Miami-Dade County Recruiting Tracker: Vanderbilt Adds Northwestern Cornerback Guylijah Theodule to 2024 Recruiting Class
The Miami Hurricanes have historically recruited its home area of Miami-Dade County well, and that’s been a priority for head coach Mario Cristobal and his coaching staff since he took over the program in December of 2021.
The Canes had reason to do so. The fertile recruiting grounds of the greater Miami-Dade area have continued to produce top talent, and this page will cover those top football prospects across the board.
The Canes locked up top 2023 recruits from Miami-Dade like Rueben Bain, Robby Washington, Bobby Washington and Nathaniel "Ray Ray" Joseph. Look for the Hurricanes to continue the trend of recruiting Miami area high schools with the class of 2024. The number of talented programs to recruit from will continue to be extensive.
From Miami Public School programs such as but not limited to Northwestern, Central, Booker T. Washington, Carol City, Edison, Killian, Jackson, Norland, Palmetto, and Miami High, to private schools like Columbus, Champagnat Catholic, Monsignor Pace, Belen Jesuit, Gulliver Prep and more, this page will continually add information about top prep football prospects within Dade County.
Bookmark and check back often, as discussion points will include seven-on-seven news, scholarship offers, unofficial and official visits, decommitments, and all the happenings around Miami-Dade high school football scene.
June 16
With the Northwestern Bulls hiring former Northwestern wide receiver Michaelee Harris to be the head coach, he's trying to bring back the magic for one of Florida's most storied high school football programs.
One thing he will not be worried about will be the speed and talent of now Vanderbilt cornerback commitment Guylijah Theodule. He ran 10.73 at the state track meet and has earned several offers before deciding to play for the Commodores.
Kansas, Penn State, East Carolina, Syracuse, Toledo, Grambling State, Western Michigan, Virginia, Western Kentucky and the University of Alabama-Birmingham were some of his other scholarship offers.
The 6-foot-2 and 170-pound cornerback would be a good example of how there always seem to be a good number high-upside defensive backs in Dade County. That's why college football programs have continued to flock down to the Miami area.
Good luck to Theodule as he will eventaully head off to play for Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.
June 4
Rutgers has been busy in Dade County.
Three of the most talented prospects – all from Miami (Fla.) Norland – have committed to the Scarlet Knights this weekend.
Those three would be rising offensive tackle Raynor Andrews, and the twins, defensive ends Tycoolhill Luman and Tyclean Luman.
Andrews was the first of the three to make the pledge to Greg Schiano. The 6-foot-5 and 312-pound "athlete" has just begun to learn the game of football as an offensive tackle. His upside should be considered to be through the roof.
As for the twins, they made their decision known today.
Each one has been well known as a pass rusher. Both of them are in the 235-pound range and still possess the room for growth.
The city of Miami has plenty of talent and its interesting that Rutgers was able to come in and grab three of the city's best so early in the recruiting cycle. Will they still take other official visits?
Will any of the Florida programs come calling soon or at some point down the line? There could be some interesting scenarios that play out at some point.
For now, at the very least, Rutgers landed three really talented players from Norland High School.
MAY 30
Talk about a loaded roster.
The Miami Central Rockets will be looking to win yet another state title this fall and head coach Jube Joseph will certainly have the horses to do it all again.
The latest addition to the roster would be talented cornerback Jamari Howard, one of the nation's most sought after cornerback recruits. Howard was playing for Westland Hialeah.
He has been offered by schools across the country and has official visits lined up to Florida (June 2) and Michigan State (June 9), plus several other programs after him. Miami, UCF, Alabama and Georgia have all hosted Howard for unofficial visits and more schools could be in contention for official visits.
Adding the 6-foot-2 and 170-pound cornerback to the roster for the Rockets seems scary.
Just from the 2024 class, there will be top recruits like, but not limited to, wide receiver Lawayne McCoy (FSU commitment), linebacker Vincent Shavers (Miami commitment), defensive lineman T.A. Cunningham, and linebacker Lamar Smith.
That's the start, as there will be a plethora of talented underclassmen playing for the Rockets, too. Edge Armondo Blount, defensive tackle Anthony Smith, and safety Amari Wallace would be a good starting list for that group of juniors.
Look for the Rockets to once again be among the state of Florida's best teams, and best teams in America as well.
MARCH 27
The next waves of Miami-Dade prep football are being noticed earlier and earlier, and now one of the county's finest is to be known as a top 10 national recruit.
Recruiting outlet On3 released its updated class of 2025 football prospect rankings and new Miami (Fla.) Central standout Armondo Blount, formerly of Dillard High School, is tabbed as the state's top recruit.
Blount, listed at 6-foot-3, 254 pounds, checks in as the outlet's No. 7-ranked recruit nationally, first among Floridians at this time. More than two dozen programs, including Miami, have already offered the pass-rusher.
Central will look to defend its most recent state title with Blount among the new faces of the program. Blount was the only Miami-Dade prospect tabbed as a top 100 recruit by the network, though plenty of Floridians litter their expanded rankings.
