With Wednesday’s news of a decommitment from Alex Collins, some Miami fans are wondering where the Hurricanes will turn. That’s not to say that Miami cannot regain Collins commitment, though that seems highly unlikely. But Miami does need a contingency plan.
Miami football recruiting: Could Derrick Green replace Alex Collins?
Who will Miami pursue to replace Alex Collins?
The player at the top of the list is certainly Derrick Green. Here’s what I wrote on Green in Run on running backs coming:
Derrick Green, Richmond (Va.) Hermitage High School, 6’0 220: Green is a consensus four-star running back and is one of the top remaining prizes for a pro-style offense. He runs hard and always falls forward. The contenders? Michigan and Auburn. Green has scheduled an official visit to Oregon, perhaps because of his experience at Nike’s The Opening, and any time Oregon gets a recruit on campus it must be considered a contender. Still, most think he ends up at Michigan due to program stability.
Green would be an excellent fit for Miami, as the Hurricanes are looking for a bigger back in this cycle. He seems like a bit of a pipe dream, however, as the Hurricanes have entered this race rather late in the game and have to deal with opponents using the looming sanctions against them via negative recruiting.
If Green makes an official visit to Miami, then the Hurricanes should be considered a player for his signature.
Perhaps a more likely candidate is Stafon McCray, of Kissimme (Fla.) Osceola. According to Chris Nee of 247sports, Miami recently reached out to McCray when it read the writing on the wall about Collins.
One in-state RB #UM reached out to due to concerns w/ RB Alex Collins commitment was Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola RB Stafon McCray. @247sports
— Chris Nee (@CNee247) November 7, 2012
McCray is very under-the-radar. But he is a solid 5’11 and 200 pounds and has an offer from Boise State, as well as Boston College and Cincinnati. Here are McCray’s highlights. He looks to be a three-star level recruit and can be easily overlooked in 2013 because the state of Florida is loaded with talented backs.
One player who really wants to be at Miami is Darryl Chesnut. He claims some nice offers (and I stress claims), but it’s unclear how much interest Miami has in the Miami Columbus High School star. He recently spoke with Rivals.
“I’m just trying to get a Miami offer and stay home,” said Chestnut, who lists numerous offers from programs like Florida State, Kansas State, NC State, Texas Tech and West Virginia. “Miami, I want to go there.”
“I think the biggest thing is if Alex Collins stays committed they’ll stay with him (and not offer),” Chestnut said. “If not I think I’ll get an offer. That’s what I’ve been hearing. People are saying that if Collins decommits I should wind up with a Miami offer.”
Part of the reason for Miami’s limited interest in Chesnut is his size. Miami is looking for a big back, and Chesnut is 5’9 and 190 pounds.
While we’re here, let’s watch some of the many fine college football videos from SB Nation’s YouTube channel:
