2019 Trinity Christian (FL) RB Marcus Crowley flipped his commitment from Miami to Ohio State yesterday afternoon after taking an official visit to OSU this weekend.
The 6-1, 200-pounder is a 3-star ranked #573 overall nationally, the #35 RB, and #77 in the Sunshine State in the 247Sports Composite. His decommitment moves Miami’s 2019 class ranking to #20 on 247Sports and #22 on Rivals.
The Background
Crowley was Miami’s longest tenured commitment, having given his pledge to area recruiter Todd Hartley back in December of 2017. Miami was one of the first major programs to identify Crowley and really get involved with him, and he was one of UM’s better evaluations in the cycle. Despite later offers from Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, and Florida, Crowley seemed like one of Miami’s strongest commitments. That was until OSU got involved. Within a week after Ohio State made their offer to Crowley back on October 11, I was hearing rumblings that the Buckeyes would be a serious threat to pull the star RB away from South Florida, but I’ll admit, I wasn’t buying the hype because of how humbly Crowley had handled the process to that point.
Yes, Urban Meyer is known for his obsessive and relentless recruiting, and I was told he was personally all over the recruitment of Crowley for the past month or so, but could a month of Meyer really undo the relationship UM built for the better part of a year? We got our answer shortly afterwards, when Crowley set an official visit to Columbus and alarm bells started going off. The visit to Ohio State this weekend was just to be able to give full confirmation on what Crowley was already 99% sure he wanted to do: become a Buckeye. The major issues with Miami’s offense this season likely didn’t help matters here whatsoever either. Most agreed that Crowley had been a vastly underrated recruit by the services, but his flip to OSU essentially guarantees that he will be moved up to 4-star status in the near future.
Future of the Class
Crowley’s decommitment brings the total class numbers down to 17 and leaves Miami without a running back in Surge19. It cannot be understated just how much of a blow this is to the class, not just because of his talent, but because Miami really wanted two backs in this class, which seems much less likely to come to fruition now unless UM takes a player they previously did not want. I have been told that Miami would be okay with only one back in the worst-case scenario, but UM has been recruiting for the past year or so under the assumption that Crowley was coming, and the staff was counting on him to sign next month.
Miami has essentially been recruiting two guys for one RB spot the past few months, and will push even harder for the two legacies that once seemed like virtual locks for this class, but that now seem like Miami is going to have to fight tooth and nail to keep.
The most likely Hurricane at this point is Wellington (FL) 4-star Mark-Antony Richards, who plays all over the field for the Wolverines and can really play either skill position or DB at the next level. After first looking at him as a DB, Miami has recruited Richards for the past two months or so as a RB and he’ll now be needed at the position more than ever, as his importance to this class has been heightened with Crowley’s departure. Richards loves comparing his game to DeeJay Dallas’, and Miami is still in a good spot to land his signature, but both Penn State and Auburn have really made some headway here.
The Canes have been hanging around with University School (FL) 4-star Kenny McIntosh, but CIS has been reporting for months that UM has been running behind for McIntosh, first with Oklahoma out in front, and now with UGA gaining some momentum. As of now, I don’t expect McIntosh in this class, but crazier swings have happened in recruiting, and Miami will keep on him.
If McIntosh officially came off the board and left South Florida, we were told by a source close to the program 2 months back that Miami would pursue Carol City (FL) 4-star Nayquan Wright, who has had a huge senior season. The 5’8” Wright is not usually the type of back that Mark Richt covets to use in his offenses, but Wright is a tough inside runner that is shifty, shows elite level instincts and vision, and will have a high floor at a Power 5 program. When talking about Plan B options, you could do much worse. With Richards now being recruited as a RB though, this plan is in limbo a bit, and no traction has been gained between Wright and Miami in the past 2 months, so it’s not as if Miami has been out there laying the groundwork for Wright as a Plan B as of yet. Wright would listen to the Canes if they came calling, but Miami would have a lot of ground to make up after ignoring him for so long.
