This college football season, 2020 McArthur (FL) 4-star LB Ruben Hyppolite has made attending Miami games a part of his regular weekend routine. Hyppolite has been to all three UM home games thus far as the Hurricanes’ staff attempts to flip him from his Maryland commitment.
“It’s been a great experience, just being able to be around some teammates and former teammates at the games, be around the coaching staff at Miami, as well as some of the current players that I used to play with,” Hyppolite said. “It was all just a good feeling to be around the program and show my face. I had a good time.”
With the Canes clearly putting the full-court press on Hyppolite to fill the final LB spot in the 2020 class, it’s been the head coach and two others on staff that have made Hyppolite feel wanted at UM.
“I spoke to coach Manny Diaz, coach (Blake) Baker, coach (Eric) Hickson after the games,” Hyppolite said. “Just chopping it up with them, telling them about how my recruitment was going, how my season was going, things of that nature.
“They were speaking on the depth that they needed at the linebacker position, and how I could come in and have an opportunity to see a starting job right away.”
Hyppolite also got to interact with the current Miami players, catching up with former high school teammate Nesta Silvera and others. With so many players from the South Florida area on the team, Hyppolite feels that the Miami program would be a comfortable fit for him.
“I feel like I’d fit in well if I went there. I’m from South Florida and there’s a lot of South Florida guys that attend Miami, so I’d fit right in,” Hyppolite said. “I grew up with most of them, so I think it’d be a really good fit for me.
“What they have to offer is pretty self-explanatory. There’s a lot of history behind that university. It’s a big legacy to uphold, a standard to uphold as well.”
Even though he’s been a frequent visitor to Miami, Hyppolite has been a commitment to the Terps for the past 6 months now. How does he describe his commitment to Maryland at this point?
“Very strong, solid, 100%.”
Despite his pledge, Hyppolite is certainly leaving the door open for a potential flip before he makes things official and signs with his school of choice in two months.
“Like I said all along, I’ll be making my final decision in December,” Hyppolite said. “Even though I’m committed to Maryland right now, you never know what can happen.”
While the McArthur star has his Maryland official visit scheduled for December 13th weekend, the final weekend before signing day, Hyppolite does not have an official set to Miami as of yet. He’s not sure at this time if he’ll end up taking an OV to UM, but Hyppolite said that would be because he’s already seen Miami’s campus and program plenty.
“I’ve already kind of seen a lot of Miami already since I live down here, seen what they have to offer,” Hyppolite said. “If I take an official or if I don’t, I don’t see it affecting anything.”
In terms of other programs involved with Hyppolite, Penn State was a school often mentioned among Hyppolite’s favorites in the past. However, he cancelled a planned official visit to Happy Valley and says he is no longer considering the Nittany Lions.
So, aside from Maryland and Miami, the one other college Hyppolite is still looking at is Alabama, a school he received an offer from over the summer after impressing at a camp in front of the Crimson Tide staff on campus.
“It’s Bama, it’s that pedigree, that culture,” Hyppolite said. “They’re just a winning team, a winning university, and they’re professional with it. I’m not saying any other university isn’t, but it’s a culture thing - they’ve won consecutive back-to-back national championships over the years and it just keeps on going. Under coach (Nick) Saban, he’s doing a good job with those guys.”
As of now, Hyppolite is still on track to graduate early and enroll for spring ball, and being able to work with his future team as soon as possible is something that is very important to him.
“I want to be able to go to a university and make my impact early,” Hyppolite said. “Even though it’s on me, I want to have the opportunity to go out there and showcase what I have.”
In his senior year at McArthur, the Mustangs are off to a bit of a slow start at 3-2, but Hyppolite is focused on bringing home a state title and savoring his final year of high school football.
“It’s going well. I’m getting better each and every game,” Hyppolite said. “I’m just upping my game, upping my standard, and I’m just trying to enjoy every last bit of it, because it’s my last one. So, I’m just trying to enjoy each and every second as it comes to a close and get ready for the next level.”
