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2020 Miramar (FL) safety Brian Balom committed to the Hurricanes on Wednesday morning.
The 6-0, 180-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Balom is the #1,032 player nationally, the #66 S in the country, and the #135 player in the state of Florida. His commitment keeps Miami’s 2020 class ranking to #13 on 247Sports and #9 on Rivals.
The Player
Growing up a UM fan, Balom fulfilled a childhood dream when he announced his commitment to the Canes. Balom told the UM coaches his intentions on Monday, and then went public with his commitment on Wednesday. Balom earned his UM offer after impressing the coaching staff in-person at Paradise Camp in June, and, from that point forward, it seemed the Canes led over schools like West Virginia, Louisville, and Utah. Balom took an official visit to Louisville a few weeks back, but has apparently seen all he's needed to see, telling CIS that he's shutting his recruitment down and won't be taking visits to other schools. He is UM’s first recruit from Miramar since Jermaine Grace in the 2013 class.
On film, Balom shows he is a sound tackler and someone that an offense must account for patrolling the middle of the field. Acts as a reliable last line of defense on the backend and cleans up a lot of mistakes for Miramar. A physical presence that isn’t afraid to hit and mix it up with the ballcarrier. Seems to be much more adept at run support at this point in his career, but has decent ball skills.
I liked Balom much more in-person at Paradise Camp in June, where he shined against high-level competition. Balom looked quicker than he does on tape, and was all over the field, showing great range and recovery speed. Seeing him up close, it was impressive just watching him being able to get to so many passes and tip away close calls. Receivers found it very difficult to separate from him and it seems Balom’s only improving every time I see him, as he played well at the Manny Diaz Camps earlier in the summer as well. Although not a burner, he shows great acceleration to close out crossing routes over the middle and disrupt passing lanes. I don’t see a player with an overly high ceiling here, but he is certainly someone that can outperform his recruiting ranking and become an All-ACC type of talent if he proves to be a hard worker in college. He's a solid sleeper to get at this point in the cycle after UM missed on some of their top targets, someone that Miami can develop into a productive player in their defense down the line.
So far this season, Balom has 20 tackles and 2 interceptions for the 2-3 Miramar Patriots. At the Opening Miami Regional in February, Balom recorded a 4.63 40-yard dash, a 4.34 shuttle, and a 32.50 vertical leap.
The Class
The Miramar star is the 24th commitment in the 2020 class and the 4th take at safety for the Canes. Along with South Dade (FL) teammates Jaiden Francois and Keshawn Washington, Amite (LA) 3-star Daran Branch is also a part of Category20, although guys like Washington and Branch could end up at other positions down the line.
Assuming everyone sticks, the Canes are probably done offering other safeties this class, although they’d certainly make a spot for Deland (FL) 4-star Avantae Williams if he decided he wanted in. The former Miami commit has been UM’s top target at the position throughout the cycle, but is currently an Oregon commit. Williams has flirted with rejoining Miami’s class for months now, visiting multiple times in the spring and summer. Despite the effort, UM hasn’t seen much movement here and the intel continues to suggest it is UGA that is in the best position for a possible flip. Miami is still slated to receive an official from Williams this fall, and that will essentially be their last chance to sell Williams on the program. If the Canes are unable to make a significant move on that visit, this recruitment is likely over.
The Team
By the time Balom hits campus in 2020, Miami will have four returning safeties on campus in seniors Amari Carter, juniors Gurvan Hall and Bubba Bolden, and sophomore Keontra Smith. While that seems like a solid group talent-wise, we have yet to see any of them consistently play at a high-level at Miami. Therefore, in theory, there is plenty of playing time available for a freshman if he impresses the staff right out of the gate. More likely than not, though, Balom will take an apprentice role as a freshman at UM, and could see the field at nickel in certain situations. After Carter leaves, there will be that much more playing time available in the safety rotation in the 2021 season. With his ability, there’s no reason Balom shouldn’t be contributing by then, and potentially pushing for a starting role in the defensive backfield by the time he’s an upperclassman.
