2026 Derrek Cooper 5* RB/ATH from Chaminade Commits to Texas

[Alex_Dynamix]

Crazy how hard 1murhurricane whiffed on everyone lol. Never seen someone lose credibility so quickly

Or these kids lie & change their mind more then ever now, I would take any insider recruiting info with a grain of salt moving forward, even the All mighty wiltfong is constantly changing/putting in predictions hours b4 kids commit now, its WILD now thanks to NIL

 

[Alex_Dynamix]

Nailed it. It's the fact Mario can't even recruit halfway decent in his own backyard. The optics are terrible and will continue to hurt with local kids because they see all their peers spurning the hometown school.

Below are the top 5 rated kids from Dade/Broward from 2023-2026 and where they ended up/currently committed.

Now I am sure the excuse makers will come out in full force and we'll hear, "we didn't want this kid" or "that kid sucked anyways." The fact remains, Mario is getting dog walked in his own hometown for the top recruits.

If 2026 holds up, he will have gone 6 of 20 (30%) on the top kids from Dade/Broward and 1 of 5 (20%) with the local 5 stars. You can be the biggest slurper and can't deny these results are bad. Wait, who am I kidding, they won't admit it.

1. Hykeem Williams (5 star/#30) - FSU
2. Brandon Innis (4 star/#38) - OSU
3. Reuben Bain (4 star/#62) - GOOD GUYS
4. Jalen Brown (4 star/#71) - LSU
5. King Mack (4 star/#91) - PSU

2024
1. Jeremiah Smith (5 star/#1) - OSU
2. Armando Blount (5 star/#28) - GOOD GUYS
3. JoJo Trader (4 star/#42) - GOOD GUYS
4. Zaquan Patterson (4 star/#93) - GOOD GUYS
5. Jamari Howard (4 star/#110) - FSU

2025
1. Ben Hanks (4 star/#59) - UF
2. Javari Flowers (4 star/#82) - UF
3. Cortez Mills (4 star/#113) - NEBRASKA
4. Josh Moore (4 star/#125) - GOOD GUYS
5. Bryce Fitzgerald (4 star/#138) - GOOD GUYS

2026 (TBD)
1. Dia Bell (5 star/#11) - UT
2. Derrek Cooper (5 star/#29) - UT
3. Justice Fitzpatrick (4 star/#47) - UGA
4 Calvin Russell (4 star/#49) - SYRACUSE
5. James Johnson (4 star/#70) - UT

Who tf cares bro, at this point just get the best kids I dont care if they're from ******* Wyoming if you have to, guarantee if you build a winner and draft factory the south florida front runners will start sniffing around....

 

[DC3]

Or these kids lie & change their mind more then ever now, I would take any insider recruiting info with a grain of salt moving forward, even the All mighty wiltfong is constantly changing/putting in predictions hours b4 kids commit now, its WILD now thanks to NIL

Not at all towards you at all. but theres a difference between appreciating what they are giving us because they could be right at the time and what some of the guys on here take as gospel and try to blame the posters more than they do the coaches when a kid goes elsewhere

 

[Okefenokee Cane]

Beach Comber BBQ is within walking distance from King & Prince.

Luv that thar place, fancy fer me an Becky Sue but reel niiiiice.

 

[Alex_Dynamix]

Not at all towards you at all. but theres a difference between appreciating what they are giving us because they could be right at the time and what some of the guys on here take as gospel and try to blame the posters more than they do the coaches when a kid goes elsewhere

I agree.. I always appreciate the info but I understand that just because 1murhurricane says somebody is a Cane doesn't mean its 100% going to happen everytime lol..you gotta be a fool to think **** is set in stone in recruiting..as the old saying goes "recruiting is fluid"...it was hilarious to see dudes clowing him over Lamar Brown smh

 

[sedlst11]

Nailed it. It's the fact Mario can't even recruit halfway decent in his own backyard. The optics are terrible and will continue to hurt with local kids because they see all their peers spurning the hometown school.

Below are the top 5 rated kids from Dade/Broward from 2023-2026 and where they ended up/currently committed.

Now I am sure the excuse makers will come out in full force and we'll hear, "we didn't want this kid" or "that kid sucked anyways." The fact remains, Mario is getting dog walked in his own hometown for the top recruits.

If 2026 holds up, he will have gone 6 of 20 (30%) on the top kids from Dade/Broward and 1 of 5 (20%) with the local 5 stars. You can be the biggest slurper and can't deny these results are bad. Wait, who am I kidding, they won't admit it.

