You could say 2020 Champagnat Catholic LB Jesus Machado had a good Thanksgiving weekend.
A few days after leading his team to a 30-21 victory over Seffner Christian in the 2A semifinals on Friday, he found out he would be getting an offer from the local Miami Hurricanes late last night, a school he’s always had an eye on attending.
“Coach (Ephraim) Banda called me and talked to me, said that he was offering me,” Machado said. “I was really happy, it was an offer I had always wanted since I was a kid.”
And it seems the Hurricanes are moving fast to try and lock Machado up: UM head coach Manny Diaz will be at Champagnat Catholic tomorrow to watch Machado practice.
“I talked to him yesterday and he thanked me for being patient and that he’s been watching me this year,” Machado said of Diaz. “He said I’d be a good MIKE backer.”
Machado is teammates with 2020 Miami DB commit Jalen Harrell at Champagnat, and he says the two have discussed playing together at the next level over the past 24 hours. The 6-1 205 pound prospect also played with current Canes DE Gregory Rousseau back in his sophomore year for the Lions and the two continue to keep in touch.
“Greg Rousseau texted me not long after the offer,” Machado said. “Me and him played D-End (at Champagnat), I played on one side and he played on the other. He told me to slide (to UM’s class).”
While Machado does plan to make a visit to see the UM program soon, his season is still going on and he’d prefer to focus on winning states over recruiting. With Champagnat Catholic scheduled to play in the 2A state championship game on Thursday night in Tallahassee, a weekend trip to Coral Gables is up in the air.
“My interest is very high,” Machado said of Miami. “They had talked to me about taking an official visit this weekend, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to because I have a game in Tallahassee this weekend. So, I might take it next week.”
A potential issue is that Machado has already set up an official visit to Utah for next weekend (Dec. 13th), but left open the possibility that he might cancel that trip in favor of Miami if he is not able to make it to UM this weekend. Nebraska and Kansas are also involved and trying to get Machado to visit.
“I just grew up loving the culture, I just loved watching Miami,” Machado says of UM. “I’ve always lived close by, near the stadium. I went to a couple games this season.”
Of course, the Canes just finished their 2019 regular season at a disappointing 6-6. As someone who has grown up around the program, Machado knows the standard for Miami football is higher, but he remains optimistic about the future.
“I think they’ll do better next season,” Machado said. “It was Manny Diaz’s first season, so I think they’ll prepare for next season and do better.”
For his senior season at Champagnat Catholic, Machado moved to linebacker from defensive end, recording 119 tackles, a sack, an interception, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumbles recoveries, and a TD in 11 games.
“I think it went great transitioning to linebacker this year,” Machado said. “I think I did a great job in just one year playing linebacker and doing well. It’s basically the same thing (as defensive end), but you’re just five yards behind the line and you have to read the offensive lines’ keys.”
Although the original plan was to sign in December and enroll early, with the rush to finish his senior season and take visits to schools, Machado is aware he might not be ready when the early signing period opens up in a little over 2 weeks, and he admits his timeline could be pushed back.
“I was planning on signing early, but if I don’t think things are right, I might wait until the next signing day. I did all the things to enroll early,” Machado said. “I want a great fit for me education-wise and somewhere I could call home.”
A few days after leading his team to a 30-21 victory over Seffner Christian in the 2A semifinals on Friday, he found out he would be getting an offer from the local Miami Hurricanes late last night, a school he’s always had an eye on attending.
“Coach (Ephraim) Banda called me and talked to me, said that he was offering me,” Machado said. “I was really happy, it was an offer I had always wanted since I was a kid.”
And it seems the Hurricanes are moving fast to try and lock Machado up: UM head coach Manny Diaz will be at Champagnat Catholic tomorrow to watch Machado practice.
“I talked to him yesterday and he thanked me for being patient and that he’s been watching me this year,” Machado said of Diaz. “He said I’d be a good MIKE backer.”
Machado is teammates with 2020 Miami DB commit Jalen Harrell at Champagnat, and he says the two have discussed playing together at the next level over the past 24 hours. The 6-1 205 pound prospect also played with current Canes DE Gregory Rousseau back in his sophomore year for the Lions and the two continue to keep in touch.
“Greg Rousseau texted me not long after the offer,” Machado said. “Me and him played D-End (at Champagnat), I played on one side and he played on the other. He told me to slide (to UM’s class).”
While Machado does plan to make a visit to see the UM program soon, his season is still going on and he’d prefer to focus on winning states over recruiting. With Champagnat Catholic scheduled to play in the 2A state championship game on Thursday night in Tallahassee, a weekend trip to Coral Gables is up in the air.
“My interest is very high,” Machado said of Miami. “They had talked to me about taking an official visit this weekend, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to because I have a game in Tallahassee this weekend. So, I might take it next week.”
A potential issue is that Machado has already set up an official visit to Utah for next weekend (Dec. 13th), but left open the possibility that he might cancel that trip in favor of Miami if he is not able to make it to UM this weekend. Nebraska and Kansas are also involved and trying to get Machado to visit.
“I just grew up loving the culture, I just loved watching Miami,” Machado says of UM. “I’ve always lived close by, near the stadium. I went to a couple games this season.”
Of course, the Canes just finished their 2019 regular season at a disappointing 6-6. As someone who has grown up around the program, Machado knows the standard for Miami football is higher, but he remains optimistic about the future.
“I think they’ll do better next season,” Machado said. “It was Manny Diaz’s first season, so I think they’ll prepare for next season and do better.”
For his senior season at Champagnat Catholic, Machado moved to linebacker from defensive end, recording 119 tackles, a sack, an interception, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumbles recoveries, and a TD in 11 games.
“I think it went great transitioning to linebacker this year,” Machado said. “I think I did a great job in just one year playing linebacker and doing well. It’s basically the same thing (as defensive end), but you’re just five yards behind the line and you have to read the offensive lines’ keys.”
Although the original plan was to sign in December and enroll early, with the rush to finish his senior season and take visits to schools, Machado is aware he might not be ready when the early signing period opens up in a little over 2 weeks, and he admits his timeline could be pushed back.
“I was planning on signing early, but if I don’t think things are right, I might wait until the next signing day. I did all the things to enroll early,” Machado said. “I want a great fit for me education-wise and somewhere I could call home.”
