OL Johnathan Cline 'Loved' Offical Visit With Miami Hurricanes
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Miami offensive line coach Alex Mirabal is quite a fan of Cartersville (Ga.) High School class of 2023 interior offensive lineman Johnathan Cline, so much so that the coach offered the rising senior during their first phone call in January 2022.
"Coach Mirabal actually just hit me up one night on Twitter and was like, 'Hey JC, here's my number, shoot me a call when you can'," Cline told All Hurricanes on Wednesday. "We called and [the offer] was the first thing he said pretty much. He went into details about what it meant and why he offered me and reasons why he thinks I'd be a good fit for them with the new program they're trying to start and run."
Through an unofficial visit to Coral Gables on January 22 and an official visit to Miami on June 24, Cline has been able to form a strong bond with Mirabal.
"I love Coach Mirabal. [He's] a good family man. He translates a lot of what is in his family life to the football field and his staff," Cline said. "He is really aggressive and into what he wants ... He loves what he does ... He's so enthusiastic about waking up and making the team better somehow or coaching.
"He's in love with it, and I want a coach like that."
For his official visit in late June, UM head coach Mario Cristobal and his coaching staff did something special for Cline.
Aside from giving the offensive lineman a tour of Miami's campus and an explanation of how the team would utilize him, the Hurricanes made Cline feel at home by doing fun activities that catered to what the 2023 prospect would do back in Georgia.
"I went fishing," Cline said. "We did stuff that I would do at home and I was really not expecting that. I didn't think we'd do anything like that at Miami. To see that we can do that ... it showed me that even though it's a big city, I can still have a small-town, home-feel to it, and that's what I love about it."
As Cline's recruitment continues to heat up into his last high school season, the Cartersville product is also focused on beating his school's bench press record of 445 pounds.
Cline, with a current bench press of 420 pounds, is on track to set his name atop one of his high school's more notable records.
As for recruiting, the rising-senior recruit from the Peach State also visited Memphis and ECU of late. Programs like Missouri, Boston College, NC State, North Carolina, Maryland and others are also on his scholarship offer list.
Miami currently has 12 verbal commitments in the class of 2023, including three along the offensive line.
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