**When Brad Kaaya committed, Miami knew they would need to hold off other big programs as his offers continued to roll in. The stakes rose when both UCLA and USC offered the blue-chip QB prospect, but as I’ve maintained for weeks, Kaaya has given me no indication that he is flipping from Miami. ‘Canes fans got worried this week when multiple analysts predicted Kaaya to USC, but I asked Brad about that and he said, “I don’t even know who a majority of those guys are lol.” So it looks like the optimism on the USC side is coming from a singular source, whoever that may be. I exchanged messages with Brad’s mother as well and she maintains that he is solid in his commitment to Miami. The family has not been updating other writers on his recruiting status, so until I see something coming from either Brad or Angela Means-Kaaya indicating he is seriously looking at USC or UCLA, I will continue to say he is solid. Also, Kaaya told me that ‘Canes offensive coordinator James Coley will be giving him an in-home visit this week. As far as the status of him enrolling early, the holdup with that right now is a religion class, but he says they are working on getting that resolved.
**If signing day were tomorrow, Dalvin Cook would be headed to Florida State. Fortunately for Miami, signing day is not tomorrow. The ‘Canes are still hot on Cook’s trail as they should be and he is expected to be visiting Coral Gables next weekend. The talented back is an early enrollee, so this might be the staff’s final crack at him on campus before he makes his final decision in a few weeks. If Miami wants to get back to “elite” status, it starts with getting superstars like Cook to stay home. It is an uphill battle at the moment, but crazier things have happened. I will be interviewing Cook’s mother tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that story.
**Very unfortunate ending to Joseph Yearby’s illustrious high school career last night, as he fractured his fibula above his left ankle in the first quarter of last night’s regional championship against Heritage High School. Here is an excerpt from the Miami Herald story:
The recovery is expected to take about 5 weeks, so don’t expect this to linger by the time he gets on campus. It was truly a great career for him at the high school level.
**Johnnie Dixon will be taking his official visit to Miami this weekend as well, and the ‘Canes remain in good shape here. Alabama is not confident with him, and Miami’s only real threat right now looks like Ohio State, although the ‘Canes have the upper-hand heading into his OV weekend. Miami would be adding another lethal weapon to its offensive class if he were to commit. Another good sign for Miami is that he will be announcing the Sunday that his official visit is completed.
**At safety, Miami continues to recruit New Jersey product Kiy Hester, but expect a couple of new names to pop on the radar over the next few weeks. It also is not out of the question that we could see Artie Burns moved to safety after the season, which was a debate before he even got to Miami. Although his upside is probably higher at corner, he might need to play safety just out of necessity. The ‘Canes will have Tracy Howard, Ladarius Gunter, Corn Elder, Nate Dortch, Larry Hope, and Antonio Crawford all at corner with a couple of freshmen coming in as well.
**Aside from Miami continuing to recruit Dalvin Cook at running back, the staff has not given up on Sony Michel. I’m told that Michel’s brother, Marken, is going to end up back at UMass, so that could open the door for Miami once again.
**If signing day were tomorrow, Dalvin Cook would be headed to Florida State. Fortunately for Miami, signing day is not tomorrow. The ‘Canes are still hot on Cook’s trail as they should be and he is expected to be visiting Coral Gables next weekend. The talented back is an early enrollee, so this might be the staff’s final crack at him on campus before he makes his final decision in a few weeks. If Miami wants to get back to “elite” status, it starts with getting superstars like Cook to stay home. It is an uphill battle at the moment, but crazier things have happened. I will be interviewing Cook’s mother tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that story.
**Very unfortunate ending to Joseph Yearby’s illustrious high school career last night, as he fractured his fibula above his left ankle in the first quarter of last night’s regional championship against Heritage High School. Here is an excerpt from the Miami Herald story:
Yearby finished his senior season with 1,700 yards on 177 carries and 19 touchdowns. For his career, Yearby had 5,593 yards and 68 touchdowns and was the first sophomore in Dade history to run for more than 2,000 yards.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/01/3790063/miami-central-loses-joseph-yearby.html#storylink=cpy
The recovery is expected to take about 5 weeks, so don’t expect this to linger by the time he gets on campus. It was truly a great career for him at the high school level.
**Johnnie Dixon will be taking his official visit to Miami this weekend as well, and the ‘Canes remain in good shape here. Alabama is not confident with him, and Miami’s only real threat right now looks like Ohio State, although the ‘Canes have the upper-hand heading into his OV weekend. Miami would be adding another lethal weapon to its offensive class if he were to commit. Another good sign for Miami is that he will be announcing the Sunday that his official visit is completed.
**At safety, Miami continues to recruit New Jersey product Kiy Hester, but expect a couple of new names to pop on the radar over the next few weeks. It also is not out of the question that we could see Artie Burns moved to safety after the season, which was a debate before he even got to Miami. Although his upside is probably higher at corner, he might need to play safety just out of necessity. The ‘Canes will have Tracy Howard, Ladarius Gunter, Corn Elder, Nate Dortch, Larry Hope, and Antonio Crawford all at corner with a couple of freshmen coming in as well.
**Aside from Miami continuing to recruit Dalvin Cook at running back, the staff has not given up on Sony Michel. I’m told that Michel’s brother, Marken, is going to end up back at UMass, so that could open the door for Miami once again.
