South Florida '22- The CBs

[gogeta4]

I understand UM went after bigger fish. Other than Little and Spells, are any of these guys UM caliber and should have been targeted?

Ive always liked Mccantos.

Sharpe was a late flier kid i liked , raw with upside. Has to go to a real coach that would take time to develop him. Those are 2 i liked. None of the others i wouldve targeted

 

[lauderdaleballer]

@DMoney Amariyun Knighton was outstanding for me this season. That's the Edison kid who's committed to Clemson that he pressed out of bounds on his tape.
He started to get interest from bigger schools but most were concerned about his weight. (he's skinny as ****)

What's crazy but unfortunate...
My other CB is built exactly like him, similar skill set, also a former WR, and almost the exact same highlight tape.
No offers. Not even being recruited.
Hezekiah Masses.

Why isn’t he being recruited? Is he going prep or juco?

 

[Coach Macho]

Why isn’t he being recruited? Is he going prep or juco?

Not sure bro, but I do know that the transfer portal is KILLING a lot of kids like him. (HS kids that need a little bit of physical development)
Some of the small D1 teams that have seen, liked him, but nobody ever pulled the trigger. Before the portal stuff he'd probably be a 1AA/HBCU kid. Those schools would rather get Power-5 rejections from the portal though.

 

[lauderdaleballer]

Not sure bro, but I do know that the transfer portal is KILLING a lot of kids like him. (HS kids that need a little bit of physical development)
Some of the small D1 teams that have seen, liked him, but nobody ever pulled the trigger. Before the portal stuff he'd probably be a 1AA/HBCU kid. Those schools would rather get Power-5 rejections from the portal though.

You’re right. They’ll rather get some kids who didn’t pan out or shouldn’t even be on that level. That sucks man. Is he considering going prep, post-grad, or juco?

 

[Goulds Cane]

This is my comp for Celestine if he keeps the off-the-field thuggery to a minimum

 

[Canesfreak]

Reminded me of Latwan Anderson from back in the day.

Bow your head when you say his name. #bestthatneverwas

 

[lauderdaleballer]

Bow your head when you say his name. #bestthatneverwas

I was hoping to see him on the field that year. He was supposed to go both ways and returning kicks

 

[Coach Macho]

You’re right. They’ll rather get some kids who didn’t pan out or shouldn’t even be on that level. That sucks man. Is he considering going prep, post-grad, or juco?

Just got an offer from University of New Hampshire yesterday!

 

[lauderdaleballer]

Just got an offer from University of New Hampshire yesterday!

That’s great! These kids work too hard to not be rewarded.

 

[cookies]

@DMoney Amariyun Knighton was outstanding for me this season. That's the Edison kid who's committed to Clemson that he pressed out of bounds on his tape.
He started to get interest from bigger schools but most were concerned about his weight. (he's skinny as ****)

What's crazy but unfortunate...
My other CB is built exactly like him, similar skill set, also a former WR, and almost the exact same highlight tape.
No offers. Not even being recruited.
Hezekiah Masses.

Bumping this because Macho develops / projects once again. These are two names who were not talked much on the board.

Hezekiah Masses started his career at FIU then transferred to Cal Berkley for his final season where he made first team all-ACC; 2nd team all-American. Ran a 4.46; weighed in at the combine at 179; +4 wingspan for a 6’0 5/8 build. Drafted to the Raiders in the fifth round; led the nation in passes defended with 18.

Knighton transferred to IU yet never found a role on their natty team so is now at Miami OH for his redshirt senior year season. Could have some NFL upside with a strong year at Miami OH; if he applied for a medical redshirt for his previous szn at IU (only appeared in two games and was often listed on the injury report) then he’d be able to get a sixth year of eligibility and play again in 2027 with the new NCAA rules. Knighton already had two strong seasons at NIU; redshirted as a true freshman although he started in one of the 4 games he appeared in.

All this is to say, if you aren’t hype about Gourdine and Jones, you should be.

 

[cookies]

Some of these are depressing. Is this the worst class position by position in south florida in forever?

