Berry considering offers - including FSU, UF

MANNY NAVARRO | MIAMI HERALD STAFF Palmetto running back Jaamal Berry (5-10, 190) is one of the top five recruits in Miami-Dade this season. Miami-Dade No. 5 Recruit RB, 5-10, 185, Palmetto LARRY BLUSTEIN'S COMMENTS: One of the fastest-rising players in the state as he used a tremendous junior season and a various combines to increase his recruiting status. Speed and the ability to create holes is what colleges simply love about this gifted athlete. Florida, FSU and Ohio St. are right in the mix.

Jaamal Berry was watching Columbus High's spring intrasquad scrimmage two weeks ago when he ran into Miami-Dade County's all-time leading rusher Frank Gore.

It didn't take long for Berry, one of the nation's premier running backs in the Class of 2009, to challenge the former Coral Gables High and University of Miami grad with a friendly wager.

''I didn't tell him I was going to go after his record,'' said Berry, a 5-11, 193-pound running back from Palmetto Senior High who heads into his senior season with a list of 25 scholarship offers.

``I just told him that I was going to have more yards than his cousin [Columbus High 2010 standout Jakhari Gore] and [Killian's] Lamar Miller and that I'd was going to lead Dade in rushing this year. We had some fun joking about it. But I know deep down inside we all seriously want to win it.''

Berry, who ran for 1,033 yards and 14 touchdowns on 140 carries as a junior, will need to do a little better than he did last year if he wants to win that bet.

Last season, Miller (1,122 yards, 12 TDs on 165 carries), Southwest High's Hosey Williams (1,120 yards, 20 TDs on 134 attempts) and Gore (1,106 yards, 13 TDs on 114 attempts) each finished with more yardage than Berry amongst the top underclassmen in the county.

What Berry will not have to do anymore is worry about impressing college scouts. He did a great job of that when he dropped his 40-yard dash time from 4.43 seconds at a Nike Combine in February to a Devin Hester-like 4.31 a month later at a Scout.com combine inside the Dolphins' practice bubble in Davie.

''Everyone at the combine couldn't believe it. They went crazy and I was real happy,'' said Berry, whose video highlight package on YouTube includes a clip of him running the 40. ``I just felt like I was gliding on the ground.''

The blazing time helped Berry glide right up the nation's recruiting charts -- past Miller in Rivals.com (Berry is now 37th; Miller 80th) -- and into a consensus, five-star, blue-chip, Top 100 national recruit.

After receiving just one scholarship offer (from Mississippi) during his junior season, Berry said he picked up six (Florida, Florida State, LSU and Ohio State) the week he ran a 4.43 at the Nike Combine and a ''ton more'' after running the 4.31.

Berry said his mother, Eartha, has kept all of the written scholarship offers for him and said she plans to put a few of them up in frames in his room by the end of the summer.

By then, Berry hopes the school he grew up rooting for -- the University of Miami -- would have given him an offer. But the Hurricanes, who already have an oral commitment from Wichita Kansas's Bryce Brown (the nation's No. 1 running back in the 2009 class), are said to be only looking to sign two running backs this February. And the Canes have already extended their other offer to Miller.

''I'm not mad or hurt or anything like that,'' Berry said. ``I know they already got Bryce and I know they offered Lamar before I really came on the scene. So, I'm not mad at them. I'd love to have an offer. Coach [Micheal] Barrow tells me all the time he'd love to give me one, but it's not his call. Besides, if Miami offered it's not like I'd commit right away. I'd consider them for sure. But they'd be just one of the schools in the mix.''

Even if the Hurricanes don't offer, Berry still has plenty of suitors. His Top 10 list includes Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Mississippi, Auburn, Clemson, LSU, West Virginia and Boston College. He says he really likes Ohio State a lot -- especially after taking an unofficial trip to watch the Buckeyes' spring game with several other local highly-touted 2009 recruits.

''We really had a great time,'' Berry said. ``I went up there with [Plantation defensive backs] Brandon McGee, Vlad Emielen, [St. Thomas receiver] Duron Carter and [Hallandale quarterback] Victor Marc. The campus was great. I loved the whole atmosphere. You could see the coaches and the players are real straight-forward people.''

Berry, who lives with his mother and his 15-year-old sister Diamond, said he plans to take his time before choosing a college. He said he plans to take all five of his official visits -- and has already made plans to attend several important college games during the season including Ohio State versus Michigan, Florida and Miami, LSU and Georgia and Ole Miss and Auburn. This summer, he said, he will take several unofficial trips to see schools with his mother.

''My dream my whole life has been to make it to the NFL, and I'm working my butt off to get there,'' Berry said. ``I love the game and I won't let anything get of the way of my dreams.''

Berry, who admits he struggled to stay focused on school as a freshman, said he has worked hard to bring his grade point average up since his sophomore season and now boasts a 2.5 GPA.

Palmetto coach Larry Coffey said Berry, who grew up playing Pop Warner football in North Miami before his family moved down south to Suniland Park when he was in the sixth grade, has all the makings of a special back.

''Jaamal has a lot of toughness about him,'' said Coffey, who starred in college as a running back, rushing 3,035 yards for West Virginia Wesleyan College from 1978-80. ``We'll have practice for three hours, and I'll call him to check up on him afterward and his mother will tell me he's already back at the park playing football with his friends or lifting weights. It's non-stop with him.''

Berry said he spends a lot of time training with his best friend, Tito Morales, a 23-year-old junior varsity assistant coach at Columbus.

Berry said Morales works with him on lunges, squats and workouts in the pool as well as pushing sleds up and down the hills at Tropical Park and running the stairs at Miami Dade College.

''I think the first time I realized how special Jaamal is was when I took him to Columbus when he was in the eighth grade,'' Morales said.

``We were playing a touch football game with some of the seniors and some of the guys who graduated. Jaamal lined up at receiver against Darrell Sheppard, who was like 20 years old at the time. Jaamal ran right past him on a nine route and took him to the house. Here was this 13-year-old kid embarrassing a 20-year-old. And he acted like it was no big deal. It was amazing.''

Morales, who said he wants no part of the friendly wager between Berry and Frank Gore, said he's excited about the impending battle for the rushing title in Dade. There is no doubt the collection of backs in South Florida right now are impressive.

''Lamar Miller is a great back. He can hit the hole and he's gone,'' Morales said. ``But what separates Jaamal and Jakhari from him is that they've got that wiggle. They run north and south and they make people miss. Lamar is going to run you over. It's definitely going to be interesting to see who wins that bet.''