1. Hykeem Williams (5 star/#30) - FSU
2. Brandon Innis (4 star/#38) - OSU
3. Reuben Bain (4 star/#62) - GOOD GUYS
4. Jalen Brown (4 star/#71) - LSU
5. King Mack (4 star/#91) - PSU

2024
1. Jeremiah Smith (5 star/#1) - OSU
2. Armando Blount (5 star/#28) - GOOD GUYS
3. JoJo Trader (4 star/#42) - GOOD GUYS
4. Zaquan Patterson (4 star/#93) - GOOD GUYS
5. Jamari Howard (4 star/#110) - FSU

2025
1. Ben Hanks (4 star/#59) - UF
2. Javari Flowers (4 star/#82) - UF
3. Cortez Mills (4 star/#113) - NEBRASKA
4. Josh Moore (4 star/#125) - GOOD GUYS
5. Bryce Fitzgerald (4 star/#138) - GOOD GUYS

2026 (TBD)
1. Dia Bell (5 star/#11) - UT
2. Derrek Cooper (5 star/#29) - UT
3. Justice Fitzpatrick (4 star/#47) - UGA
4 Calvin Russell (4 star/#49) - SYRACUSE
5. James Johnson (4 star/#70) - UT

Im curious to know what our relationship is like with Chaminade. They use to feed Miami but with a bunch of flop outs from there, I can see why they really dont send anyone to Miami anymore. I know we got Jojo but I know we were struggling at some point with him too during his recruiting process.

Also, dont see Damari Brown on your list. He wasnt a top 5 South Florida recruit?

 

[skeeter]

I’m not upset about not landing a RB and I wouldn’t pay him that but they put a premium on him. I would rather that we put the money on a high level DT or WR though we missed on those…. That’s what I’d try at least.

Wouldn't you think we did try that though?

 

[skeeter]

. I think Mario is actually a very good recruiter - maybe top 10. I think he’d probably recruit elite at Texas, UGA and Bama.

Ya, it's just that his type of recruiting has been trumped. Doesn't matter as much anymore. SEC/B10 Status + equal to bigger bags for the type of kids we want (and in all honesty a good bit of it he needs, again because of the gameday struggles, hopefully Hetherman and the new DB coaches help there)

 

[RVACane]

Wouldn't you think we did try that though?

Yeah, I’d just circle back if we can.

 

[gacaneaddict]

This is a genuine question that I hope you and others that say this will answer:

When do we start holding Mario accountable?

I mean it's year 4 so he needs to keep winning on the field. He won 10, lets win 10 again maybe 11 or more.

 

[JHallCanes]

If “retention” is the new flag we are gonna carry let’s at least hope those players don’t suck

 

[DemCanes10]

Nailed it. It's the fact Mario can't even recruit halfway decent in his own backyard. The optics are terrible and will continue to hurt with local kids because they see all their peers spurning the hometown school.

Below are the top 5 rated kids from Dade/Broward from 2023-2026 and where they ended up/currently committed.

Now I am sure the excuse makers will come out in full force and we'll hear, "we didn't want this kid" or "that kid sucked anyways." The fact remains, Mario is getting dog walked in his own hometown for the top recruits.

If 2026 holds up, he will have gone 6 of 20 (30%) on the top kids from Dade/Broward and 1 of 5 (20%) with the local 5 stars. You can be the biggest slurper and can't deny these results are bad. Wait, who am I kidding, they won't admit it.

1. Hykeem Williams (5 star/#30) - FSU
2. Brandon Innis (4 star/#38) - OSU
3. Reuben Bain (4 star/#62) - GOOD GUYS
4. Jalen Brown (4 star/#71) - LSU
5. King Mack (4 star/#91) - PSU

2024
1. Jeremiah Smith (5 star/#1) - OSU
2. Armando Blount (5 star/#28) - GOOD GUYS
3. JoJo Trader (4 star/#42) - GOOD GUYS
4. Zaquan Patterson (4 star/#93) - GOOD GUYS
5. Jamari Howard (4 star/#110) - FSU

2025
1. Ben Hanks (4 star/#59) - UF
2. Javari Flowers (4 star/#82) - UF
3. Cortez Mills (4 star/#113) - NEBRASKA
4. Josh Moore (4 star/#125) - GOOD GUYS
5. Bryce Fitzgerald (4 star/#138) - GOOD GUYS

2026 (TBD)
1. Dia Bell (5 star/#11) - UT
2. Derrek Cooper (5 star/#29) - UT
3. Justice Fitzpatrick (4 star/#47) - UGA
4 Calvin Russell (4 star/#49) - SYRACUSE
5. James Johnson (4 star/#70) - UT

The list is flawed. That list of people on that diatribe of names have done anything on the college level.except Jeremiah Smith and Ruben Bain.