MARCH 18
The Bulls turn to former Northwestern player and Miami Hurricanes assistant as next head coach.
After dismissing now former head coach Max Edwards, Miami Northwestern has gone in the direction of former Bulls player Michaelee Harris.
The former wide receiver (2006-2009) knows the culture of the Northwestern program, as he was a part of a state title team in 2007. At a tradition-rich football school like Northwestern, understanding what it took to get that ring truly matters.
While Northwestern won the 2019 5A state title, the Bulls were not quite the same the past few seasons, albeit still quite talented.
In 2022, Northwestern finished 6-5, including the inability to defeat rival Miami Central. The Rockets won 42-7 over the Bulls last season.
As a player, Harris played at Akron and Louisville, and afterwards went into coaching. His college coaching career included stints at Illinois and Miami, as well as being Northwestern’s wide receiver coach and Carol City’s offensive coordinator.
MARCH 1
One of the long time Miami Public League coaches has been removed from his post. Max Edwards, who was the leader of some great teams for Northwestern High School, is no longer the head coach for the Bulls.
Northwestern has been a traditional power not only in South Florida, but throughout Florida and the nation. The Miami Hurricanes and many other college football programs have recruited top prospects from there for decades.
It will be interesting to see which person ends up being the next head coach for the Bulls.
FEBRUARY 8
Two of Dade County's best former prep players -- Deon Bush and Josh Jobe -- will play in the 2023 Super Bowl for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles respectively. Both players came from Miami (Fla.) Columbus and play safety and cornerback.
Bush left Columbus from the high school class of 2012. He signed with the Miami Hurricanes and was selected in the 2016 NFL Draft with the 124th pick of the fourth round by the Chicago Bears.
The 2022 season was the first year that Bush moved on from Chicago and began playing with Kansas City. He has been credited with 11 tackles this season. His best season in the NFL was in 2021 when he had 40 tackles and two interceptions with the Bears.
As for Jobe, he attended the University of Alabama after graduating from Columbus in 2018. He was an undrafted free agent signed by the Eagles. He has not played much, recording just one tackle this season, but he's still headed to the Super Bowl with the Eagles.
JANUARY 25
One of the most storied programs in the history of Florida resides in the heart of Dade County. That's Miami Central.
With that history, numerous players have represented the Rockets well, including University of Miami and NFL star Willis McGahee, among many others.
One of the up and coming Central prospects now also has a chance to play for the same university that McGahee once did.
Lawayne McCoy's ability to separate from defensive backs at or near the line of scrimmage has been well known by those around South Florida for quite some time. College coaches have been figuring that out as well, The U obviously included.
Some of the other offers that McCoy recently picked up include West Virginia, Illinois, Louisville, Liberty, Florida Atlantic and Michigan State.
JANUARY 18
One of the top prospects within the class of 2025, regardless of state or position, has long since been considered to be Armondo Blount.
He was at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard during his freshman and sophomore seasons. Blount made a decision to head to Dade County and play for Miami Central.
Blount, at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, provides heavy hands, excellent bend, and the ability to get downhill to chase the ball carrier or quarterback. He will essentially be replacing now Miami Hurricane Rueben Bain, who played his prep football for the Rockets as well.
As for Blount, he's been a priority for Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and his coaching staff, as well as numerous other programs like Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Oklahoma, and many others.
Look for Blount to be in strong consideration for five-star status when all has been said and done.
JANUARY 15 - Noon Update
Yulkeith Brown spent two seasons in College Station, Texas representing the Texas A&M Aggies.
Now, he’s decided to transfer to the Tulane Green Wave. Brown was a four-star recruit by 247 Sports coming out of Miami (Fla.) Central, and was a part of the Rockets’ 2019 and 2020 state championship teams.
Brown did not get the ball much for the Aggies during his two seasons in the SEC. He carried twice for 52 yards in 2021, and then he caught six passes for 112 yards and one score during the 2022 season.
Brown could end up playing running back and/or wide receiver for the Green Wave, and he’s certainly capable as a return man as well. He was one of Florida’s fastest prep players while with the Rockets.
Brown will have two years of eligibility to utilize with Tulane.
JANUARY 15
One of the most unique 2024 Miami-Dade prospects would be Earl Kulp. He’s the traditional long and lean skill player that has come out of the Miami Public League for decades, but where does Kulp best project at the college football FBS level?
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, Kulp has played cornerback for Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Saint Thomas Aquinas, and then transferred to Miami (Fla.) Central for this past season and played cornerback as well.
For his size, Kulp has shown the ability to change direction well, and he’s also possessed the long arms that aided him to swat away passes. Now, how big does Kulp ultimately become? He's shown physicality already, as this video showed:
The answer to that question may take a while to come to a conclusion, but it also means he could start out at cornerback at the college level and still eventually play at least some safety in time. That potential versatility could make Kulp an even more valuable recruit than he already has become.
Kulp earned offers from several programs to date, including Miami, Michigan, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Colorado, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Ole Miss among others.
One could argue that Kulp is even the most compelling of the 2024 defensive backs from Miami-Dade. Going to be fun to see how his recruitment unfolds this year.
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