Since earning an offer from the Miami Hurricanes last June after impressing the coaching staff in-person at a Manny Diaz summer camp on campus, Miami Edison (FL) 4-star DE Francois Nolton has been one of UM’s top targets in the 2022 class and Nolton has reciprocated that interest with multiple visits to Coral Gables.
“I’ve been to campus a couple times and I’ve talked to most of the coaches – coach (Manny) Diaz, coach (Blake) Baker, coach (Ephraim) Banda, coach (Todd) Stroud, and coach (Jake) Swalley.
“Every time I go there, they show me a lot of love and tell me they can’t wait to have me in the green and orange. I really like Miami, I grew up a Miami fan, a lot of my family grew up fans too. My grandma stays like 5 minutes from the school, it’s basically home. Every time I go on campus, they just build a better relationship with me.”
The 6-4 225 pound local star last visited UM for their junior day event in late January, which attracted tons of talent all over the state. While that event was meant to have more mass appeal, the Miami coaches were trying to get Nolton back on campus soon after for a more personal visit.
“I had went to the junior day and was talking to coach Diaz and coach Stroud, and they had told me they wanted me to come by one of the days they didn’t have spring practice so we could sit down and talk some more and show my family around,” Nolton said. “But because of the coronavirus, that didn’t happen. I’m just waiting to see what happens with [the quarantine].”
How has Nolton been dealing with the impact of the quarantines over the past few months?
“I’ve just been working, every day just doing something,” Nolton said. “I’m either working out with my coaches, my family members, or my teammates. In recruiting, I’ve been getting a lot of offers, but the main thing I’m focused on is working to get a state championship next season.”
Nolton recruitment certainly has been picking up steam, as he has been one of the hottest prospects in the country lately, landing offers from LSU, Alabama, UF, Penn State, FSU, and USC in the past three weeks alone. Nolton was looking to visit LSU, UF, and South Carolina for summer camps, but says that the schools cancelled those events. The only trip he is planning to reschedule thus far is to LSU, and Nolton says he is talking with Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron to set up a visit for a game in Baton Rouge this season.
“With them, I don’t really know too much, but it’s all about coach O, he’s real cool and a nice guy,” Nolton said of LSU. “We talk about family and being at home, how we can build a good relationship together and win national championships. He’s just talking to me and making me like LSU a lot.”
Current Hurricane and former Champagnat Catholic DE Gregory Rousseau set the ACC on fire last season as a redshirt freshman, making himself known by racking up 19.5 TFL and 15.5 sacks and putting himself squarely in the discussion to be a top 10 pick in the NFL Draft. According to Nolton, who is friendly with Rousseau, that effort was definitely noticed by local recruits as well.
“I like what he did for UM, it’s really a blessing for Greg because I know how he was hurt and everything,” Nolton said. “My coach knows him really well and knows what type of person he is. I talk to Greg a lot and we have a really good relationship. I’m just happy for him and I hope he has another really good season and the Canes have a good season. I just wish the best for him.
“I will say about Greg having a good year, that really raised a lot of eyebrows for me and some other local kids that you can go to UM, stay home and break records and you could do big things and make it to the NFL. So Greg really gave us confidence that we could do it.”
That discussion has continued over at Miami Edison, where Nolton says some of his teammates talk about what it would be like to all stay home to play at UM in the future. In the 2022 class, Edison has three other players that have UM offers, including 4-star ATH Syveion Ellis, 3-star LB Leon Hart, and OG Jeffrey Bonica.
“We’ll talk about it sometimes,” Nolton said. “For the most part, all of us like Miami, so it’s not like somebody is against it. We like Miami, it’s the hometown team. The most we’ve been saying is we can all go to the games and check it out, or all go together in the summer to the campus for a visit.”
Ultimately, Nolton’s college decision is going to come down to where he feels he is the best fit, and he says he isn't far from a commitment.
“I was going to make a decision this summer, but since we can’t go out and see everything, I think it’s going to be in the middle of my junior year heading into the playoffs,” Nolton said. “I want to focus on somewhere that’s going to help me get my education, a place I have good relationships with the coaches, and somewhere that’s winning. It’s important to have a winning culture, I don’t want to go to a school with a bunch of bad energy between the kids and the coaches because they’re not winning. I want somewhere I can compete and play hard.”
With that being said, what was Nolton’s reaction to Manny Diaz’s first season at the helm of the Hurricanes, in which the team finished a disappointing 6-7?
“I’m not worried about Miami,” Nolton said. “It was coach Diaz’s first year and he has a new offensive coordinator now. I have faith in coach Manny Diaz that Miami is going to be pretty good this year. I just like him as a coach, he’s a good coach.”
Nolton spent his first two years of high school playing at Miami Christian before transferring to Miami Edison over the offseason, and has big goals set for his junior season with the Red Raiders in 2020.