Not ragging on Ziggy & Canesfam, but even when they are underrated, turns out, they should’ve been more highly recruited. . . . .

Only two legit kids... Whoa, that's terrible.

Sometimes south Florida three stars are really elsewhere’s four stars.

Curious to follow Jamari Sharpe's status 3-4 years from now.

Yeah….these (guys we didn’t get like Sharpe & Masses) hurt and don’t hurt at the same time because Mario was/is ahead of schedule. Still, just wanna give some props who called it.

McCantos, Trevell Mullen & Jamari Sharpe were my favorite local corners in this year’s class.

Indiana’s CB’s coach Brandon Shelby is one of the best in the business in terms of development & their Strength Coach Aaron Wellman is good too, Trevell will excel at Indiana.

Jamari Sharpe’s upside is sky high, he will also flourish in Indiana’s system, again put him in the S&C program for an offseason to get his weight up & they’re going to have a lengthy speedster with crazy athleticism.

Brandon Shelby also landed James Monds III from Vero beach (Originally at Ft. Pierce Westwood), another ballhawk with sound technique & good speed.

He reminds me a lot of Davonte Brown at UCF who blew up this year with 13PBU’s & is a very good physical corner.

Brandon Shelby worked with our new nickels coach Matt Birkett at Kansas. I think environment / culture / ecosystem is the most underrated aspect of a player reaching their potential. So many variable outcomes for young men leaving teenage years and entering their 20s.

I think we should've gone after Sharpe.

Good eyes gentlemen.

These yearly wrap-up threads are always insightful. That being said, I still hope Mario circles the block on Jaden Carey before the end of the cycle. Really like that kid.

 

[Coach Macho]

Bumping this because Macho develops / projects once again. These are two names who were not talked much on the board.

Hezekiah Masses started his career at FIU then transferred to Cal Berkley for his final season where he made first team all-ACC; 2nd team all-American. Ran a 4.46; weighed in at the combine at 179; +4 wingspan for a 6’0 5/8 build. Drafted to the Raiders in the fifth round; led the nation in passes defended with 18.

Knighton transferred to IU yet never found a role on their natty team so is now at Miami OH for his redshirt senior year season. Could have some NFL upside with a strong year at Miami OH; if he applied for a medical redshirt for his previous szn at IU (only appeared in two games and was often listed on the injury report) then he’d be able to get a sixth year of eligibility and play again in 2027 with the new NCAA rules. Knighton already had two strong seasons at NIU; redshirted as a true freshman although he started in one of the 4 games he appeared in.

All this is to say, if you aren’t hype about Gourdine and Jones, you should be.

It was actually Miami's own Frank Tucker that helped Masses get his only offer (FIU). At the time Tucker was running The Crib. He was putting on a Crib All Star game in which I was coaching. We got Masses in the game, he locked up everybody from Dade County, and the rest is history. After his freshman season at FIU I literally had an assistant coach tell "we're lucky if we have him for one more year".

FWIW....
There are guys who know a lot more than I do, like the DB coach(es) at Indiana, LSU, Georgia, Notre Dame, etc... that were going hard at Gourdine and Jones. Like full court press. (ND had 4 coaches at our practice)

I figure between them and me, we can't all be wrong.

 

[Warrior808]

It was actually Miami's own Frank Tucker that helped Masses get his only offer (FIU). At the time Tucker was running The Crib. He was putting on a Crib All Star game in which I was coaching. We got Masses in the game, he locked up everybody from Dade County, and the rest is history. After his freshman season at FIU I literally had an assistant coach tell "we're lucky if we have him for one more year".

FWIW....
There are guys who know a lot more than I do, like the DB coach(es) at Indiana, LSU, Georgia, Notre Dame, etc... that were going hard at Gourdine and Jones. Like full court press. (ND had 4 coaches at our practice)

I figure between them and me, we can't all be wrong.

If one of your guys ever wears a gold helmet I will cancel listening to the coach Macho segments of the daily pod and will take back all those lemon pepper wings I was planning on sending