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Despite the shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Miami Hurricanes' coaching staff hasn’t stopped looking for new prospects in the 2021 class. Last Friday, outside linebackers coach Jon Patke extended an offer to Erasmus Hall (NY) 3-star LB Sebastian Sagar, which was a follow-up to a prior visit Patke had made to the school to see Sagar.
“It was coach Patke that originally talked to me when he visited my school a few weeks ago,” Sagar said. “Then he called me and we were talking about Miami in general, how the team was looking, we talked about what was going on with me. We talked for about 20 minutes and then he told me that I had the offer from Miami. He told me that he wanted to get me down there ASAP, so I’m very excited to check it out.”
Patke told Sagar that the staff sees him as an inside linebacker and that the skillset he brings to the table would be a great fit for the UM defense.
“He told me that, at the U, they need players like me,” Sagar said. “He basically told me the backbone of the program has been fast, physical players like me and that’s why they were so interested in me, plus my leadership qualities.”
There’s not many prospects coming out of New York that have a childhood memory of visiting the Hurricanes’ campus, but Sagar says that is not the case in his situation.
“I went to the city when I was 8 years old with my mom, and I basically begged her to take me to see the University of Miami,” Sagar said. “So we checked out the campus, and obviously I was 8 years old, but I can just picture myself back then saying ‘This is my dream school, I love this place, I want to go here one day.’ I never thought I’d have that opportunity, but dreams really do come true.”
Nearly a decade later, the 6-4 215 pound prospect says he is looking to take both an unofficial and an official visit to Miami soon and wants to get a better feel of how the program is run at UM.
“What really interests me is how they used to be so **** good,” Sagar said. “That was my really early childhood, and even those 2000, 2001, 2002 teams I’ve seen highlights of. The coaches now are saying their goal now is to bring that back to what it once was and, if that’s the case, I totally want to be a part of that. I’m really excited to visit and see what it’s like, see the atmosphere. I can’t wait.”
Two cycles back in the 2019 class, the Canes hit the state of New York hard, relatively speaking, when they signed three prospects from the Empire State. Sagar is familiar with one of those players, and hopes to pick his brain when Sagar makes the trip to Coral Gables.
“Probably the guy I knew best was Jason Blissett, he was a dude in high school,” Sagar said. “I’ll definitely talk to him when I visit and see how he’s adjusted to life down there.”
In the past, Sagar has visited Rutgers, Penn State, Syracuse, and Maryland, but all of his upcoming spring visits were cancelled due to concerns with COVID-19.
“The whole coronavirus situation delays the whole process and it’s pretty frustrating due to all my visits being cancelled, which some could have been potential offers, potential places I could end up,” Sagar said. “But at the end of the day, I see now that the schools that really did want me, they’re calling me up and telling me I have the offer and they’re telling me they can’t wait to get me on campus whenever this madness ends.”
Sagar also admits the virus has pushed back his decision timeline, although you could see the Erasmus Hall star narrow his list in short order.
“I was trying to get a decision in by early this summer, but now everything going on probably pushes that back to the end of the summer,” Sagar said. “Maybe in a couple weeks, I was thinking I’ll put out a few schools I’ll be focusing on.”
As for what Sagar will be looking for in a program?
“Definitely good coaching, just a good, stand-up program, and definitely a place to call home,” Sagar said. “I’m looking for a place that I really get that sense when I’m on campus, it just feels like home when you get there.”
Sagar was an integral part of the Dutchmen’s New York City Title-winning defense in 2019, and he credits a mid-season loss to Tottenville as the moment that helped spur him to another level of his game.
“I feel like I started off slow in the beginning - the first half of my season was good, but it wasn’t where I wanted it to be,” Sagar said. “But that loss ****ed me off personally, and it ****ed the whole team off because it was against a team who we knew we were better than. So right after that, I played with my hair on fire the rest of the season.”
Sagar mostly played a hybrid linebacker/safety role last season for Erasmus Hall’s defense, but he says he will mainly be playing MIKE linebacker next year as a senior.