Hakeem Williams was widely overrated and we wanted him but Zo knew he was not good enough as he said with Jalen Brown. What have their careers been like in college?

Landing all those guys was never going to happen. Also anybody from the crib knows JRoc wasn’t coming to Miami to sit behind the secondary we just brought. He reclassified late because he is old as ****. Ben Hanks daddy went to Florida and Spurrier unretired his number and gave it to his father to wear while at Florida. That battle and war was lost at birth.

I don’t want no part of Dia Bell and it’s widely known e wasn’t even the best QB on his team. He is just tall and has a name.

James Johnson ain’t a SOFLA kid that’s semantics.

Justice Fitzpatrick???? Really?? If you are as plugged in as you elude you should know the answer to this.

I have said Russell and Cooper is bad for optics. But Russell isn’t the best WR on his team….losing Lennear would be catastrophic.

 

[STG]

Im curious to know what our relationship is like with Chaminade. They use to feed Miami but with a bunch of flop outs from there, I can see why they really dont send anyone to Miami anymore. I know we got Jojo but I know we were struggling at some point with him too during his recruiting process.

Also, dont see Damari Brown on your list. He wasnt a top 5 South Florida recruit?

All I can tell you is their is a disconnect down here overall. But you are right, many schools who were "feeder" schools locally are no longer that.

Listen, Mario overall is a good dude, with good intentions. However, he is his own worst enemy.

He has a rep as a bad HC, who is not a good developer, does less with more, very, very tough and has bumped heads with a ton of his former assistants. All of that is easy to use against him. Only way out of this mess for him is to win BIG. Getting to the ACCCG is not enough in this conference and developing kids into day 1 picks.

And no, Damari was not anywhere near a top 5 player down here that year.

 

[gogeta4]

Amazing how bad the coaches read this recruitment. We constantly got Miami from the insiders when he was never coming here.

Its like the ppl on this board that think we chose joe yearby over dalvin cook.

Dalvin committed to Clemson and Uf during his recruitment lol

This kid has committed to uga and texas so far with texas recruiting him for 2months after missing on their top 4 targets at rb.

 

[STG]

The list is flawed. That list of people on that diatribe of names have done anything on the college level.except Jeremiah Smith and Ruben Bain.

Hakeem Williams was widely overrated and we wanted him but Zo knew he was not good enough as he said with Jalen Brown. What have their careers been like in college?

Landing all those guys was never going to happen. Also anybody from the crib knows JRoc wasn’t coming to Miami to sit behind the secondary we just brought. He reclassified late because he is old as ****. Ben Hanks daddy went to Florida and Spurrier unretired his number and gave it to his father to wear while at Florida. That battle and war was lost at birth.

I don’t want no part of Dia Bell and it’s widely known e wasn’t even the best QB on his team. He is just tall and has a name.

James Johnson ain’t a SOFLA kid that’s semantics.

Justice Fitzpatrick???? Really?? If you are as plugged in as you elude you should know the answer to this.

I have said Russell and Cooper is bad for optics. But Russell isn’t the best WR on his team….losing Lennear would be catastrophic.

Like I said, let the excuses flow.

 

[KANE]

Time to hit Jae and a few others up with the, “Hey big head! You busy? Whatcha doin?” calls and texts.

 

[TouchMoney26]

Nailed it. It's the fact Mario can't even recruit halfway decent in his own backyard. The optics are terrible and will continue to hurt with local kids because they see all their peers spurning the hometown school.

Below are the top 5 rated kids from Dade/Broward from 2023-2026 and where they ended up/currently committed.

Now I am sure the excuse makers will come out in full force and we'll hear, "we didn't want this kid" or "that kid sucked anyways." The fact remains, Mario is getting dog walked in his own hometown for the top recruits.

If 2026 holds up, he will have gone 6 of 20 (30%) on the top kids from Dade/Broward and 1 of 5 (20%) with the local 5 stars. You can be the biggest slurper and can't deny these results are bad. Wait, who am I kidding, they won't admit it.

