Thursday Recruiting Rundown, June 16
Recruiting is now in full swing across the country, and the programs in the Sunshine State are no exception. Official visits every weekend, prospects setting dates to make public announcements (and then switching dates to announce – see below), and of course making commitments. With that, here we go.
Big John
Originally planning to visit Southern California this weekend, top defensive tackle John Walker is now visiting Miami starting today. The 6’4”, 300-pound prospect from Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola is a top-of-the-board recruit for numerous schools, including any program in Florida.
Walker still has a trip with Florida (Oct. 15), and he already made his first official visit overall to UCF (June 3).
Who Committed?
In the last week, the following prospects made pledges to Florida, Florida State, Miami and UCF:
Florida - None.
Florida State - Quindarrius Jones, safety, Meridian (Miss.) High School and Jaden Jones, defensive end, Montgomery (Ala.) Park Crossing/ Hutchinson Community College (Kan.). Both players not only possess the same last name, but also made public commitments on June 11.
Let’s start with the young man from Mississippi. That’s a long and lanky player that honestly could end up at multiple positions. Safety seems like the most likely spot, but do not rule out him playing the hybrid linebacker position at some point, even if for spot duty. He’s a physical defender.
As for Jones the defensive end, he looks the part. That’s for sure. Great frame to add weight and he’s already big enough to play the run and the pass as an edge defender. If he continues to work his craft, he could be an early contributor for the Seminoles in 2023.
Miami - Jackson Carver, tight end, Culver (Ind.) Culver Military Academy. This is a great looking prospect. Growing up, played hockey and lacrosse in addition to football, and now he’s really devoting his time to the pigskin. Carver is a talented prospect that Miami fans should be ecstatic about.
UCF - None.
Top Recruit Spurns Florida
For a long time, it looked like AJ Harris was trending to Florida or perhaps Clemson. Then just a few minutes ago, he publicly announced for Georgia!
From Phenix City (Ala.) Central, Harris is a cornerback and one of the nation’s best overall prospects, perhaps even a national top five player. That’s a big loss loss for Florida and Clemson.
Recruits Announcing
For the Gators, there’s the looming decision of elite quarterback Jaden Rashada from Pittsburg (Calif.) High School. Many believed he would select the Gators on Saturday. Now that could be a situation that goes in the opposite direction.
He was set to announce his decision, but he’s bumped that decision back according to multiple reports. Ironically, that could be a situation where two of the state of Florida’s in-state programs go toe-to-toe with one another. The rumored program that Rashada will visit?
Miami. If it is indeed the Hurricanes, Rashada visiting and possibly committing could really jumpstart their class. Miami currently has six commitments, four of which hail from South Florida. Finding a quarterback is a different situation for Miami, as well as Florida.
Neither the Hurricanes or Gators secured the commitment of a signal caller to date, and if either one of them were to land Rashada it would be a windfall for that particular program. He’s one of the nation’s top overall recruits regardless of position.
Another recruit, Jaxon Howard, a TE/DE from Crystal (Minn.) Robbinsdale Cooper, will make his pledge very soon.
Flip Season Begins
We are now in the midst of ‘Flip Season.’ Another way of putting it, 17 year olds being 17 year olds. They change their minds about what schools they want to attend, and do so frequently.
There are a few so-called committed prospects that have been discussed as done deals to change where they are committed, albeit by opposing college coaches and/or other sources talking off the record. That’s the nature of the recruiting beast.
To be clear, there probably is not a school in the country that does not have at least one of its commitments talking to another school. In today’s era of technology, it’s very easy to connect to a recruit in a matter of seconds via a cell phone.
As the second half of the month of June unfolds, there will be more stories to tell during the next edition of the Thursday Recruiting Rundown.
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