Enrolling early is a major advantage for recruits who are mentally ready to skip their final semester of high school and begin a college curriculum and weight training program. Additionally, enrolling early allows the recruit to become acclimated with the program and participate in spring practice -- a major leg up on the other incoming players who must wait until the summer to start school.
Miami football recruiting: Hurricanes bring in 6 early enrollees
Several new faces will be on campus for spring practice.
Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports
Miami is welcoming six early enrollees for the 2014 recruiting class, which consists of 26 members, including 15 four- or five-star prospects.
Kc McDermott, a four-star offensive tackle recruit out of Palm Beach Central in West Palm Beach, Fla., is one of the top prospects at his position in the country. McDermott chose Miami over offers from a number of other schools around the nation, including Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Wisconsin. He’s ranked as the third-best OT in America and fourth-best player in the state of Florida by the 247sports composite, a combination of the four major recruit rating services.
State of the U, SB Nation’s Miami site, caught up with with McDermott in August. The Hurricanes’ top prospect discussed, among other things, the recruiting process, who he tries to emulate on the field and whether the NCAA investigation into Miami affected his decision.
I never really thought twice about it. Maybe there was a slight scare when it first came out, I was a freshman in high school, but I was told there wasn’t that much they could use against the us. So I never really thought too much about it.
McDermott will be joined in Miami by another early offensive enrollee, Braxton Berrios. Berrios is a wide receiver recruit out of Raleigh (N.C.) Leesville Road HS. He is rated three-stars by the 247sports composite, and the No. 49 receiver in the country. Berrios also held offers from prominent programs such as Tennessee, South Carolina, Clemson, Ohio State and Virginia Tech. SB Nation recruiting analyst Bud Elliott says the receiver fits in the Wes Welker mold.
Spread teams covet a receiver who can consistently get open on option routes, like Wes Welker did for Tom Brady. Berrios fits the bill. He’s tiny, but he uses that to his advantage. His ability to quickly change direction is way too much for even the best coverage linebackers to handle.
Early enrollees on the defensive side of the ball are weak-side defensive end Trent Harris, outside linebacker Juwon Young, and defensive tackles Calvin Heurtelou and Michael Wyche. Harris is a four-star prospect from Winter Park (Fla.) High, ranked No. 14 at his position and No. 36 in his home state. Young hails from Albany (Ga.) High and is rated as a three-star, the 57th-best OLB and 65th-best player from Georgia.
Both coming from junior college, Heurtelou and Wyche will have a short stay at Miami. However, they should be further along in their development and able to make a nice contribution right away. Heurtelou is out of Scottsdale (Ariz.) CC and is rated as a three-star DT. He’s No. 9 among JUCO players at his position and No. 4 in his state. Wyche, from East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, Calif., is also a three-star, the ninth-best JUCO DT and the 16th best out of California.
Still to come
Miami also holds non-binding verbal commitments from several star recruits it hopes to sign on Feb. 5, National Signing Day.
The best of the unsigned commitments for the ‘Canes is Chad Thomas, a four-star weak-side defensive end recruit out of hometown Booker T. Washington High. Thomas chose Miami over Alabama, Louisville, Florida, Florida State, LSU and Notre Dame, among others. He is the 38th-best prospect in the country and third-best at his position. Elliott believes he is a star in the making.
Thomas is a defensive end with a lot of potential. At this point, he is a better prospect than a high school player. Thomas is 6’5 and listed at 230 pounds, but seeing him recently, it’s clear he is continuing to put on good size. He could easily be 240 pounds come August of 2014. Thomas is very long, and his frame has room to eventually play north of 260 pounds.
Josh Maser at State of the U believes Thomas can make an immediate impact.
This unit is where Golden and staff made their money the past 2 years, and it should start to pay dividend in 2014. I think Chad Thomas is a game changer and could be the best player in our front seven the moment he steps on campus.
On offense, Miami has a verbal commitment from running back prospect Joseph Yearby, another local player from Miami Central. Yearby is ranked No. 47 in the country, and he’s listed at No. 7 among high school running backs. Elliott sees a bright future for Yearby, as does Maser.
