the team that’s going to have draft Capital probably over the next you know high draft capital over the next two years and he’s going to be able to to you know especially being in college football as of recent knowing the landscape of what was you know the best

Talent in college football over the last few seasons I I think he’s going to go in and he’s going to do an excellent job I don’t think itly hurts Miami I think that Mario Chris Ball likes having guys that he knows around him I think he likes having guys that have you know

Experienced and are proven Talent evaluators have that Keen Eye and he was one of them they he was just a trusted asset to have around somebody that you know Mario could go to and I not just Mario but you know the the athletic director as well he put out a tweet

Saying how much you know an asset he has been during his time in the University of Miami and we know around a year ago they talked about how he was taking a little bit more of a role in the athletic program and not just football but every time I was around the football

Program it was him talking about kids like he knew what was going on in the recruiting uh circles right like might not have been the guy on the phones per se but he had his his his finger on all the evaluations that this staff was

Pushing for um you know a lot of the you know NFL projections uh that we’re starting to see along the trenches I think that he’s been part of that uh growth on this roster and and listen I think there’s definitely going to be it’s definitely going to hurt but I

These there is a ton of really good talent evaluators in this roster Dennis Smith is one of you know the best d director of recruiting I guess you could say I think in college football in general Mario has his hands in the recruiting more than any head coach in

College football maybe overall they’re still going to be fine in regard to recruiting totally agree happy for heith uh to get that job and happy for his contribution to the football program really kind of upping uh the roster and really kind of setting the standard I feel going forward another tidbit of

News that kind of came out I I don’t want to downplay it but Matt Meritt has been reported to be the new running backs coach uh for Miami now this is not official as of yet but you know where there’s smoke there’s usually fire um

Matt Meritt with kind of I guess an odd name uh it’s not it’s not a name that I would say that most people had on their radar here just your thoughts man on on on Miami going possibly going with Matt Merritt as the running backs coach former running backs coach at

USF yeah I think Miami tried to dip into the you know the big pool right of of running back coaches um you know going after some of the hot names but those a lot those guys are are pretty entrenched in a lot of the spots that they’re at

Right like a Jawan cider is going to be hard to pull out of a pen State they pay him heavily I think he has a cooc title so it’s it’s not an easy to go grab you know Jawan cider or somebody of that caliber so I think that they went and

Grabbed a young young coach who’s one of the best developers of talent from the FCS standpoint if you go look at what he’s done at like places like Elon and James Madison when they were in the FCS ranks like he did a really good job at all American caliber backs uh you know

And I think that if you look at what he did this past year with naquan Wright um I I think that he proved that he was able to get the best season out of a kid who was kind of under the radar at Florida for a long period of time guy we

Know from South Florida during his time at Carol City was a stud um was a one time Miami type Prospect but I think he’s a good coach I think the running back coach is one of those positions that it’s kind of like tight ends in my

Op in my opinion right like the running backs are going to come in and if they’re really talented they’re going to be good regardless of who the running backs coaches it’s going to be a position where it’s going to be where a guy has to recruit well he has to be

Young he has to be able to build relationships and obviously Matt Merritt proved to the stat that he’s capable of doing just that he was part of a program rebuild this past year at USF where the you know Alex goolish I think is one of the best young coaches in college

Football was able to get a you know kind of a hot start at USF and and Meritt was part of that process so I think it’s a solid hire it’s not great it’s not g to you know make any huge headlines but he’s going to probably be solid overall

I don’t think that I think it’s probably going to be a balance of what they’ve had in the last two coaches I think Tim Harris was a home run higher and I think that Kevin Smith was probably the biggest failure higher of of Mario Crystal Ball’s tenure so far so I think

It’s probably gonna be a balance of those two um and I don’t think that there’s going to be anything like super positive or super negative to come out of out of what’s Happening Here I think the key for that hire is that he is or was an associate head coach and also the

Run game coordinator actually had the privilege to go to the uh boka bow uh and bro the longest game of my life bro the longest game of my life because USF runs a ton of plays they run fast fast fast offense so if he has anything to do

