It’s been a busy week for IMG linebacker Duyon Forkpa Jr., who’s made multiple official visits this past week, closing it out with the Miami Hurricanes this weekend. At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, the four-star product has gathered interest from the likes of Florida, Michigan, FSU, and UNC alongside the interest from the ‘Canes. Forkpa stands out with his athleticism and speed, running a 4.4 at the UA camp in Miami. He spoke to me for CanesInSight following his official visit and here’s what he had to say:
Overall thoughts on his visit:
“I mean, I've been here a couple of times, and every time I come back, I just get a better understanding of what Coach Hetherman plays linebackers like, and how he runs his defense. And every time I come back, it just gets better and better.”
On being recruited recently by Miami:
“Everyone's timing is different, so what matters is what you do when you get that time. This visit, like, it really helped me a lot because I can see myself here now. Like, how am I gonna be played,I can get a better perspective of that.”
On the highlight of his visit:
“Riding with coach Cristobal and talking to him was the highlight outside of football. The real highlight is always talking to
Coach Hetherman and talking ball, but it was nice talking with Coach Cristobal for a change.”
On being recruited by other top schools in Florida:
“What keeps me going back to Florida and Florida State is really the brotherhood that I have with the players and just the opportunity to play early.”
On where he’s at in his recruiting process:
“I mean everyone's pretty even, I'm gonna have to really weigh out the pros and cons, take into consideration everything that I saw, then I'll be ready to make a decision.”
“Maybe [committing] within, like, a month or so.”
“I mean, really, they're all kind of the same because I just like when a staff is genuine. It doesn't feel fake, like they're trying to lie to you and just sell you a fake picture. So that's really why I like those three schools (UM, Florida, FSU) because everyone on the staff, they're on the same page and they're all honest with each other. Like they don’t treat anybody differently.”
“Once I commit, it's all gonna be shut down from there.”
On his relationship with defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman:
“We've been talking since January because I came down here for the grill, we talked more ball, and that's really what was like, ‘okay, yeah. I like this guy a lot, I'm gonna keep, like, pursuing this and see where this goes’. So that's why I kept coming back because of that one meeting that we had.”
"I like where his defensive mind is at.”
“He sees me as a mike and rushing off the edge on third downs, because, if you go look at how he plays his backers and everyone on the defense, like, you're playing three positions, probably.”
