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Hialeah (Fla.) High School OL Jomel Ribalta's name should ring a bell for many.
Well, at least his last name.
Ribalta's father, Jose, was the Cuban fighter who went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson in 1986, losing by TKO in a televised bout. Ribalta is now a boxing trainer in Jupiter, Fla.
"My dad, he's helped me with my footwork - I do a lot of jump rope," Jomel said. "He gives me boxing drills that help me."
Jose now hopes to make a name for himself. He was a standout at the recent Nike Camp, earning OL MVP honors, and he hopes that can propel him to his first solid scholarship offer.
Minnesota previously said it was sending out an offer, but that offer never arrived.
"I'll be really excited if I get some offers," Ribalta said.
The Hurricanes are recruiting Ribalta, and he will attend a camp in early June to try and land a scholarship. If he gets one, UM would be in good shape to land him.
"Miami, that's my favorite school," Ribalta said. "If they offer I'll probably commit. I like the history of the school; there are a lot of players that came from UM that went to the NFL."
Ribalta's coach, Marc Berman, adds that "Mom would love for him to stay home, and I know his dad wants him to be a Cane, too. His dad has always talked to me about what we can do to get him an offer there."
A reason Ribalta has flown under the radar to this point is his weight. At 6-foot-3, he started this year at 352 pounds He's now down to 340 and has a target weight of 320 before the start of fall camp.
"I think I'll get to 320 - I've been doing a lot of conditioning, have been in the weight room, just basically have been eating right," Ribalta said.
He attended the spring game on Saturday and spoke with coaches Al Golden and Art Kehoe while there.
"They were telling me to get my weight down and telling me some techniques," Ribalta said. "I had a good time at the spring game."
Berman, says the sky is the limit for the lineman.
"His feet are incredible for a big guy," Berman said. "He has all the tools, it's just I've been trying to get him to lose the weight. He's a great talent, strong kid, is an incredible young man. I told coach (Art) Kehoe on Saturday at the spring game `This kid is the best offensive lineman around you.'"
* Berman also coaches another highly regarded prospect, LB George Williams.
"He's open right now, will narrow it down in the summer," Berman said. "He has offers from just about every SEC school, over 20 offers right now."
Miami is not among those offers.
"No, they didn't offer him yet," Berman said. "Coaches said they really like him, but before they pull the trigger on him they want him to go to the (summer) camp."
He adds that "If Miami doesn't offer it'll be a big mistake. I'm going into my 29th year of coaching and George Williams is the best football player I've ever coached and it's not even close. He can throw a ball 70 yards standing still. He punts for us, will play a lot of running back. In 7-on-7 he catches the ball; his hands are incredible. He's just an incredible talent."
Well, at least his last name.
Ribalta's father, Jose, was the Cuban fighter who went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson in 1986, losing by TKO in a televised bout. Ribalta is now a boxing trainer in Jupiter, Fla.
"My dad, he's helped me with my footwork - I do a lot of jump rope," Jomel said. "He gives me boxing drills that help me."
Jose now hopes to make a name for himself. He was a standout at the recent Nike Camp, earning OL MVP honors, and he hopes that can propel him to his first solid scholarship offer.
Minnesota previously said it was sending out an offer, but that offer never arrived.
"I'll be really excited if I get some offers," Ribalta said.
The Hurricanes are recruiting Ribalta, and he will attend a camp in early June to try and land a scholarship. If he gets one, UM would be in good shape to land him.
"Miami, that's my favorite school," Ribalta said. "If they offer I'll probably commit. I like the history of the school; there are a lot of players that came from UM that went to the NFL."
Ribalta's coach, Marc Berman, adds that "Mom would love for him to stay home, and I know his dad wants him to be a Cane, too. His dad has always talked to me about what we can do to get him an offer there."
A reason Ribalta has flown under the radar to this point is his weight. At 6-foot-3, he started this year at 352 pounds He's now down to 340 and has a target weight of 320 before the start of fall camp.
"I think I'll get to 320 - I've been doing a lot of conditioning, have been in the weight room, just basically have been eating right," Ribalta said.
He attended the spring game on Saturday and spoke with coaches Al Golden and Art Kehoe while there.
"They were telling me to get my weight down and telling me some techniques," Ribalta said. "I had a good time at the spring game."
Berman, says the sky is the limit for the lineman.
"His feet are incredible for a big guy," Berman said. "He has all the tools, it's just I've been trying to get him to lose the weight. He's a great talent, strong kid, is an incredible young man. I told coach (Art) Kehoe on Saturday at the spring game `This kid is the best offensive lineman around you.'"
* Berman also coaches another highly regarded prospect, LB George Williams.
"He's open right now, will narrow it down in the summer," Berman said. "He has offers from just about every SEC school, over 20 offers right now."
Miami is not among those offers.
"No, they didn't offer him yet," Berman said. "Coaches said they really like him, but before they pull the trigger on him they want him to go to the (summer) camp."
He adds that "If Miami doesn't offer it'll be a big mistake. I'm going into my 29th year of coaching and George Williams is the best football player I've ever coached and it's not even close. He can throw a ball 70 yards standing still. He punts for us, will play a lot of running back. In 7-on-7 he catches the ball; his hands are incredible. He's just an incredible talent."