With that as far as you know the the the tempo of the offense then I think you know it could only work in Tay’s favor um you know I think at times Miami could have benefited from running a Tempo type of offense I think a lot of

The times uh I think they huddled maybe a little bit too much and couldn’t catch the defense off guard a lot of times last season so if he adds that element to the game then yeah I think it’s a it’s a good hire so uh we’ll we’ll see

Of course if that indeed does come to fruition we’ll keep an eye on that as well this week Frank we had national Signing Day Miami finishes with the fifth ranked uh class a top five class like we predicted months ago would happen that Miami would have a top five

Class last last year we had three freshman that stood out on the field you had a Francis Malo you had a Ruben Bane you had a mark Fletcher and you were right on Mark Fletcher I do want to say that I remember you were saying that he

Would end up being the starter by the end of the year he indeed did end up being the starter unfortunately he he’s going to be out for for spring of course but when it comes to this season when you look at this class which three players do you

Think will will be those type of impact players for Miami yeah zaquan Patterson is the first one and we spoke about him on the last show as a guy who I felt like was going to be an immediate impact guy in that freshman class Jordan Lyall I think he’s going to be a

Guy that with how the running back position is where there’s so many injuries and the potential for a freshman to come in and make an impact early on I.E Mark Fletcher what he did last year I think that he’s going to be a guy even if he’s not a starter he’s

Going to be an impact player at the University of Miami I think that he’s probably the most balanced back on the roster almost already from a talent perspective he he is a really good receiver out of the back we saw him utiliz in the screen game in a major way

At St Thomas aquinus he had huge plays almost on a consistent basis he has a low tread on the tires never had over more than like 120 carries in his season at any point there’s a reason that he’s a top five back ranked nationally by us here

At Rivals he’s an elite player that they flipped from Ohio State I I think that he’s going to come in and he’s going to make an immediate impact whether it’s that’s getting five touches or that’s getting 12 touches in a game he’s just he’s going to be a guy that when he

Spells more Fletcher right he could be a guy that becomes the second best running back on the roster or a 1B to Mark Fletcher I know AJ Allen is really talented I know that Henry parish is still there I I know that Chris Johnson is an explosive player um and travante

Citizen at one point was considered a potential program changing back uh when he was added in 2022 but Jordan ly is special we we we’ve seen that over the last two years at St Thomas him just kind of take over that offense um which has produced some of the best running

Backs we’ve ever seen come out of South Florida and I think he’s part of that mold uh another guy that I think is going to be an immediate impact players Justin Scott uh I I think that there’s a need of defensive tackle right now uh you lose Leonard Taylor right you and

I’m I know Leonard Taylor didn’t live up to the billing of being necessarily always is the best defensive tackle uh in the ACC on a consistent basis but he was definitely a high caliber player that is now going to potentially be a first round draft pick and there’s a

Reason for that he was really good at the University of Miami when he was on the field and I think that Justin Scott has the potential to be just what Leonard Taylor was as a true freshman he’s extremely talented we’ve seen him be a absolute freak at the high school

Level running the ball at times as a running back which is almost unheard of when you’re 310 10 pounds and 6’5 so he he’s a freak athlete that I think is going to begin as a rotational guy early on but like I said about Mor Fletcher

Last year I think he ends the year as a starter yeah you know I love a mod M I think that he’s gonna be a guy that’s probably going to get the early reps I you know I love what they got out of the transfer portal right and and Marley

Cook and and uh you know the the the kid out of NC State but CJ Clark CJ Clark right and but I think that I think that you’re probably looking at a combination of CJ Clark and Justin Scott as the starters by the end of 2024 because

Justin Scott is just such a talented player there’s a reason that Miami continued to fight for him all the way through that process he is a he might be the most talented player that they added in this class and that’s saying a lot because you added three five stars in

This 2024 class uh that that’s a top five class in the country Justin Scott was a guy that hurt Ohio State when he decommitted and he’s special he has first round draft pick potential uh and the fact that we’re talking about him in this light is crazy because Josh Horton

Was the guy that we were talking about as a guy who could be a first R draft pick just last cycle and I and I’m already thinking that he could surpass him on the depth chart by midseason so yeah it’s GNA be interesting to see but

I think those are my three guys just because of how talented that they are that are going to make huge impacts early on in their hurricane career yeah this defensive line is just absolutely loaded man and it’s hard for me not to pick a defensive lineman uh

That is going to make an immediate impact and I’m just going to go with the two guys that really shine in the All-Star games and that’s Maris life foot who earned his five fifth star with Rivals and also Booker picket like I feel like these guys will be in the

Rotation as far as you know um being pass rushers or you know be even in first or second down roles because you have a Ruben Bay and then you have a Jaden Wayne and you have Nigel Le Kelly but Jabari Harvey has now left the program got a couple other guys who

Decided to leave it’s going to create competition and I think those guys are going to be hungry to get on the field and I I I could see uh just like last year with Ruben Bane I could see a Booker picket who who really I think people really started to

Understand on a national scale how great he was in the past month and I think the same goes for Maris Lightfoot who was dealing with an injury in his senior season so I I think those two guys could definitely make an an immediate impact I think those two guys do end up being

Rotational pieces on this defensive line the last guy I will say is JoJo Trader man I’m hearing a a lot of great things already about this guy and obviously you know this is a guy that’s has been outstanding in high school for years um even before high school he’s he’s been

An outstanding player uh but bashard Smith is no longer with the program so it really kind of leaves a void for that fourth wide receiver if we are assuming that Isa Isaiah Horton is gonna be that wide receiver one so there’s going to be a battle for that fourth wide receiver

Spot whether it be Ray Robbie Washington JoJo or Nik car and I wouldn’t be surprised if JoJo starts to work his way into the rotation uh and you know starts to make make noise because this is a guy who has got tremendous ability could play both

Ways if he wanted to that’s how much of an athlete he is so I wouldn’t be surprised if JoJo is the guy that we’re talking about by the end of the year let’s move move on to the 2025 class quickly here Miami’s already got a jump start on on that class with wayen

Charles who we all think is is one of the best receivers down here in South Florida Luke nickel definitely the MVP at Battle Miami has been better than advertised I would say and then uh now we have also let me talk about Elijah Melendez who I I from coach

Gidry himself that he was really high on this kid calls him baby Ray as in Ray Lewis so that’s how highly he thinks about Elijah Melendez who’s an absolute beast and now Lamar Williams who was added to the class I had a chance to

Talk to him as well on campus and he you know loved Miami obviously decided to commit and now now where where does this class go from here Miami ends up with the fifth class uh here in 2024 if I would put a over under on it

And you could say you know whatever you want on the players that we have already committed to the 2025 class but over under for the 2025 class Miami over five as in do they get over a top ranked a fifth ranked class or under a fifth ranked class for

2025 I think Miami is going to be a perennial of top five class team for the entirety of Mario Chrystal Ball’s tenure at the University of Miami I think that he’s probably the best like I said head coaching recruiter in college football just his personal approach to how he

Does it um so I think yeah that’ll be a top five class because I think Luke Nicholls is going to make a huge jump up throughout the process it was a state champion in Georgia Player of the Year in Georgia showed what you know on a national scale at Battle Miami against

Top competition helped win that tournament for Cam Newton seven on seven he looked like he was more of a from a size standpoint the Prototype at the position and he’s really really good I think he ends up as a top 10 quarterback uh from from the pro style position uh

We know that they’re probably going to add one or two Elite backs that’s just what Mario chrisal does they just got a head start at the offensive line position by adding Lamar Williams this was a fourstar offensive tackle Elijah Melendez already a top two linebacker in the country could be a

Five-star type player do you know that he benched 225 31 times that is a ridiculous number for a high school junior a High School junior there’s some NFL players that can’t do that yes there’s there’s NFL offensive lineman who can’t do that right like it’s like that is massive numbers for a high

