Where do the Miami Hurricanes stand with top defensive back recruiting targets like 5-Star DJ Pickett, 4-Star Chris Ewald and 4-Star Ben Hanks Jr?
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00:00 DJ Pickett, Hurricanes legacy out of Zephyr Hills High School in the Tampa area.
00:05 Chris Ewald, four star defensive back out of Chaminade.
00:09 Where does Miami stand with these defensive back targets?
00:13 >> I think Miami is either at the top for Pickett right now, or
00:17 right there with LSU, maybe Oregon.
00:22 His list is a little bit different, Georgia certainly in there as well.
00:25 But from talking to a few people here in the last week or so, it's pretty close.
00:29 Here's the interesting part, Miami just brought in a new DBs coach.
00:34 How are they going to recruit him, use him?
00:38 Yeah, Shevis Jackson was a guy, it's ironic.
00:41 He was at LSU as a player, and that's one of the schools that DJ's
00:45 really taking a hard look at.
00:47 He recently visited Baton Rouge.
00:50 You have him, how is he gonna coach him?
00:51 Would he prefer him at safety or corner?
00:53 That's something I need to know.
00:54 >> Something on that real quick.
00:56 I don't know that this might have been put out there before Jackson's hiring was
01:00 finalized, but probably was already kind of known he was the guy.
01:05 D Money at Kane's Insight, who usually has really good information,
01:08 mentioned that Miami probably prefers DJ Pickett as a corner more so than a safety.
01:14 Does that line up with what you've seen from him?
01:17 >> Well, it's the weirdest thing.
01:19 I ran into Booker Pickett the other day at the Under Armour event in Orlando,
01:24 because his brother, Cannon, is a player.
01:26 He comes and I said, how's it going, DJ?
01:29 And we talked to him lately, but just small talking.
01:31 >> Yeah.
01:32 >> Booker's at least 6'3 and a half, and he said, there's no doubt about it,
01:36 DJ is definitely taller than me now.
01:38 >> Really?
01:39 >> And I'm like, holy crap, because I was with DJ recently, I'm just around him,
01:42 and I don't think anything about it.
01:44 But I mean, he's really tall, and he said he's at least 6'4, right?
01:47 Like he's at least 6'4.
01:49 And I watched DJ, yeah, I know.
01:51 And I watched DJ, nobody will throw at him.
01:54 I can't get any film of him.
01:56 >> Yeah. >> Nobody can.
01:57 They just throw it on the other side.
01:58 And California Power, who he plays for,
02:00 every kid that starts on that defense is gonna play big time football.
02:03 There is no freebies, so they wouldn't throw it.
02:06 The only video clip I got was worthwhile.
02:08 He played offense for one play and he scored, shocker.
02:11 >> For one play.
02:11 >> For one play and he scored.
02:13 He made the kid look bad, he turned the kid around and he ran a slant score.
02:16 But anyway, I think that the idea now is if he doesn't work out a corner,
02:21 we can always move him to free safety.
02:23 So you can take it, Corey Raymond I ran into last year at a game,
02:27 DJ was even there.
02:29 He was at UF, now he's at LSU.
02:30 He says, I think DJ is the best player in the 25 class in Florida.
02:34 I'm like, yeah, well, that's not, I agree.
02:37 And he said, I think he can play corner.
02:39 And I'm like, holy cow, I was just thinking about it.
02:40 Cuz I'd always told DJ, hey, I think eventually you'll outgrow corner,
02:44 you'll play safety.
02:45 >> Yeah. >> He doesn't care.
02:47 He's a one word guy, just okay, whatever.
02:49 Everything just kind of rolls off his back.
02:50 He's a very quiet kid.
02:52 But he's playing corner and he's still lining up with guys that are 5'10" to 6'0"
02:56 and hanging with him.
02:57 And his length is ridiculous.
02:58 I call him the spider, cuz of his arms are so long.
03:01 I think he's going to try that with any school like LSU.
03:05 I know Corey, if he goes to LSU, Corey's gonna play him at corner.
03:08 It sounds like Miami is too.
03:09 So the rarest of the rare, man.
03:12 Like there's just nobody that big that plays corner and is any good at it.
03:17 But he's a really rare athlete.
03:18 So I would try him at it no matter where he went if I was a DB coach.
03:23 Cuz if you got a 6'4" corner, it changes your defense.
03:26 >> Speaking of corners, what about Chris E.
03:28 Walt from Chaminade?
