Ocean Springs (MS) OT Brandon Cunningham flipped his commitment from Miami to Mississippi State on Friday night.
The 6-5, 270-pounder is currently a 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Cunningham is the #392 player nationally, #39 OT in the country, and the #15 player in Mississippi. His decommitment, along with other shakeups in the team rankings lately, moves Surge19 down from the #2 class to the #6 class in the nation on both 247Sports and Rivals.
The Background
This is now the third decommitment from the class in three weeks along with Diamante Howard and Brieon Fuller’s departures from Surge19. Clearly, Miami is reevaluating their early commitments and cooling on some of those takes a bit.
Unfortunately, this has been brewing for a while. The situation with Cunningham was a little different than it was with Howard or Fuller, though; the issue wasn’t solely his talent and I think Cunningham would still be a part of the class if his grades were right. Academics were the real problem, he has even admitted as much in past interviews. Sources at UM said he was in such bad shape, he was going to have a lot of work to do to get admitted and was likely bound for prep school or JUCO if he stayed with Miami. As both sides became aware of this reality, the interest began fading between the parties, culminating in a bad visit to campus two weekends ago. We were told the day before his announcement that Cunningham was not engaging at all on his recent Miami visit and was even skipping activities. It was clear his heart just wasn't into UM anymore.
Like with the other departures, these types of parting ways are always for the best for both sides. For better or for worse, Cunningham will have an easier time getting into Mississippi State, who is known for having much less stringent academic requirements, and he will be able to stay close to home. And Miami can put more focus onto guys that will actually be able to become eligible and contribute to the team.
Future of the Class
Cunningham's decommitment brings the total class numbers down to 10, leaving the Canes with one offensive lineman committed. Atlantic Coast (FL) 3-star Kingsley Eguakun is already on the commit list and we were told he was Miami’s first and only target at the center position. And yes, UM still loves him. He’s as solid as can be and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
The departure does leave Miami empty-handed and in a bind at offensive tackle, though. OT is the position on the team that is struggling the most right now, the issue being the Canes have way too many guard-types and not a lot of true tackle-based substances on the O-Line. Coach Stacy Searels has been upfront about the struggles to find reliability at the position, saying last week that he usually has 2 tackles he can trust at this point in the year; right now, he only has one.
Where does this leave Surge19? Well, IMG Academy (FL) OT Evan Neal continues to be the top target on the line for Miami; despite a great visit to FSU this weekend, Miami still feels confident there. The Canes will also shoot their shot on Huntington (WV) OT Darnell Wright. Until he gets on campus, it’s hard to tell just how much of a player Miami is with Wright, but keep in mind coach Hartley used to coach at Marshall and has tons of West Virginia-area recruiting connections.
Slightly further down the board, Belleview (FL) OT Michael Tarquin has an abundance of UM interest and there has been a flurry of crystal ball predictions coming in for the Canes lately. There’s a good chance he is Miami’s next commit on the line. Plant (FL) OT Will Putnam is a name that keeps being thrown around, but we’re getting mixed feedback on the amount of interest from both sides right now.
In terms of new offers that could go out, Miami Northwestern (FL) OT Mark Fox and Doral Academy (FL) OT Wardrick Wilson were both invited recruits at the spring game on Saturday and both have legit interest in Miami. Fox in particular has long been waiting on a UM offer. The two are currently committed to SEC schools, Fox to South Carolina and Wilson to UF; if the Canes pull the trigger on either, things will get really interesting, and UM would certainly be in prime position to make the flip.
The 6-5, 270-pounder is currently a 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Cunningham is the #392 player nationally, #39 OT in the country, and the #15 player in Mississippi. His decommitment, along with other shakeups in the team rankings lately, moves Surge19 down from the #2 class to the #6 class in the nation on both 247Sports and Rivals.
The Background
This is now the third decommitment from the class in three weeks along with Diamante Howard and Brieon Fuller’s departures from Surge19. Clearly, Miami is reevaluating their early commitments and cooling on some of those takes a bit.
Unfortunately, this has been brewing for a while. The situation with Cunningham was a little different than it was with Howard or Fuller, though; the issue wasn’t solely his talent and I think Cunningham would still be a part of the class if his grades were right. Academics were the real problem, he has even admitted as much in past interviews. Sources at UM said he was in such bad shape, he was going to have a lot of work to do to get admitted and was likely bound for prep school or JUCO if he stayed with Miami. As both sides became aware of this reality, the interest began fading between the parties, culminating in a bad visit to campus two weekends ago. We were told the day before his announcement that Cunningham was not engaging at all on his recent Miami visit and was even skipping activities. It was clear his heart just wasn't into UM anymore.
Like with the other departures, these types of parting ways are always for the best for both sides. For better or for worse, Cunningham will have an easier time getting into Mississippi State, who is known for having much less stringent academic requirements, and he will be able to stay close to home. And Miami can put more focus onto guys that will actually be able to become eligible and contribute to the team.
Future of the Class
Cunningham's decommitment brings the total class numbers down to 10, leaving the Canes with one offensive lineman committed. Atlantic Coast (FL) 3-star Kingsley Eguakun is already on the commit list and we were told he was Miami’s first and only target at the center position. And yes, UM still loves him. He’s as solid as can be and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
The departure does leave Miami empty-handed and in a bind at offensive tackle, though. OT is the position on the team that is struggling the most right now, the issue being the Canes have way too many guard-types and not a lot of true tackle-based substances on the O-Line. Coach Stacy Searels has been upfront about the struggles to find reliability at the position, saying last week that he usually has 2 tackles he can trust at this point in the year; right now, he only has one.
Where does this leave Surge19? Well, IMG Academy (FL) OT Evan Neal continues to be the top target on the line for Miami; despite a great visit to FSU this weekend, Miami still feels confident there. The Canes will also shoot their shot on Huntington (WV) OT Darnell Wright. Until he gets on campus, it’s hard to tell just how much of a player Miami is with Wright, but keep in mind coach Hartley used to coach at Marshall and has tons of West Virginia-area recruiting connections.
Slightly further down the board, Belleview (FL) OT Michael Tarquin has an abundance of UM interest and there has been a flurry of crystal ball predictions coming in for the Canes lately. There’s a good chance he is Miami’s next commit on the line. Plant (FL) OT Will Putnam is a name that keeps being thrown around, but we’re getting mixed feedback on the amount of interest from both sides right now.
In terms of new offers that could go out, Miami Northwestern (FL) OT Mark Fox and Doral Academy (FL) OT Wardrick Wilson were both invited recruits at the spring game on Saturday and both have legit interest in Miami. Fox in particular has long been waiting on a UM offer. The two are currently committed to SEC schools, Fox to South Carolina and Wilson to UF; if the Canes pull the trigger on either, things will get really interesting, and UM would certainly be in prime position to make the flip.