1. Hykeem Williams (5 star/#30) - FSU
2. Brandon Innis (4 star/#38) - OSU
3. Reuben Bain (4 star/#62) - GOOD GUYS
4. Jalen Brown (4 star/#71) - LSU
5. King Mack (4 star/#91) - PSU

2024
1. Jeremiah Smith (5 star/#1) - OSU
2. Armando Blount (5 star/#28) - GOOD GUYS
3. JoJo Trader (4 star/#42) - GOOD GUYS
4. Zaquan Patterson (4 star/#93) - GOOD GUYS
5. Jamari Howard (4 star/#110) - FSU

2025
1. Ben Hanks (4 star/#59) - UF
2. Javari Flowers (4 star/#82) - UF
3. Cortez Mills (4 star/#113) - NEBRASKA
4. Josh Moore (4 star/#125) - GOOD GUYS
5. Bryce Fitzgerald (4 star/#138) - GOOD GUYS

2026 (TBD)
1. Dia Bell (5 star/#11) - UT
2. Derrek Cooper (5 star/#29) - UT
3. Justice Fitzpatrick (4 star/#47) - UGA
4 Calvin Russell (4 star/#49) - SYRACUSE
5. James Johnson (4 star/#70) - UT

i mean the 2026 guys arent even that special imo

 

[Calinative]

Nailed it. It's the fact Mario can't even recruit halfway decent in his own backyard. The optics are terrible and will continue to hurt with local kids because they see all their peers spurning the hometown school.

Below are the top 5 rated kids from Dade/Broward from 2023-2026 and where they ended up/currently committed.

Now I am sure the excuse makers will come out in full force and we'll hear, "we didn't want this kid" or "that kid sucked anyways." The fact remains, Mario is getting dog walked in his own hometown for the top recruits.

If 2026 holds up, he will have gone 6 of 20 (30%) on the top kids from Dade/Broward and 1 of 5 (20%) with the local 5 stars. You can be the biggest slurper and can't deny these results are bad. Wait, who am I kidding, they won't admit it.

1. Hykeem Williams (5 star/#30) - FSU
2. Brandon Innis (4 star/#38) - OSU
3. Reuben Bain (4 star/#62) - GOOD GUYS
4. Jalen Brown (4 star/#71) - LSU
5. King Mack (4 star/#91) - PSU

2024
1. Jeremiah Smith (5 star/#1) - OSU
2. Armando Blount (5 star/#28) - GOOD GUYS
3. JoJo Trader (4 star/#42) - GOOD GUYS
4. Zaquan Patterson (4 star/#93) - GOOD GUYS
5. Jamari Howard (4 star/#110) - FSU

2025
1. Ben Hanks (4 star/#59) - UF
2. Javari Flowers (4 star/#82) - UF
3. Cortez Mills (4 star/#113) - NEBRASKA
4. Josh Moore (4 star/#125) - GOOD GUYS
5. Bryce Fitzgerald (4 star/#138) - GOOD GUYS

2026 (TBD)
1. Dia Bell (5 star/#11) - UT
2. Derrek Cooper (5 star/#29) - UT
3. Justice Fitzpatrick (4 star/#47) - UGA
4 Calvin Russell (4 star/#49) - SYRACUSE
5. James Johnson (4 star/#70) - UT

So 2-3 of the top 5 per year... Out of the list this yr I'd choose Fitzpatrick and Johnson. Honestly if I could probably choose any 2 recruits to add to our class it might be Fitzpatrick and Lamar Brown...

Also what if the top Florida kids that play hella games in their recruitment is actually just self selecting lol. We will see about Hanks and Flowers, but other than Jeremiah Smith, the ones we actually got turned out to be best options. And obviously Hanks was legacy at UF, and Flower reclassified hella late after we just signed like 10 DBs in HS+Portal...Maybe the Florida recruits should look at who is actually being developed when they choose us vs choosing another program.

 

[gogeta4]

Totally agree on the idea of scrapping the state of Miami idea the program has held onto for 30+ years and focusing on the truly national approach. Will we ignore the home base ? No, but there is too much other good talent in Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, the DMV, Texas, Jersey, and Cali for us to keep having this tunnel vision towards " the crib ".

The state of miami thibg is a myth since mario has been here.
Mario has recruited nationally since he has been here.

Mario is busy chasing around kids from Mississippi and passing on
S. Fla kids every class lol

We have a huge need at safety...dbs grown on trees in s. Fla and ee were full on go on like 3 safeties from atlanta area...we havent recruited one locally lol

Wrs grow on trees in s fla.

Our current wr commits are fron: Mission viejo, ca , Charlotte,nc, and St Augustine fl.

Yall obviously arent paying attention...Mario isnt stuck in s fla

 

[The Sphinx]

Mario’s whiffs at coordinator: Gattis, Steele, Guidry has really set this rebuild back

This right here my friend is an underrated point. I think you hit the nail on the head.

Mario’s game day decision-making is nothing to write home about, but his staff hires have been even worse.