03:29 What's the latest on his recruitment?
03:31 I know Miami's heavily after this player.
03:33 >> He might be their number one target, in my opinion.
03:35 I don't know how Mario has it in all of South Florida.
03:38 Number one, they need corners.
03:40 David Lake wrote an article about this recently.
03:42 Miami, for whatever reason, part of it's the SEC schools coming down and
03:45 getting them, just haven't gotten the elite, elite corners.
03:49 Even out of South Florida in the last decade.
03:52 David did a good job going through a list and talking about it.
03:55 EWALT fits the profile.
03:57 I don't give a you know what about what he's ranked.
03:59 I've seen him enough, watched enough of his film.
04:02 He's played against the top competition in Chaminade, top ten corner.
04:05 But his list, I've got it up here on the screen.
04:08 He's got Miami the 8th of March.
04:10 He's got LSU on March 9th, Auburn March 19th, A&M March 23rd,
04:15 Tennessee April 6th for unofficials.
04:18 One of those is not like the other four.
04:20 And that's for SEC schools.
04:21 That gives me a little pause.
04:23 And he's going back like Tennessee's school, it's trending with him, etc.
04:27 He was previously committed to Michigan.
04:29 He's a little more open to leaving.
04:32 They want a lot of South Florida kids that like he's just a different kind of kid.
04:36 I'm curious to see what this ends up being like because this might be
04:40 a all the way to signing day kind of deal.
04:42 >> Yeah. >> Which is typical of South Florida kids,
04:44 but it puts Mario in a bad spot.
04:47 You have to take him.
04:48 >> Yeah. >> No matter when he wants to come.
04:49 I get it.
04:50 >> Sure.
04:51 >> I mean, he's a big time player.
04:53 But they can't miss on this and how does that impact other recruits?
04:56 It's just the life and death of recruiting in South Florida.
05:01 If you're Miami, it's all in or all out.
05:04 I think his commitment, a lot of people expect him to go to Miami.
05:07 I'm just worried for the Canes.
05:09 Will he scare off somebody else?
05:10 Because they'll get at least one other good corner.
05:13 But they really could use three in this class.
05:15 >> Yeah. >> If they could get him.
05:16 If you don't get him on signing day, it's just awkward.
05:20 I don't know how that works.
05:22 And do you take three?
05:23 It take him to pick it's one of them.
05:27 He's the wild card of all.
05:28 >> Sure.
05:29 >> I'll speak for Mario.
05:30 Yes.
05:31 But at the same time, I don't know who else they would covet more than him in
05:35 South Florida's corner.
05:35 There's a few others, but they cannot lose him and
05:38 the SEC's really got his attention.
05:40 >> Well, another one Miami really covets is Ben Hanks Jr.
05:44 Four star corner at a Booker T Washington.
05:47 Now, this one I saw Gabby at 24/7 actually put Hanks in his mock class to Miami that
05:53 he put out this week and that pissed off a lot of Florida fans because his dad
05:58 played at Florida but how have you seen Ben Hanks' recruitment going so far?
06:03 >> Well, I've seen him as a sophomore, saw him last year at the Canes camp.
06:07 I've seen him play this spring.
06:09 Everything I've been told is Miami's in a pretty dang good spot.
06:13 The Florida thing gives me pause about what have been and
06:16 I haven't asked Ben in the last six, I've talked to him directly.
06:19 But I trust the people around more than kids are savvy about how they talk about
06:22 this, especially because who his dad is.
06:25 I get it.
06:26 I get it. He's gonna be educated on it, do interviews, which is good.
06:30 Miami, Florida battles for a public school kid almost always goes UM's way.
06:38 But his dad's a legacy.
06:39 I don't know how you read that.
06:41 And he's got offers from everybody and he's extremely well coached.
06:45 Ice Harris being the coach down there and all that stuff.
06:47 He's another kid that can play free safety if you wanted him to, but
06:50 he's a long corner.
06:51 Miami's in a pretty good spot.
06:53 I think he's the second best corner in South Florida next to Ewald.
06:56 You could make the argument he's better depends on who you wanna talk to.
07:00 But I think he's a really good player.
07:02 I'm gonna pick Miami here and if Florida fans wanna jump on that.
07:06 >> Wow.
07:06 >> But Miami, and I'm not picking on you, but
07:11 they've got a ton of talent in their secondary and it is hard.
07:14 It makes your eyes wanna bleed to watch their secondary how bad it is.
07:17 And they got a ton of talent.
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