Hollywood (Fla.) South Broward RB Chris Wheatley-Humphrey was in the middle of watching the Miami Hurricanes’ Spring Game on Friday night when he turned to his coach, Charles McCrea.
“Man, I feel like I’ll be playing in this game next year,” he said.
McCrea’s reaction?
“I told him `Give it till Monday, and if you feel 100 percent this is your home then you call coaches and tell them,’” McCrea said. “And that’s what he did.”
Yes, Wheatley-Humphrey is now on Miami’s commitment list. He called Canes coaches this evening and gave his pledge. The seeds of that decision came way before the spring game – Wheatley-Humphrey’s room has a Miami flag and letters from UM coaches scattered around. He grew up a Canes fan.
“Everything in his room is Miami,” McCrea said. “Coach (Tim) Harris (Jr.), hiring him and with coach (Mario) Cristobal there, they were the main two guys that just … when coach Harris got there Chris beamed in on Miami. And he loves coach Cristobal. He says that `He keeps it 100 percent, isn’t just a coach that tells me all the good stuff.’ And coach Cristobal knows all of Chris’ family from them going to the school for visits and the coach calling them and being transparent. – he felt more at home there.”
Wheatley-Humphrey’s decision came down to Miami and UCF in the end, with Louisville also fairly high up. Texas was just starting to make a run at him as well, and others in the mix included Utah, Oregon and USC.
So what has Miami landed here?
“Chris is a Swiss Army Knife,” McCrea said. “He’s an athlete. Miami definitely got a homegrown, special kid. Very down to earth, very approachable, not bigheaded. He’s 6-0, 187 pounds, maybe in the 190s right now, and we want to get him to 200.”
Last year Wheatley-Humphrey ran 101 times for 1,511 yards with 17 TDs. He is less than 100 yards away from the career school rushing record … and that’s despite a prior stint playing at Dillard High.
The team also throws to him out of the backfield – “he had a bunch of yards receiving, we didn’t just try to use him as a runner,” McCrea said.
The comparison that McCrea makes for Wheatley-Humphrey is to NFL star Chris Johnson. And it’s not just a spur-of-the-moment comparison. McCrea recognized the similar running style of Wheatley-Humphrey, studied the Titans blocking schemes and installed some of them for his team.
“We also took some from East Carolina (where Johnson played in college) because Chris is the same type of back,” McCrea said. “He’s one cut, get from 0 to 100 real quick. Get to that backer and he’s off. A lot of power zone, stretch, guard-tackle pull, plays where we are teaching him to read in between. We are trying to get him as college ready as possible, reading backers and the front. He’s really intelligent kid, smart.”
While Wheatley-Humphrey might not be rated highly, McCrea says “I think his star is rising. It’s rare you see a kid with this kind of dynamic ability.”
