Last weekend the Hurricanes hosted an intriguing list of visitors for their matchup against Stanford. Among those was 2027 four-star LB Jalaythan Mayfield, who caught up with CanesInSight following his visit. Here's everything the North Carolina native had to say about his visit and his recruitment as a whole:
On visit to Miami versus Stanford:
“Yeah, it was great, I loved the visit. I always like getting to meet with the coaches and talk to them, get to know them more and just let them get to know me more.
“It was a great trip though, got to see a lot and first time at a game day with Miami so it was good to experience that first game day feeling.”
“It’s definitely a place I can see myself being at.”
On his visit in the summer:
“It was good, I got to see the weight room, the facility — pretty much a private tour.”
“I got to meet with Coach Cristobal and Coach Hetherman and got to sit down and talk with them which was a great experience. That was first time I went down to Miami so this fall I knew I was going to get back down for a game and get to experience it and get to be around that place more.”
“And then to see them put their words that they were talking to me this summer onto the field really stood out to me”
On seeing Miami’s defense live:
“The things coach Hetherman is doing in Miami that’s just a really quick turnaround there is really special and that stands out for me. If he can change the team that way, a whole entire defense, I think he could help me with with my journey to the NFL.”
“That's the guy I feel like I can trust to put my future in his hands.”
“The takeaway I got from the linebacker position is that they're very aggressive, very downhill, a blitzing core of guys.”
“That's pretty much my game, blitzing downhill and playing in zone — everything around that linebacker position fits me and it's just all over my game.”
“I would love to go to a place that suits me and I wouldn’t have to adjust anything. I can just play my game and then sooner I can do that, the sooner I get on the field. And the sooner I'll start making those big plays for NFL scouts to see and I just feel like I'd be very comfortable in what they do in their system,”
“I think I might've seen seven different linebackers on the field that night so that's very impressive to rotate that many guys in and they all do their job at a high-level.”
On what the coaching staff sees in him:
“Just my ability to get downhill, how I’m very aggressive to the point of attack.”
“Also, my effort is a big thing that I've got from a lot of college coaches so just my pursuit to the ball. Naturally just playing hard out there they see those things and they say that they like the way that I play the game.”
“My ability to rush off the edge on blitzes as well and then and make tackles in space as well.”
On his recruitment timeline:
“I plan to drop a top five or top eight at the end of the season.”
“I'm going through the process of evaluating the schools on how I feel I fit and their current situation. It’s pretty tricky to do all that with us going to the playoffs and being locked in on the season. But after this season I should be dropping those top schools that are priorities for me and see where it goes there with the official visits.”
“I do have some schools in line, but not too sure yet with the complete list, Miami’s a team I’m very confident for sure.”
On visit to Miami versus Stanford:
“Yeah, it was great, I loved the visit. I always like getting to meet with the coaches and talk to them, get to know them more and just let them get to know me more.
“It was a great trip though, got to see a lot and first time at a game day with Miami so it was good to experience that first game day feeling.”
“It’s definitely a place I can see myself being at.”
On his visit in the summer:
“It was good, I got to see the weight room, the facility — pretty much a private tour.”
“I got to meet with Coach Cristobal and Coach Hetherman and got to sit down and talk with them which was a great experience. That was first time I went down to Miami so this fall I knew I was going to get back down for a game and get to experience it and get to be around that place more.”
“And then to see them put their words that they were talking to me this summer onto the field really stood out to me”
On seeing Miami’s defense live:
“The things coach Hetherman is doing in Miami that’s just a really quick turnaround there is really special and that stands out for me. If he can change the team that way, a whole entire defense, I think he could help me with with my journey to the NFL.”
“That's the guy I feel like I can trust to put my future in his hands.”
“The takeaway I got from the linebacker position is that they're very aggressive, very downhill, a blitzing core of guys.”
“That's pretty much my game, blitzing downhill and playing in zone — everything around that linebacker position fits me and it's just all over my game.”
“I would love to go to a place that suits me and I wouldn’t have to adjust anything. I can just play my game and then sooner I can do that, the sooner I get on the field. And the sooner I'll start making those big plays for NFL scouts to see and I just feel like I'd be very comfortable in what they do in their system,”
“I think I might've seen seven different linebackers on the field that night so that's very impressive to rotate that many guys in and they all do their job at a high-level.”
On what the coaching staff sees in him:
“Just my ability to get downhill, how I’m very aggressive to the point of attack.”
“Also, my effort is a big thing that I've got from a lot of college coaches so just my pursuit to the ball. Naturally just playing hard out there they see those things and they say that they like the way that I play the game.”
“My ability to rush off the edge on blitzes as well and then and make tackles in space as well.”
On his recruitment timeline:
“I plan to drop a top five or top eight at the end of the season.”
“I'm going through the process of evaluating the schools on how I feel I fit and their current situation. It’s pretty tricky to do all that with us going to the playoffs and being locked in on the season. But after this season I should be dropping those top schools that are priorities for me and see where it goes there with the official visits.”
“I do have some schools in line, but not too sure yet with the complete list, Miami’s a team I’m very confident for sure.”