School junior he is an absolute freak of nature and I think that he’s all in all a Kane I know that he’s posted some offers and people have kind of got scared a little bit I think he posted like an Oregon offer or something like that there started to be some Rumblings

But I’m not worried at all about Elijah Melendez we we got a chance to talk to him even before he committed and he was all about Miami and and he has seemingly stayed that way through and through I I think that they end up with a top

Five class I think that they’re going to do a really good job I think they’re going to hit it out of the park at the defensive back position guys like CJ Ewald guys like Onis Conan Benny guys like Bryce Fitzgerald guys like DJ picket uh jonte Gilbert like those are

All guys that could potentially end up in this class at defensive back and that’s huge right like we’ve seen them kind of take single positions and focus on that from a major Prospect standpoint like the offensive line in 2023 uh you know last this pass one in the defensive

Line position uh you know I think they did that with the receiver position this this last class as well now they’re going to do that with the defensive back spot and I do think that they’re going to do that at linebacker as well if they’re able to just round out this team

At every single position group with major four and five star prospects you’re going to start to compete for major major uh you know college football you know St ings right like this is where this is how Georgia got to where they are this is how Alabama got to

Where they are this is how Ohio State got back into being a National Power this is how Michigan ended up you know at the end with Jim Harbaugh doing what they did they were grabbing the best players at positions stacking Talent grabbing depth and I think that they’re

G to do a really good job at the linebacker spot and the defensive back spot um now just kind of touching on Lamar Williams this guy is 6’7 280 lbs former defensive lineman uh you know he was super high on Miami when he got offered Alex marab ball took a personal

Approach uh you know when that when that went down he grabbed this kid out of Florida State territory in the Panhandle this is a kid that visited Florida state that they did have you know their hands on they were recruiting him and Miami won this battle he is going to be a big

Time Prospect in my opinion as morai start to on him we already have him as a fourstar here at Rivals I think that he could be an elite level player right I think that they kind of took some guys that they were High on from an evaluation standpoint in the 2024 class

Not so much fourstar caliber guys Derek flaz probably being you know the most talented guy from a recruiting standpoint this is a guy that I think is going to move up the rankings um very similar to a Luke niichel just because you can’t teach 6′ s 200 80 pound

Athletes at the offensive tackle position and he is that and a really good kid as well every time you talk to him like softspoken kid uh you know I love the addition I love the addition um and late riser in the recruiting in the recruiting world like was basically was

A basic unknown up until like right before the season this year um as more and more people got eyes on him in the summer those offers started coming out I think that he’s be a 20 Plus offer guy um by the end of his senior year and Miami’s going to have some competition

Uh to keep him in the class so something to watch there I do like where Miami is at with him I think that he’s rocked solid to the University of Miami very similar to Elijah Melendez um but there’s going to be competition on that front to grab him um on national Signing

Day early Signing Day next year or this year in h December because he’s extremely talented he’s a legit 67 280 the real deal yeah definitely love love what I see from him on T do you can of course uh see our guy steo break down the film of Lamar Williams on kesc

County.com and we Miami snatched another player like he said from Florida State territory just like they did last cycle with artavius Jones committing uh to Miami uh Miami does well when it comes to grabbing kids from Florida 14 kids prospects ends up uh in the class for

2024 what do you think that number is and nine of them for South Florida what do you think that do you think that number stays like that for the 2025 class does it is it over or under those numbers I think it’s probably gonna be around the same I think that majority of

The receiving class is going to be from from you know the State of Florida just because there’s so much talent at the position in 2025 uh defensive back wise right like if you consider a DJ picket if you consider a CJ ball that’s two guys that you know from the state of

Florida running back- wise are probably going to have one from the state of Florida uh you know I think offensive line wise you got Lamar Lamar Williams you could probably grab one more throughout the state I know that they’re going some after some guys you know in