The 6-0, 180-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Balom is the #1,032 player nationally, the #66 S in the country, and the #135 player in the state of Florida. His commitment keeps Miami’s 2020 class ranking to #13 on 247Sports and #9 on Rivals.
The Player
Growing up a UM fan, Balom fulfilled a childhood dream when he announced his commitment to the Canes. Balom told the UM coaches his intentions on Monday, and then went public with his commitment on Wednesday. Balom earned his UM offer after impressing the coaching staff in-person at Paradise Camp in June, and, from that point forward, it seemed the Canes led over schools like West Virginia, Louisville, and Utah. Balom took an official visit to Louisville a few weeks back, but has apparently seen all he's needed to see, telling CIS that he's shutting his recruitment down and won't be taking visits to other schools. He is UM’s first recruit from Miramar since Jermaine Grace in the 2013 class.
On film, Balom shows he is a sound tackler and someone that an offense must account for patrolling the middle of the field. Acts as a reliable last line of defense on the backend and cleans up a lot of mistakes for Miramar. A physical presence that isn’t afraid to hit and mix it up with the ballcarrier. Seems to be much more adept at run support at this point in his career, but has decent ball skills.
I liked Balom much more in-person at Paradise Camp in June, where he shined against high-level competition. Balom looked quicker than he does on tape, and was all over the field, showing great range and recovery speed. Seeing him up close, it was impressive just watching him being able to get to so many passes and tip away close calls. Receivers found it very difficult to separate from him and it seems Balom’s only improving every time I see him, as he played well at the Manny Diaz Camps earlier in the summer as well. Although not a burner, he shows great acceleration to close out crossing routes over the middle and disrupt passing lanes. I don’t see a player with an overly high ceiling here, but he is certainly someone that can outperform his recruiting ranking and become an All-ACC type of talent if he proves to be a hard worker in college. He's a solid sleeper to get at this point in the cycle after UM missed on some of their top targets, someone that Miami can develop into a productive player in their defense down the line.
So far this season, Balom has 20 tackles and 2 interceptions for the 2-3 Miramar Patriots. At the Opening Miami Regional in February, Balom recorded a 4.63 40-yard dash, a 4.34 shuttle, and a 32.50 vertical leap.
The Class
The Miramar star is the 24th commitment in the 2020 class and the 4th take at safety for the Canes. Along with South Dade (FL) teammates Jaiden Francois and Keshawn Washington, Amite (LA) 3-star Daran Branch is also a part of Category20, although guys like Washington and Branch could end up at other positions down the line.
Assuming everyone sticks, the Canes are probably done offering other safeties this class, although they’d certainly make a spot for Deland (FL) 4-star Avantae Williams if he decided he wanted in. The former Miami commit has been UM’s top target at the position throughout the cycle, but is currently an Oregon commit. Williams has flirted with rejoining Miami’s class for months now, visiting multiple times in the spring and summer. Despite the effort, UM hasn’t seen much movement here and the intel continues to suggest it is UGA that is in the best position for a possible flip. Miami is still slated to receive an official from Williams this fall, and that will essentially be their last chance to sell Williams on the program. If the Canes are unable to make a significant move on that visit, this recruitment is likely over.
The Team
By the time Balom hits campus in 2020, Miami will have four returning safeties on campus in seniors Amari Carter, juniors Gurvan Hall and Bubba Bolden, and sophomore Keontra Smith. While that seems like a solid group talent-wise, we have yet to see any of them consistently play at a high-level at Miami. Therefore, in theory, there is plenty of playing time available for a freshman if he impresses the staff right out of the gate. More likely than not, though, Balom will take an apprentice role as a freshman at UM, and could see the field at nickel in certain situations. After Carter leaves, there will be that much more playing time available in the safety rotation in the 2021 season. With his ability, there’s no reason Balom shouldn’t be contributing by then, and potentially pushing for a starting role in the defensive backfield by the time he’s an upperclassman.
