How the Hurricanes made a late push to flip safety recruit Cornelius Nunn from Syracuse
South Dade’s playcall was obvious when it lined up at the goal line for a third-down play in overtime Friday in Miami.
The Buccaneers were almost certainly going to throw to Frank Ladson, their five-star wide receiver committed to the Clemson Tigers, and it had worked over and over again in the game.
To help South Dade start to erase a 17-point lead in the second half, Ladson caught a goal-line fade touchdown through a double team. The Palmetto coaching staff wouldn’t let it happen again.
Ladson split out wide and the Panthers sent Cornelius Nunn to follow him. The senior spent most of the game lined up as Palmetto’s free safety, which meant Nunn got over just a bit too late to break up the pass to Ladson about an hour earlier. To pull out a 33-30 win in overtime, the Panthers needed Nunn to stop the inevitable pass to Ladson.
“Coach just felt like it was the best against the best,” Nunn said after the win at Tropical Park, “so I just went out there one-on-one.”
Nunn knew Ladson would either run a slant or a fade, so the defensive back set up on Ladson’s inside, ready to jam a potential quick slant. The snap went back and Ladson darted to the left sideline for a fade. Nunn knew he was quick enough to get back if need be and he was right. South Dade quarterback Demetrius Burns threw up a jump ball, hoping to make the most of Ladson’s four-inch height advantage. Nunn, with his massive wingspan, met Ladson at the ball and poked the pass away. The Buccaneers failed a fourth-down attempt, then Palmetto sunk the winning field goal on its first possession.
In the past few months, Nunn proved himself capable of going toe to toe against some of South Florida’s best and, in turn, the Miami Hurricanes made him one of their top priorities in the secondary.
What started as an openly non-committable offer became an aggressive courtship in the past few months. Last Wednesday, Nunn finally completed his flip from the Syracuse Orange and orally committed to his hometown team with a post on Twitter.
“They were showing me the most love,” Nunn said.
Miami was never exactly an inevitability, though, hence his summer commitment to Syracuse. The Hurricanes first offered the 6-foot, 170-pound athlete at their junior day in March, but made it clear it was something of a conditional offer. Miami was still recruiting a number of safeties and the coaching staff wasn’t ready to accept his commitment. Further interest never materialized and Nunn orally committed to the Orange in June after an official visit to Syracuse, New York.
Even if Nunn never quite felt wanted by the the Hurricanes during the summer, Miami kept its eye on him. The Hurricanes urged Nunn to attend Paradise Camp in July, so they could evaluate him further.
Nunn, who is still only a three-star safety in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, dominated the camp and Miami re-offered the local prospect. From there, the Hurricanes were impossible to turn down.
“When they started showing me the most love, like they want me there,” Nunn said, “that was when I was like, Oh, yeah. I’m there. I’m ready to go there.”
The past few months have been transformative for Nunn. Early in the year, Nunn was tantalizing enough to catch the eyes of — and offers from — the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers.
Auburn hosted him for an unofficial visit. Georgia sent coaches to watch him play. Alabama watched him run a 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds at a camp and offered him on the spot. Only the Orange, though, truly made him feel wanted until the summer.
Nunn spent the offseason refining the rougher edges of his game and reshaping himself physically. Nunn was always a big hitter, but he claims to have added eight pounds of muscle in the summer to give him a physique to match his instincts. On Friday, he knocked off a player’s helmet with a monster hit to break up a two-point conversion pass.
“He’s one of the best players in the country,” Panthers coach Mike Manasco said Friday. “I’ve been doing this 17 years. He’s one of the best players in the country.”
With the Hurricanes, those instincts and his physical tools could let him potentially anywhere in the secondary. Nunn, whose primary recruiter is safeties coach Ephraim Banda, said coaches have discussed his potential to play cornerback, safety or even rover, which is the in-the-box strong safety role currently occupied by senior defensive back Jaquan Johnson. With Miami set to lose three starters to graduating, playing time could be available for Nunn early, although he won’t early enroll.
Still, Nunn is locked in with his choice to play for the Hurricanes. He plans to sign during the early signing period in December and eventually suit up for his childhood favorite team.
“There ain’t no place like being home,” Nunn said, “getting that home feeling.”
Friday night (high)lights
▪ Damarius Good ran wild in Altamonte Springs Lake Brantley’s 44-42 loss to Oviedo. The three-star athlete piled up 141 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries. Good, who primarily has played running back for Lake Brantley this season, also caught a 28-yard pass and racked up 172 yards on four kick returns. The senior is committed to Miami as a defensive back and also logged one tackle Friday.
▪ Marcus Crowley keeps rolling for unbeaten Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy. The three-star running back ran for 136 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in a 35-7 rout of Ponte Vedra on Friday. The senior also caught two passes for 10 yards and logged a tackle. He currently sits at 1,426 rushing yards this season.
▪ Jeremiah Payton put together another solid performance in Friday despite Neptune Beach Fletcher’s 21-20 loss to Lake City Columbia. The four-star wide receiver caught seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown aginst one of the top teams in Class 7A. The senior now has 43 catches for 533 yards and four touchdowns this year.
▪ Keontra Smith kept his excellent senior season going in Chaminade-Madonna’s 47-14 blowout of Doral Academy. The four-star safety logged 10 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble-recovery touchdown in the win Friday.
▪ Cameron Williams, a teammate of Smith’s, had one of his best games of the season, too. The three-star defensive end logged three sacks in the lopsided win. The senior end finished with eight tackles and also batted down a pass.
This story was originally published October 24, 2018 at 11:02 AM.