The 6-1, 200-pounder is a 3-star ranked #573 overall nationally, the #35 RB, and #77 in the Sunshine State in the 247Sports Composite. His decommitment moves Miami’s 2019 class ranking to #20 on 247Sports and #22 on Rivals.
The Background
Crowley was Miami’s longest tenured commitment, having given his pledge to area recruiter Todd Hartley back in December of 2017. Miami was one of the first major programs to identify Crowley and really get involved with him, and he was one of UM’s better evaluations in the cycle. Despite later offers from Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, and Florida, Crowley seemed like one of Miami’s strongest commitments. That was until OSU got involved. Within a week after Ohio State made their offer to Crowley back on October 11, I was hearing rumblings that the Buckeyes would be a serious threat to pull the star RB away from South Florida, but I’ll admit, I wasn’t buying the hype because of how humbly Crowley had handled the process to that point.
Yes, Urban Meyer is known for his obsessive and relentless recruiting, and I was told he was personally all over the recruitment of Crowley for the past month or so, but could a month of Meyer really undo the relationship UM built for the better part of a year? We got our answer shortly afterwards, when Crowley set an official visit to Columbus and alarm bells started going off. The visit to Ohio State this weekend was just to be able to give full confirmation on what Crowley was already 99% sure he wanted to do: become a Buckeye. The major issues with Miami’s offense this season likely didn’t help matters here whatsoever either. Most agreed that Crowley had been a vastly underrated recruit by the services, but his flip to OSU essentially guarantees that he will be moved up to 4-star status in the near future.
Future of the Class
Crowley’s decommitment brings the total class numbers down to 17 and leaves Miami without a running back in Surge19. It cannot be understated just how much of a blow this is to the class, not just because of his talent, but because Miami really wanted two backs in this class, which seems much less likely to come to fruition now unless UM takes a player they previously did not want. I have been told that Miami would be okay with only one back in the worst-case scenario, but UM has been recruiting for the past year or so under the assumption that Crowley was coming, and the staff was counting on him to sign next month.
Miami has essentially been recruiting two guys for one RB spot the past few months, and will push even harder for the two legacies that once seemed like virtual locks for this class, but that now seem like Miami is going to have to fight tooth and nail to keep.
The most likely Hurricane at this point is Wellington (FL) 4-star Mark-Antony Richards, who plays all over the field for the Wolverines and can really play either skill position or DB at the next level. After first looking at him as a DB, Miami has recruited Richards for the past two months or so as a RB and he’ll now be needed at the position more than ever, as his importance to this class has been heightened with Crowley’s departure. Richards loves comparing his game to DeeJay Dallas’, and Miami is still in a good spot to land his signature, but both Penn State and Auburn have really made some headway here.
The Canes have been hanging around with University School (FL) 4-star Kenny McIntosh, but CIS has been reporting for months that UM has been running behind for McIntosh, first with Oklahoma out in front, and now with UGA gaining some momentum. As of now, I don’t expect McIntosh in this class, but crazier swings have happened in recruiting, and Miami will keep on him.
If McIntosh officially came off the board and left South Florida, we were told by a source close to the program 2 months back that Miami would pursue Carol City (FL) 4-star Nayquan Wright, who has had a huge senior season. The 5’8” Wright is not usually the type of back that Mark Richt covets to use in his offenses, but Wright is a tough inside runner that is shifty, shows elite level instincts and vision, and will have a high floor at a Power 5 program. When talking about Plan B options, you could do much worse. With Richards now being recruited as a RB though, this plan is in limbo a bit, and no traction has been gained between Wright and Miami in the past 2 months, so it’s not as if Miami has been out there laying the groundwork for Wright as a Plan B as of yet. Wright would listen to the Canes if they came calling, but Miami would have a lot of ground to make up after ignoring him for so long.
