2020 Western (FL) CB Justin Hodges committed to the Hurricanes tonight.
The 6-1 155 pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Hodges is the #1,613 player nationally, #33 S in the country, and the #198 player in the Sunshine State. His commitment keeps Category20 at the #4 class ranking on 247Sports and #4 on Rivals.
The Player
Hodges’ Miami recruitment lasted about 3 months, as he received his Miami offer in February. Immediately afterwards, he named UM his leader, and it was clear Miami was going to be hard to beat here if they reciprocated that interest. The Canes brought Hodges in for a Junior Day event in March, and soon after spring ball ended, they decided to take his commitment. Hodges also has a connection to Miami, as a cousin of current Cane Al Blades and ties to the Miami royalty that is the Blades family. Schools like West Virginia, Washington State, NC State, Kentucky, and Syracuse were involved with Hodges as well. A big-time junior season at Western put Hodges on the radar, and the talented DB recorded 34 tackles, 4 INT’s, 25 PBU’s, and 1 fumble recovery for TD in 2018 according to MaxPreps.
Miami offered Hodges as a corner, so I’ll talk about him from that perspective. When you pop in Hodges’ tape, the first thing that stands out about him is his top-notch ball skills. He shows the ability to high point a ball almost like a receiver and either knock it away or pick it off. He breaks extremely quickly on the ball and shows great anticipation in recognizing route patterns before they develop. His length is also an asset in coverage as well and allows him to get to many passes other corners can’t. Hodges is very sticky in coverage and proves difficult for most receivers to separate from, using his length well to bother pass-catchers. Lacks long/straight-line speed, but has good enough quickness, and has solid recovery speed also.
The Class
Hodges’ commitment brings the total class numbers to 14 and he is the second cornerback commitment along with South Dade (FL) 4-star Jaiden Francois. Miami is looking for three corners in this class, but would take four if it’s the right guy and there's enough room.
At the top of Miami’s board right now sits two players, and UM would love them both to close out the class. The Canes got Ensworth (TN) 4-star Keshawn Lawrence on campus back in March, and the staff really felt they made a move with Lawrence on the visit. Clemson was thought to be out in front here, but the Tigers may not have room for Lawrence and have been slow-playing him lately. The 6-3 190 pound prospect has a connection to Miami as well, as he is cousins with Corn Elder. He’s already seen LSU on an official visit, but has said that Miami is the only other school that will definitely get an official visit. Schools like Tennessee and Auburn are also pushing as well.
The second main target is Winter Park (FL) 4-star Ethan Pouncey, who showed up at Miami’s spring game a few weeks back. Pouncey is someone that seems very open right now and he visited Florida, UGA, Auburn, and Texas this spring in addition to UM.
A guy that is rising on the board right now is Kathleen (FL) 3-star Kendall Dennis. Dennis was an unknown quantity with zero offers until he posted a 4.4 laser timed 40 at the Opening Orlando in February. Since then, he has received 14 offers, most of which are of the Power 5 variety. Dennis visited Miami twice this spring, most recently for the spring game in Orlando. He has also visited FSU, Tennessee, and Auburn this spring. Another intriguing name is Sandalwood (FL) 3-star Jahquez Robinson, who Miami has continued to pursue despite his commitment to Alabama in February. Robinson visited UM back in February and is looking to schedule another visit to UM in the future.
Miami also has a collection of offers out to local corners that they have brought on campus for visits such as Lakeland (FL) 3-star Fenley Graham, McArthur (FL) 3-star Jerrold Pough, and Miami Central (FL) 3-star Deidrick Stanley; however, it’s unclear just where they’d sit on Miami’s board as of today.
The Team
This off-season, Miami loses corners Michael Jackson and Jhavonte Dean to graduation. The Canes won’t lose anyone to graduation in the 2019 off-season, though, so by 2020, it is likely a senior Trajan Bandy is in his third year starting at one corner spot. By that time, we’ll know who has emerged between DJ Ivey and Al Blades, and one of them will have the 2nd corner role locked down. Behind them, Hodges will compete with Francois, as well as Nigel Bethel, Christian Williams, and Te'Cory Couch for a spot in the CB rotation as a true freshman. At his current weight of 155 though, it would be ideal for Hodges to take a redshirt year to get his body adjusted to the college game. By the time Hodges is in his second season in 2021, he should be ready to be a contributing player.
