Class Impact: Quan Lee to Miami

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Stefan Adams

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2022 FW Buchholz (FL) WR Quan Lee committed to the Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday.



The 6-0, 175-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Lee is the #672 player nationally, the #86 wide receiver in the country, and the #88 player in the Sunshine State. The commitment brings Miami’s 2022 haul up to the #60 ranked class in the country on 247Sports and #64 on Rivals.


Recruiting Story


Lee has been a favorite of WR coach Rob Likens for months now, dating back to when the FW Buchholz star received his UM offer in November of 2020 after a strong junior season for the Bobcats. Without the ability to make visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee instead relied on a strong bond with both Likens and future QB and fellow 2022 commitment Jacurri Brown (who Lee has played with in 7-on-7 tournaments in the past) to become more comfortable with the Miami program. While Lee was originally set to officially visit Miami on June 11th and make a decision after taking all his OV’s, the commitment of the similarly statured 3-star WR Isaiah Bond to UF earlier this month seemed to speed up the timeline here, giving the staff an extra incentive to push for Lee and give him the green light. Although Lee has now given his pledge to the UM staff, he still currently plans to follow through with previously planned official visits to West Virginia, UCF, and Coastal Carolina next month.


Evaluation

Lee has mainly worked on the outside for the Bobcats, but he has the build and shiftiness to man the slot as well at the next level if needed. Above average speed, and he clocked a 11.11 in the 100-meter dash back in March. Shows off his athleticism and versatility by working at DB as well as returning kicks and punts. A smooth operator in the open field, and he is a very instinctual runner when it comes to finding space to breakaway from defenders. Often churns out extra yards by running through arm tackles and he is a tough takedown. What stands out the most is his ability to win battles for contested passes despite his listed 6’0” 175-pound frame. Not afraid to challenge bigger DB’s and body them or go up and over them in 1-on-1 situations. Uses great hands and impressive concentration to convert on catches with high degree of difficulty, making him a true weapon on fade routes. Will fight back through contact and pluck the ball at its highest point.

Fluid movement skills and quick change of direction ability allow him to easily create space to work in tight windows. A willing and aggressive blocker that can control the outer boundaries in the run game. Would like to see more of him running a more developed and consistent route tree that utilizes all areas of the field, but that is common for most HS receivers. Plenty of room to fill out his slight frame at this stage, something that could hamper him against aggressive press coverage early in his career at the next level. Ultimately, he has all the tools to develop into a P5 starter in college, with the upside for more.

As a junior in 2020, Lee had 47 catches for 1,003 yards (21.3 ypc) and 12 touchdowns in 10 games. Lee also earned first-team All-Area honors as well last season. Has impressed so far this offseason, giving a strong performance at the Pylon 7v7 tournament in Atlanta and beating a number of highly-rated DB’s, including 5-star FSU commit Travis Hunter.


The Class

Lee is Miami’s second commitment in the 2022 class, joining Brown, and he is the first WR in the boat for the Canes. While class positional numbers are always fluid, and even more so these days with the transfer portal in play, it sure seems like UM is approaching wide receiver this cycle with the intent to add at least 3 players in 2022.

Unfortunately for Miami, the local crop of wide receivers is very down this year, so UM has taken to expanding their reach and offering a ton of passcatchers from outside the area. Many felt Bond was at or near the top of UM’s board, and the Buford (GA) standout seemed to be reciprocating that interest early on after taking a visit to campus with Brown in March. All that goodwill was quickly washed away with Bond’s commitment to the Florida Gators earlier this month, and while he is still set to officially visit UM on June 11th weekend, the Hurricanes are certainly well behind the 8-ball with Bond right now.

Along with Bond, West Orange (FL) 3-star Jayden Gibson is the second receiver that has been treated as a top priority this cycle, with multiple UM staff members in regular contact with him. Many saw this as a Miami-UF battle with the Gators slightly ahead, but Gibson still speaks highly of the Canes and is set to join many others at UM on June 11th weekend for an OV after seeing UF again unofficially on June 1st. Baylor and Tennessee have also gotten involved and have secured OV’s in June as well, while a wildcard program here is Clemson. Although the Tigers have yet to offer Gibson, they have begun building a relationship with him and are working to set up a visit next month as well.

While he hasn’t quite gotten the same level of attention from UM as the other two, Mandeville (LA) 3-star Landon Ibieta definitely has plenty of fans within the walls of Hecht. On a loaded Louisiana Bootleggers 7v7 team, it was Ibieta that shined the brightest at the Battle Miami tournament back in January, which helped earn him his UM offer after he toured campus with the Bootleggers following the tournament. Ibieta plans a return trip to UM on June 18th weekend, which will be an official visit, as well as an OV to Wake Forest. The Canes have played it straight with Ibieta thus far and have informed him that he doesn’t have a guaranteed spot in the class, so how the official visit goes and how the rest of the board shakes out in the coming months will go a long way towards determining if we eventually see him in orange and green.

Although Bond, Gibson, and Ibieta make up the current slate of summer OV’s at the position, the Canes are also planning to bring in Oakland (TN) 4-star Isaiah Horton for an unofficial visit the weekend of June 11th as well. While Horton named the Gators his leader last month, this recruitment is far from over and the Canes hope this visit is the first step in changing Horton’s thought process. Horton is also set to see Florida on June 1st, Tennessee on June 4th, and Alabama on June 18th as well. Aside from those four players, I fully expect new names to emerge at the position as the cycle goes along, and you could also see UM circle back on a few previously offered players as well if necessary.


The Team

With his relative lack of bulk at this stage, Lee will have to be exceptionally well-prepared mentally if he wants to crack the rotation as a freshman, although he has shown the ability to play bigger than his size in high school. Miami has yet to find a true #1 wide receiver in this offense to date, so reps are going to be up for grabs heading into the fall and potentially into 2022 as well. While there is good chance Lee has to wait his turn as he improves his frame physically and gets comfortable in Rhett Lashlee's system, UM is hungry for a playmaker at receiver and it’s going to be a position where anybody that can make plays will see the field even if they may not be physically developed enough to hold up on a full-time basis. A guy like Lee would reap huge benefits from enrolling in school in time for spring; if he is able to do so, put on some mass, learn the offense, and show he can make plays at this level, Lee will have as good a shot as anyone to earn early playing time right away.

 
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Quan is a dog on the field. Simply put you can't go wrong with dogs. Jayden Gibson is priority #1 for me on offense right now. We have no one in the WR room with his skillset: height, length, frame, catch radius. This kid would be a perfect pair with Quan then shut down the WR recruiting.

I'd still monitor some of the local speedsters Mike Jackson, Mortimer (FSU commit), etc. and see how the season shakes out.
 
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Simply put, I like the pickup. I like how this kid competes with a chip on his shoulder, not an ounce of diva in this kid and that'll be good for our locker room/WR room.
I do too. I think he plays faster than his recorded times and his offer list doesn't worry me. It's not like WV and UCF have been cranking out a bunch of slouches at WR. He reminds me of one of these kids that blows up at UCF and we all say "he wanted to come here, why didn't we pull the trigger?"
 
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