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Darius Whitfield 4* DL offered

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This kid is not leaving the state of Alabama it's a wrap between Bama & Auburn.

St. Paul's 2017 defensive lineman Ryan Johnson receives Auburn offer
By Ben Thomas on February 25, 2015

St. Paul's 2017 defensive lineman Ryan Johnson received his first college offer on Wednesday, and it is a big one.

Johnson (6-foot-4, 245 pounds) received an offer from Auburn after unofficially visiting the school's campus on Saturday, according to Saints' coach Steve Mask. Johnson is scheduled to take an unofficial visit to Alabama this weekend.

"He has a lot of upside," Mask said of Johnson. "He is going to be a big, tall kid. He plays well with his hands. He has the world in front of him. He's humble and he really wants to be good, and those two things are really important."

A broken arm limited Johnson's time on the field as a freshman, but he started all 15 games in 2014 as a sophomore and helped the Saints to the Class 5A state title. He finished the year with 38 tackles, four sacks, three quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.

"Ryan really can play an inside tackle or an outside tackle," Mask said. "Auburn likes him as a defensive lineman period."

Another St. Paul's standout receiving a lot of attention lately is tailback/strong safety B.J. Edmonds. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound junior received an offer from South Alabama on Wednesday. That followed an offer from Louisiana Tech earlier this week and Georgia Tech last spring.

Edmonds was on campus at Auburn last week, according to Mask, and is expected to be on Alabama's campus next week. Mask said Alabama likes him as a running back. Louisiana Tech coaches said they weren't sure yet, that they might play him on both sides of the ball.

"The sky really is the limit for B.J.," Mask said. "He is starting to get a lot of the recognition he richly deserves. He is very powerful and very physical. He has the ability to play on either side of the ball."

Edmonds shared time in the backfield last year with fellow junior Ostin McPherson, giving Mask a welcome challenge at the tailback spot.

"We literally have taken the lead from Alabama and Auburn," he said. "We try to keep both kids fresh throughout the year. There are enough carries for both of them. They are basically 1A and 1A1. We have two great backs."

Along with Edmonds and McPherson, other St. Paul's seniors-to-be being recruited include lineman Darius Whitfield, quarterback Miller Mosley and defensive end/linebacker Bryce Huff.
 
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Rumph believes Whitfield can play early | Florida Gators

Rumph believes Whitfield can play early
Andrew Spivey, June 11, 2015

A lot of elite prospects that attend the Florida Gators football camp over the next few weeks will not work out during the camp.They will instead just observe and meet the coaches.

Defensive end Darius Whitfield (6-0, 268, Mobile, AL St. Paul’s) was one of those elite prospects on campus on Saturday and he was joined by two of his friends.

“It went great, it went really good,” Whitfield said. “Me and [Lamical] Perine were just watching and chilling. We really wanted to watch my cousin Justin [Hosea-Williams] work out. The visit went well though and Justin did well.”

When Whitfield and Florida running back commit Lamical Perine arrived at the Swamp on Saturday they were greeted by cornerback Chauncey Gardner, who acted as their unofficial host.

“Chauncey is a real cool guy and he was just showing us around,” Whitfield said. “He was just showing us where everything was and where to go. He was telling us about the program. He was recruiting me some too. He kept telling me to come be a Gator.”

Defensive line coach Chris Rumph has been the coach that has led the charge in recruiting Whitfield thus far, and on Saturday they got to work together.

“Man, Coach Rumph is a real cool guy,” Whitfield said. “I was down there with him during the camp and me and him were going through some drills together. He was showing me some things to work on. I wasn’t going full speed but he wanted to see how I moved my hips and stuff.”

Rumph is known for his recruiting skills and he laid out a message to Whitfield that was crystal clear to the lineman.

“He said that I have a good chance to play early if I just come in and do what I’m supposed to do,” Whitfield said. “He said be ready to play if I come to Florida because they throw freshmen in there in games.”

When Whitfield visited Florida this spring, head coach Jim McElwain was away at a speaking tour, but on Saturday the two got to meet one another.

“Coach Mac is a cool guy,” Whitfield said. “He was just really happy that I was able to make it down again. The first time I came down there I didn’t get a chance to meet him but this time I got to sit down with him and everything.”

In July Whitfield and his two friends will make the six-hour drive east again to visit Florida for another camp.

“All three of us will be back down there for Friday Night Lights,” Whitfield said. “I’m not sure if I’m going to camp or not but we will be back.”

Despite being very pro-Florida on Twitter the defensive lineman says that nobody is standing out to him and he’s waiting awhile to decide.

“I have a top eight but everything is open right now,” Whitfield said. “I plan to keep everything open right now.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Florida has a great shot here with Whitfield but he’s in no hurry to make a decision and plans to wait until closer to signing day to decide. Expect Whitfield to be on campus at Florida a lot with Lamical Perine this summer and fall.
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St. Paul's lineman Darius Whitfield sets commitment date | AL.com

St. Paul's lineman Darius Whitfield sets commitment date
By Wesley Sinor June 23, 2015

Darius Whitfield may not be ready to make a commitment, but he has a date set for it.

I will be making my college decision on Oct 13th. I wish you was here to see this. This one for you big bro ��������✊ pic.twitter.com/hBfr4G1cTX
— PrimeTime™ (@OnTop_of_2016) June 23, 2015

The 6-foot-3, 265-pound lineman at St. Paul's in Mobile released his top eight schools earlier this month, as Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Miami, Mississippi State, Missouri and South Carolina all made the cut.

Whitefield has visited Alabama and Auburn multiple times, but the Crimson Tide and Tigers have yet to offer the in-state prospect. His older brother, Josh Casher, currently plays for Alabama.

Whitfield is ranked as a four-star prospect and the nation's No. 15 strong-side defensive end in the 247Sports Composite. He had 70 tackles last season, including 20 tackles for loss and 10 sacks with five forced fumbles.

"Darius is kind of projected as a football player and they will figure out what to do with him when he gets there," St. Paul's head coach Steve Mask told AL.com June 4. "He has a tremendous chance to be a really good football player on either side of the ball. He is super explosive and can really run."
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Does Whitfield have any plans to visit the "U" this summer? If not, it doesn't look good for our Canes.
 
According to an article today from Cane Sport, Miami is in Whitefield's Top 6.

Here is the link to the article (if anyone cares to summarize)
https://miami.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?sid=903&script=%2Fcontent.asp&cid=1779343

It is looking more likely he will be a Gator, Chris Rumph's ties in Alabama are deep from his time as Bama's Dline coach not to mention he is a very good dline coach. Oh well on to the next recruit.

Go Canes
 
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