At the Opening Miami Regional back in February, he recorded a 4.54 40-time, a 4.40 shuttle, and a 31.50 inch vertical leap.
“It’s been a great experience, just being able to be around some teammates and former teammates at the games, be around the coaching staff at Miami, as well as some of the current players that I used to play with,” Hyppolite said. “It was all just a good feeling to be around the program and show my face. I had a good time.”
With the Canes clearly putting the full-court press on Hyppolite to fill the final LB spot in the 2020 class, it’s been the head coach and two others on staff that have made Hyppolite feel wanted at UM.
“I spoke to coach Manny Diaz, coach (Blake) Baker, coach (Eric) Hickson after the games,” Hyppolite said. “Just chopping it up with them, telling them about how my recruitment was going, how my season was going, things of that nature.
“They were speaking on the depth that they needed at the linebacker position, and how I could come in and have an opportunity to see a starting job right away.”
Hyppolite also got to interact with the current Miami players, catching up with former high school teammate Nesta Silvera and others. With so many players from the South Florida area on the team, Hyppolite feels that the Miami program would be a comfortable fit for him.
“I feel like I’d fit in well if I went there. I’m from South Florida and there’s a lot of South Florida guys that attend Miami, so I’d fit right in,” Hyppolite said. “I grew up with most of them, so I think it’d be a really good fit for me.
“What they have to offer is pretty self-explanatory. There’s a lot of history behind that university. It’s a big legacy to uphold, a standard to uphold as well.”
Even though he’s been a frequent visitor to Miami, Hyppolite has been a commitment to the Terps for the past 6 months now. How does he describe his commitment to Maryland at this point?
“Very strong, solid, 100%.”
Despite his pledge, Hyppolite is certainly leaving the door open for a potential flip before he makes things official and signs with his school of choice in two months.
“Like I said all along, I’ll be making my final decision in December,” Hyppolite said. “Even though I’m committed to Maryland right now, you never know what can happen.”
While the McArthur star has his Maryland official visit scheduled for December 13th weekend, the final weekend before signing day, Hyppolite does not have an official set to Miami as of yet. He’s not sure at this time if he’ll end up taking an OV to UM, but Hyppolite said that would be because he’s already seen Miami’s campus and program plenty.
“I’ve already kind of seen a lot of Miami already since I live down here, seen what they have to offer,” Hyppolite said. “If I take an official or if I don’t, I don’t see it affecting anything.”
In terms of other programs involved with Hyppolite, Penn State was a school often mentioned among Hyppolite’s favorites in the past. However, he cancelled a planned official visit to Happy Valley and says he is no longer considering the Nittany Lions.
So, aside from Maryland and Miami, the one other college Hyppolite is still looking at is Alabama, a school he received an offer from over the summer after impressing at a camp in front of the Crimson Tide staff on campus.
“It’s Bama, it’s that pedigree, that culture,” Hyppolite said. “They’re just a winning team, a winning university, and they’re professional with it. I’m not saying any other university isn’t, but it’s a culture thing - they’ve won consecutive back-to-back national championships over the years and it just keeps on going. Under coach (Nick) Saban, he’s doing a good job with those guys.”
As of now, Hyppolite is still on track to graduate early and enroll for spring ball, and being able to work with his future team as soon as possible is something that is very important to him.
“I want to be able to go to a university and make my impact early,” Hyppolite said. “Even though it’s on me, I want to have the opportunity to go out there and showcase what I have.”
In his senior year at McArthur, the Mustangs are off to a bit of a slow start at 3-2, but Hyppolite is focused on bringing home a state title and savoring his final year of high school football.
“It’s going well. I’m getting better each and every game,” Hyppolite said. “I’m just upping my game, upping my standard, and I’m just trying to enjoy every last bit of it, because it’s my last one. So, I’m just trying to enjoy each and every second as it comes to a close and get ready for the next level.”
At the Opening Miami Regional back in February, he recorded a 4.54 40-time, a 4.40 shuttle, and a 31.50 inch vertical leap.