The 6-1 155 pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Hodges is the #1,613 player nationally, #33 S in the country, and the #198 player in the Sunshine State. His commitment keeps Category20 at the #4 class ranking on 247Sports and #4 on Rivals.
The Player
Hodges’ Miami recruitment lasted about 3 months, as he received his Miami offer in February. Immediately afterwards, he named UM his leader, and it was clear Miami was going to be hard to beat here if they reciprocated that interest. The Canes brought Hodges in for a Junior Day event in March, and soon after spring ball ended, they decided to take his commitment. Hodges also has a connection to Miami, as a cousin of current Cane Al Blades and ties to the Miami royalty that is the Blades family. Schools like West Virginia, Washington State, NC State, Kentucky, and Syracuse were involved with Hodges as well. A big-time junior season at Western put Hodges on the radar, and the talented DB recorded 34 tackles, 4 INT’s, 25 PBU’s, and 1 fumble recovery for TD in 2018 according to MaxPreps.
Miami offered Hodges as a corner, so I’ll talk about him from that perspective. When you pop in Hodges’ tape, the first thing that stands out about him is his top-notch ball skills. He shows the ability to high point a ball almost like a receiver and either knock it away or pick it off. He breaks extremely quickly on the ball and shows great anticipation in recognizing route patterns before they develop. His length is also an asset in coverage as well and allows him to get to many passes other corners can’t. Hodges is very sticky in coverage and proves difficult for most receivers to separate from, using his length well to bother pass-catchers. Lacks long/straight-line speed, but has good enough quickness, and has solid recovery speed also.
The Class
Hodges’ commitment brings the total class numbers to 14 and he is the second cornerback commitment along with South Dade (FL) 4-star Jaiden Francois. Miami is looking for three corners in this class, but would take four if it’s the right guy and there's enough room.
At the top of Miami’s board right now sits two players, and UM would love them both to close out the class. The Canes got Ensworth (TN) 4-star Keshawn Lawrence on campus back in March, and the staff really felt they made a move with Lawrence on the visit. Clemson was thought to be out in front here, but the Tigers may not have room for Lawrence and have been slow-playing him lately. The 6-3 190 pound prospect has a connection to Miami as well, as he is cousins with Corn Elder. He’s already seen LSU on an official visit, but has said that Miami is the only other school that will definitely get an official visit. Schools like Tennessee and Auburn are also pushing as well.
The second main target is Winter Park (FL) 4-star Ethan Pouncey, who showed up at Miami’s spring game a few weeks back. Pouncey is someone that seems very open right now and he visited Florida, UGA, Auburn, and Texas this spring in addition to UM.
A guy that is rising on the board right now is Kathleen (FL) 3-star Kendall Dennis. Dennis was an unknown quantity with zero offers until he posted a 4.4 laser timed 40 at the Opening Orlando in February. Since then, he has received 14 offers, most of which are of the Power 5 variety. Dennis visited Miami twice this spring, most recently for the spring game in Orlando. He has also visited FSU, Tennessee, and Auburn this spring. Another intriguing name is Sandalwood (FL) 3-star Jahquez Robinson, who Miami has continued to pursue despite his commitment to Alabama in February. Robinson visited UM back in February and is looking to schedule another visit to UM in the future.
Miami also has a collection of offers out to local corners that they have brought on campus for visits such as Lakeland (FL) 3-star Fenley Graham, McArthur (FL) 3-star Jerrold Pough, and Miami Central (FL) 3-star Deidrick Stanley; however, it’s unclear just where they’d sit on Miami’s board as of today.
The Team
This off-season, Miami loses corners Michael Jackson and Jhavonte Dean to graduation. The Canes won’t lose anyone to graduation in the 2019 off-season, though, so by 2020, it is likely a senior Trajan Bandy is in his third year starting at one corner spot. By that time, we’ll know who has emerged between DJ Ivey and Al Blades, and one of them will have the 2nd corner role locked down. Behind them, Hodges will compete with Francois, as well as Nigel Bethel, Christian Williams, and Te'Cory Couch for a spot in the CB rotation as a true freshman. At his current weight of 155 though, it would be ideal for Hodges to take a redshirt year to get his body adjusted to the college game. By the time Hodges is in his second season in 2021, he should be ready to be a contributing player.
