The Miami Hurricanes - who have been on a recruiting roll since June 1 - suffered a rare setback on Wednesday evening when five-star Zephyrhills High cornerback D.J. Pickett announced he’s committing to LSU, instead of his two other finalists, Miami and Oregon.
UM is expected to continue its pursuit of Pickett. And the Canes, under Mario Cristobal, have had success flipping top prospects who previously committed elsewhere.
Nevertheless, it has been an excellent summer for UM from a recruiting standpoint; the Canes have received 12 Class of 2025 pledges since June 1, mostly from four-star prospects, and 247 Sports ranks UM’s class 10th in the country.
The Canes now await decisions from several other targets.
UM also is a finalist for Mulberry, Fla. based three-star defensive lineman Jarquez Carter, who plans to announce Thursday. His finalists are UM, Penn State and Ohio State. On.3 ranks him the No. 401 prospect in this class.
Defensively, the Canes remain contenders for other well-regarded prospects, several of whom are ranked in the top 100 nationally:
▪ Five-star Savannah, Georgia based prospect Elijah Griffin, who’s rated the No. 8 player and No. 1 defensive lineman in this class. Georgia and Southern Cal are UM’s top competition.
▪ Four-star Louisiana based cornerback Jaboree Antoine, a former LSU commitment. FSU is in hot pursuit as well. He’s rated 136th nationally by 247. He plans to announce on Saturday and Miami is thought to have a decent chance.
▪ Five-star Illinois based edge prospect Iose Epenesa, who is ranked the No. 3 defensive linemen and No. 15 overall prospect in this class. Utah and Iowa are other top contenders, but Canesport.com reports UM is now in strong position to land him.
▪ Four-star Miami Columbus safety Bryce Fitzgerald, who’s expected to announce in mid-August. UF and FSU are also very much in play.
▪ Booker T. Washington cornerback Ben Hanks Jr., who is rated the No. 10 cornerback and No. 81 player overall. He’s considering UM, FSU, UF and Louisville. On3.com has made UF the front-runner.
▪ Louisiana-based three-star prospect Aiden Anding, who is ranked No. 38 among corners by 247 Sports. Texas, TCU, LSU and Arkansas are also in the mix.
▪ Though he’s not a top 300 prospect, Miami Central defensive lineman Floyd Boucard remains a Canes target. He plans to announce in the days ahead. The 6-3, 350-pounder is 247’s No. 63 defensive tackle in this class.
So far, the Canes - with their 2025 commitments defensively - are very strong at linebacker (four-star prospects Gavin Nix and Elijah Menendez and three-star prospect Ezekiel Marcellin) and safety (four-star prospects Hylton Stubbs and Amari Wallace).
They need more help on the defensive line beyond promising four-star end Herbert Scroggins.
They’re in good shape at cornerback for 2025, with nonbinding commitments Chris Ewald and Timothy Merritt, but could use two more.
We discussed where UM’s 2025 class stands offensively in this piece. One of UM’s targets on offense, Orlando (Fla.) Jones four-star 2025 receiver Vernell Brown III, will choose among UM, FSU, UF and Ohio State on Sunday.
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