“I just have fun out there, I like to have fun when I’m playing football. I just like to compete and I’m not going to be satisfied if I’m beating someone all game, I’m going to keep going at them. I just want to love what I’m doing. I think my best skill is probably rushing the passer, but I’m working hard to be an all-around D-End and win a state championship.”
“I’ve been to campus a couple times and I’ve talked to most of the coaches – coach (Manny) Diaz, coach (Blake) Baker, coach (Ephraim) Banda, coach (Todd) Stroud, and coach (Jake) Swalley.
“Every time I go there, they show me a lot of love and tell me they can’t wait to have me in the green and orange. I really like Miami, I grew up a Miami fan, a lot of my family grew up fans too. My grandma stays like 5 minutes from the school, it’s basically home. Every time I go on campus, they just build a better relationship with me.”
The 6-4 225 pound local star last visited UM for their junior day event in late January, which attracted tons of talent all over the state. While that event was meant to have more mass appeal, the Miami coaches were trying to get Nolton back on campus soon after for a more personal visit.
“I had went to the junior day and was talking to coach Diaz and coach Stroud, and they had told me they wanted me to come by one of the days they didn’t have spring practice so we could sit down and talk some more and show my family around,” Nolton said. “But because of the coronavirus, that didn’t happen. I’m just waiting to see what happens with [the quarantine].”
How has Nolton been dealing with the impact of the quarantines over the past few months?
“I’ve just been working, every day just doing something,” Nolton said. “I’m either working out with my coaches, my family members, or my teammates. In recruiting, I’ve been getting a lot of offers, but the main thing I’m focused on is working to get a state championship next season.”
Nolton recruitment certainly has been picking up steam, as he has been one of the hottest prospects in the country lately, landing offers from LSU, Alabama, UF, Penn State, FSU, and USC in the past three weeks alone. Nolton was looking to visit LSU, UF, and South Carolina for summer camps, but says that the schools cancelled those events. The only trip he is planning to reschedule thus far is to LSU, and Nolton says he is talking with Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron to set up a visit for a game in Baton Rouge this season.
“With them, I don’t really know too much, but it’s all about coach O, he’s real cool and a nice guy,” Nolton said of LSU. “We talk about family and being at home, how we can build a good relationship together and win national championships. He’s just talking to me and making me like LSU a lot.”
Current Hurricane and former Champagnat Catholic DE Gregory Rousseau set the ACC on fire last season as a redshirt freshman, making himself known by racking up 19.5 TFL and 15.5 sacks and putting himself squarely in the discussion to be a top 10 pick in the NFL Draft. According to Nolton, who is friendly with Rousseau, that effort was definitely noticed by local recruits as well.
“I like what he did for UM, it’s really a blessing for Greg because I know how he was hurt and everything,” Nolton said. “My coach knows him really well and knows what type of person he is. I talk to Greg a lot and we have a really good relationship. I’m just happy for him and I hope he has another really good season and the Canes have a good season. I just wish the best for him.
“I will say about Greg having a good year, that really raised a lot of eyebrows for me and some other local kids that you can go to UM, stay home and break records and you could do big things and make it to the NFL. So Greg really gave us confidence that we could do it.”
That discussion has continued over at Miami Edison, where Nolton says some of his teammates talk about what it would be like to all stay home to play at UM in the future. In the 2022 class, Edison has three other players that have UM offers, including 4-star ATH Syveion Ellis, 3-star LB Leon Hart, and OG Jeffrey Bonica.
“We’ll talk about it sometimes,” Nolton said. “For the most part, all of us like Miami, so it’s not like somebody is against it. We like Miami, it’s the hometown team. The most we’ve been saying is we can all go to the games and check it out, or all go together in the summer to the campus for a visit.”
Ultimately, Nolton’s college decision is going to come down to where he feels he is the best fit, and he says he isn't far from a commitment.
“I was going to make a decision this summer, but since we can’t go out and see everything, I think it’s going to be in the middle of my junior year heading into the playoffs,” Nolton said. “I want to focus on somewhere that’s going to help me get my education, a place I have good relationships with the coaches, and somewhere that’s winning. It’s important to have a winning culture, I don’t want to go to a school with a bunch of bad energy between the kids and the coaches because they’re not winning. I want somewhere I can compete and play hard.”
With that being said, what was Nolton’s reaction to Manny Diaz’s first season at the helm of the Hurricanes, in which the team finished a disappointing 6-7?
“I’m not worried about Miami,” Nolton said. “It was coach Diaz’s first year and he has a new offensive coordinator now. I have faith in coach Manny Diaz that Miami is going to be pretty good this year. I just like him as a coach, he’s a good coach.”
Nolton spent his first two years of high school playing at Miami Christian before transferring to Miami Edison over the offseason, and has big goals set for his junior season with the Red Raiders in 2020.
“I just have fun out there, I like to have fun when I’m playing football. I just like to compete and I’m not going to be satisfied if I’m beating someone all game, I’m going to keep going at them. I just want to love what I’m doing. I think my best skill is probably rushing the passer, but I’m working hard to be an all-around D-End and win a state championship.”
