Miami commit Hylton Stubbs earns comparisons to Hurricane great

Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin four-star safety and Miami commit Hylton “Drake” Stubbs has received his share of praise and recognition from media and his peers over the last four years, and head coach Toby Bullock doesn’t make comparisons lightly.

But there was one Miami legend he sees similarities to.

“Believe me, I think he’s one of the greatest players of all time, and so I don’t want to blasphemy over here, but he covers ground like Sean Taylor would,” Bullock said. “There was a play he made last year against Monarch, right in Miami, where it’s a deep ball to one of their top four or five-star receivers, and Drake comes out of nowhere from the middle of the field, opposite hash and picks it off. It’s in that same vein you saw these great safeties at Miami do.”

Bullock said Stubbs, who committed to the Hurricanes July 4 after decommitting from USC in late June, fits into Miami’s tradition of rangy, athletic, hard-hitting safeties particularly well, but he was still careful to make any comparisons. But he still thinks Stubbs, the No. 55 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking and No. 4 safety, compares to players like Taylor or Ed Reed, especially knowing his ceiling.

“I think his ceiling is through the roof, and it’s not because of him,” Bullock said. “I think the Miami coaches, I got to meet some of the coaches, talk to some of the coaches (at a spring practice while watching Deryc Plazz ), and it’s family-oriented. That’s right up Drake’s alley. Drake is a very personable person. If you build a relationship with him, he will do anything. He doesn’t have bad days. He doesn’t have bad attitudes, and he loves to practice. He loves to play in the game. There’s no one that likes to practice more than Drake. He loves the game of football. And if he gets with a coach that he buys in to, hie ceiling is as high as he wants it to be.”

Stubbs has already proven his ability in zone coverages, but Bullock said he wants to see him continue to improve in man-to-man situations. Bullock said they typically ask Stubbs to play a rover-type of role where he can drop into the box to defend the run, roam the middle of the field and take away various routes in two-safety looks and hasn’t asked him to lock up many receivers one-on-one. Bullock acknowledged Stubbs will likely eventually be asked to play man coverage eventually at the college level, although he said his specific role could likely depend on Miami’s defensive needs.

Stubbs is expected to early enroll.

CaneSport’s Take

Make no mistake: Stubbs was THE DUDE Miami wanted at safety in the class, and the Hurricanes got him. Miami fans should be excited about the possibility of one day having a safety combo of Stubbs and 2024 signee Zaquan Patterson , and if the Hurricanes can finish out the 2025 class by flipping five-star LSU cornerback commit DJ Pickett and nabbing local four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. , Miami could have a secondary to be reckoned with in the near future.

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