The State of Florida you know that are big- time offensive lineman right there’s a guy out of suar um I think there’s a guy out of seminal that they’re going to go after as well yeah so overall like I think that they’re going to hover around that 15

Number um for Florida prospects just because there’s just so much talent at 2025 in the State of Florida as there usually is but I think Miami is still going to add 25 to 30 guys in the recruiting rankings there’s going to be some there’s going to be some attrition

Just over the course of Mario Chris balls tenure just because he is a tough coach uh they’re not going to wait around for guys to figure out what they are I think that they’re going to be tough in building this roster through and through they’re not going to wait on

Guys you saw that with the 2022 prospects like there are some guys that we thought could be studs and they kind of just pushed him out of the you know out of the building a little bit right like Cyrus Moss was the guy that we thought was going to be a big time

Player and ended up being someone that had to go a different direction because he just didn’t come to fruition so overall I think that Miami is going to be around that 25 plus number in the 202 2025 cycle once again and probably a good portion of that is going to come from homegrown

Prospect last question here just to compare the recruiting to the rivals uh Miami ends up like we said with the top five class FSU ends up 12th and Florida ends up 15th what jumps out to me is the fact that Florida State nearly made the playoff bro they nearly made the playoff

I mean albeit they had a lot of contributions from from transfers but so did Miami and for the future though does Miami continue to beat out Florida and Florida State in the in the Mario chrisal era is this like done because it certainly feels that way right now especially coming off a seven

Six season oh especially with Florida absolutely I think that this is the end of the road uh for that staff at Florida this year they’re probably going to go four and eight five and seven and that might be for Billy Napier so I I don’t foresee Florida making a huge jump like

They did in the recruiting rankings early on last year right like DJ lagway kind of saved that 24 class from not absolutely cratering uh but overall I think that it’s G to be always a lot of a lot of battles between Florida State Miami Jamie French is a perfect example

Of what that still is like Florida State I I think that they could be SC scary because trell Jones I think is very good as well uh and he could make a rise up in the recruiting rankings same as Luke Nicholl did and if he does we

Know that if you have a top quarterback it helps in in building out your class right like if you look at the other teams in the top five ranked nationally they Miami is really kind of an anomaly from the perspective where they didn’t have a big-time quarterback prospect in

This 2024 cycle and they were still a top five team just because they added so much so many guys like over 30 editions in the class three five stars a number of four stars like that helped them get into the top five and I don’t necessarily think they’re going to add

Those numbers again so Florida State and Miami are going to be on the same path in my opinion in 2025 they’re gonna get some huge hits um they’re going to take some guys out out of each other’s territory and I think that you know they’re both probably going to be around

Like that seven plus area Florida State’s going to do better in 2025 than they did in 2024 uh and as I think they they start to move away from relying on transfer portal guys and starting to capitalize on the success that Mike norbel is starting to have in

Tallahassee I know Kane’s fans probably aren’t gonna love to hear that but he is G he is a really good coach uh and I think that he’s going to do a better job in recruiting moving forward he’s gotten better I know that 12 probably isn’t great from the perspective of all making

The playoff but they missed on some huge guys and if they were to get like a KJ B and if they were have ended up getting a zqu and Patterson right like we’re maybe talking about them where Miami is and Miami kind of being where Florida state

Is so things could be flipped real quick and I think that it’s going to be close between Miami and Florida State probably in 2025 just because of the fact that Florida State’s probably not going to go drastically down in the rankings this year I think that even if they don’t

Make it to the college football playoff they’ll probably hover around 10 wins just because norell is a good coach yeah I totally agree with you I think Florida state is still going to be you know kind of hovering around and and Miami will continue to battle with the NOS for

Prospects seems to continue to plummet right now in the 2025 rankings Miami ranks 16th Florida state is 14th while Florida is 26th that’s going to wrap it up for the storm tracker podcast remember to of course subscribe to the website if you haven’t already use the promo code Miami

30 and also subscribe to this YouTube channel live from KES County also make sure you follow us on all platforms for the storm tracker podcast until the next episode