“It will give me a good year to adjust to what I’ll be playing in college, just knowing where the ball is at all times and always finding the ball,” Sagar said. “I want to work on my man-to-man coverage and playing more in space, that’s what I need to work on the most personally.”
“It was coach Patke that originally talked to me when he visited my school a few weeks ago,” Sagar said. “Then he called me and we were talking about Miami in general, how the team was looking, we talked about what was going on with me. We talked for about 20 minutes and then he told me that I had the offer from Miami. He told me that he wanted to get me down there ASAP, so I’m very excited to check it out.”
Patke told Sagar that the staff sees him as an inside linebacker and that the skillset he brings to the table would be a great fit for the UM defense.
“He told me that, at the U, they need players like me,” Sagar said. “He basically told me the backbone of the program has been fast, physical players like me and that’s why they were so interested in me, plus my leadership qualities.”
There’s not many prospects coming out of New York that have a childhood memory of visiting the Hurricanes’ campus, but Sagar says that is not the case in his situation.
“I went to the city when I was 8 years old with my mom, and I basically begged her to take me to see the University of Miami,” Sagar said. “So we checked out the campus, and obviously I was 8 years old, but I can just picture myself back then saying ‘This is my dream school, I love this place, I want to go here one day.’ I never thought I’d have that opportunity, but dreams really do come true.”
Nearly a decade later, the 6-4 215 pound prospect says he is looking to take both an unofficial and an official visit to Miami soon and wants to get a better feel of how the program is run at UM.
“What really interests me is how they used to be so **** good,” Sagar said. “That was my really early childhood, and even those 2000, 2001, 2002 teams I’ve seen highlights of. The coaches now are saying their goal now is to bring that back to what it once was and, if that’s the case, I totally want to be a part of that. I’m really excited to visit and see what it’s like, see the atmosphere. I can’t wait.”
Two cycles back in the 2019 class, the Canes hit the state of New York hard, relatively speaking, when they signed three prospects from the Empire State. Sagar is familiar with one of those players, and hopes to pick his brain when Sagar makes the trip to Coral Gables.
“Probably the guy I knew best was Jason Blissett, he was a dude in high school,” Sagar said. “I’ll definitely talk to him when I visit and see how he’s adjusted to life down there.”
In the past, Sagar has visited Rutgers, Penn State, Syracuse, and Maryland, but all of his upcoming spring visits were cancelled due to concerns with COVID-19.
“The whole coronavirus situation delays the whole process and it’s pretty frustrating due to all my visits being cancelled, which some could have been potential offers, potential places I could end up,” Sagar said. “But at the end of the day, I see now that the schools that really did want me, they’re calling me up and telling me I have the offer and they’re telling me they can’t wait to get me on campus whenever this madness ends.”
Sagar also admits the virus has pushed back his decision timeline, although you could see the Erasmus Hall star narrow his list in short order.
“I was trying to get a decision in by early this summer, but now everything going on probably pushes that back to the end of the summer,” Sagar said. “Maybe in a couple weeks, I was thinking I’ll put out a few schools I’ll be focusing on.”
As for what Sagar will be looking for in a program?
“Definitely good coaching, just a good, stand-up program, and definitely a place to call home,” Sagar said. “I’m looking for a place that I really get that sense when I’m on campus, it just feels like home when you get there.”
Sagar was an integral part of the Dutchmen’s New York City Title-winning defense in 2019, and he credits a mid-season loss to Tottenville as the moment that helped spur him to another level of his game.
“I feel like I started off slow in the beginning - the first half of my season was good, but it wasn’t where I wanted it to be,” Sagar said. “But that loss ****ed me off personally, and it ****ed the whole team off because it was against a team who we knew we were better than. So right after that, I played with my hair on fire the rest of the season.”
Sagar mostly played a hybrid linebacker/safety role last season for Erasmus Hall’s defense, but he says he will mainly be playing MIKE linebacker next year as a senior.
“It will give me a good year to adjust to what I’ll be playing in college, just knowing where the ball is at all times and always finding the ball,” Sagar said. “I want to work on my man-to-man coverage and playing more in space, that’s what I need to work on the most personally.”
