As one of the Miami Hurricanes’ top targets on the recruiting trail, 2022 American Heritage (FL) 4-star CB Earl Little Jr. made an appearance at UM’s premier recruiting event of the cycle, Paradise Camp, two weekends back. On a day where most of the established prospects in attendance sat out of the actual event and just came for the visit experience, Little Jr. instead laced them up and put on a strong performance in Coral Gables.
“That’s just the competitive side of me,” Little Jr. said of why he played. “I feel like I did excellent.”
At Paradise, Little Jr. got a chance to workout with Hurricanes’ DB coaches Travaris Robinson and DeMarcus Van Dyke, and he felt the same familiarity that he usually gets when working with the staffers at Heritage.
“I know everything that they taught me, it’s not like I haven’t learned this stuff already, but to hear it from a different person and another perspective was really good,” Little Jr. said of Robinson and DVD. “I feel like [Robinson and DVD] are the same type of dudes that we have down at Heritage. It’s most definitely a good thing.”
Since the dead period ended on June 1st, Little Jr. has been able to attend two other camps at Florida State and Alabama, and he talked about how Paradise stacked up to those other experiences.
“These workouts were really similar, except Alabama was more of a 1-on-1 workout,” Little Jr. said. “But Florida State and [Miami] I’d compare the same - it was the same type of camp, drills the same way, we did the same things. But I liked [Miami’s] camp more than Florida State. They had more top guys out here. The DB coaches specifically, I just like how they ran things.”
Aside from actual camps, the 6'0" 175-pound prospect has had the chance to visit many schools all over the country now that campuses are open to recruits, and pointed to a few of his favorite visits when asked which stood out.
“USC, Alabama, Oregon, Miami – those are some of the schools that I’ve been to that I’ve really liked,” Little Jr. said.
As for his official visit schedule, Little Jr. says he has set trips to Florida State (Sept. 25), LSU (Oct. 2), and Alabama (Nov. 6) in stone for this fall, while he took his first OV to USC (Jun. 11) last month. Aside from those four, Little Jr. said he is unsure if he will use his 5th official on a previously planned trip to Gainesville.
“Then there’s one more - I might take one to Florida,” Little Jr. said.
When asked if he is still considering the Hurricanes for his 5th and final OV ahead of his current plan to make his pick on early NSD in December, Little Jr. did not rule out Coral Gables as a destination.
“Yeah, most definitely,” Little Jr. said when asked if he is considering a Miami official.
As a junior in 2020 during 9 games played, Little Jr. posted 35 tackles and 2 INT’s while missing 4 games due to injury in a season that culminated in a state title for the Patriots. However, heading into his senior season at Heritage this fall, Little Jr. feels the additions the Patriots have made over the offseason has made the team stronger overall.
“We’re going to do a lot, we got all the pieces that we needed – Brandon Inniss, Santana Fleming - every single day we’re going at it,” Little Jr. said. “The offense will most definitely be better this year. We could probably add a few more (pieces), but as of right now, we’re definitely a solid team, and you guys will see what we do in the fall. It’s going to be great.”
*Interview conducted by Matt Suero.
“That’s just the competitive side of me,” Little Jr. said of why he played. “I feel like I did excellent.”
At Paradise, Little Jr. got a chance to workout with Hurricanes’ DB coaches Travaris Robinson and DeMarcus Van Dyke, and he felt the same familiarity that he usually gets when working with the staffers at Heritage.
“I know everything that they taught me, it’s not like I haven’t learned this stuff already, but to hear it from a different person and another perspective was really good,” Little Jr. said of Robinson and DVD. “I feel like [Robinson and DVD] are the same type of dudes that we have down at Heritage. It’s most definitely a good thing.”
Since the dead period ended on June 1st, Little Jr. has been able to attend two other camps at Florida State and Alabama, and he talked about how Paradise stacked up to those other experiences.
“These workouts were really similar, except Alabama was more of a 1-on-1 workout,” Little Jr. said. “But Florida State and [Miami] I’d compare the same - it was the same type of camp, drills the same way, we did the same things. But I liked [Miami’s] camp more than Florida State. They had more top guys out here. The DB coaches specifically, I just like how they ran things.”
Aside from actual camps, the 6'0" 175-pound prospect has had the chance to visit many schools all over the country now that campuses are open to recruits, and pointed to a few of his favorite visits when asked which stood out.
“USC, Alabama, Oregon, Miami – those are some of the schools that I’ve been to that I’ve really liked,” Little Jr. said.
As for his official visit schedule, Little Jr. says he has set trips to Florida State (Sept. 25), LSU (Oct. 2), and Alabama (Nov. 6) in stone for this fall, while he took his first OV to USC (Jun. 11) last month. Aside from those four, Little Jr. said he is unsure if he will use his 5th official on a previously planned trip to Gainesville.
“Then there’s one more - I might take one to Florida,” Little Jr. said.
When asked if he is still considering the Hurricanes for his 5th and final OV ahead of his current plan to make his pick on early NSD in December, Little Jr. did not rule out Coral Gables as a destination.
“Yeah, most definitely,” Little Jr. said when asked if he is considering a Miami official.
As a junior in 2020 during 9 games played, Little Jr. posted 35 tackles and 2 INT’s while missing 4 games due to injury in a season that culminated in a state title for the Patriots. However, heading into his senior season at Heritage this fall, Little Jr. feels the additions the Patriots have made over the offseason has made the team stronger overall.
“We’re going to do a lot, we got all the pieces that we needed – Brandon Inniss, Santana Fleming - every single day we’re going at it,” Little Jr. said. “The offense will most definitely be better this year. We could probably add a few more (pieces), but as of right now, we’re definitely a solid team, and you guys will see what we do in the fall. It’s going to be great.”
*Interview conducted by Matt Suero.
