Jess Simpson and Manny Diaz make Miami Hurricanes appealing to this blue-chip defensive end

Before Jess Simpson’s final playoff run as the coach of Buford fell short in a Georgia state championship game, the Wolves mowed through Jones County from Gray in the second round. Buford piled up 56 points on the way to a 30-point win, then left to join the staff of the Georgia State Panthers less than a month later.

On Wednesday, Simpson met the Greyhounds again, this time to recruit one of the young defensive standouts from the Jones County team he beat in his final season. Ja’Darien Boykin, a four-star defensive end, is slated to officially visit the Miami Hurricanes, and Simpson’s role as Miami’s defensive line coach can only help the Hurricanes’ cause.

“Coach Simpson did a heck of a job at Buford, developing them into the power they are,” Greyhounds coach Justin Rogers said. “It wasn’t all that when he first took over, so he’s very well respected in the state. He does an unbelievable job.”

Since he joined Miami’s coaching staff before last season, Simpson has helped the Hurricanes build a strong recruiting presence in Georgia. Miami signed two players from the state in the early signing period, and was a finalist for a handful of other Georgia prospects, including five-star wide receiver Jadon Haselwood and four-star defensive end Kevin Harris.

Boykin is the latest major target Simpson hopes to lure down to Florida and, at least so far, the competition won’t be quite as fierce as it was for Haselwood, who picked the Oklahoma Sooners, and Harris, who signed with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Hurricanes, Louisville Cardinals and Maryland Terrapins all offered Boykins a scholarship on Jan. 7, and before then the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were virtually alone in recruiting the blue-chip edge rusher.

Miami pinpointed Boykin earlier this month after four-star Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons defensive end Khris Bogle orally committed to Alabama. The Hurricanes hoped to land one more defensive end in the Class of 2019 and, with Bogle at least temporarily out of the picture, they wanted to find an under-the-radar prospect.

Boykin, who logged 52 total tackles with 22 tackles for a loss and 13 sacks, fit the bill.

“You’re recruiting a guy, you’ve got a guy as your top guy and then he goes and signs somewhere else, you’ve got to kind of reshuffle the deck and look who’s out there, so I think that’s some of what happened to some of these schools,” Rogers said. “You’ve got new coaches, as well, that are coming in and re-evaluating their needs and what’s out there on the board, so you’re looking at three schools that came in here late that all have new staffs.”

As the No. 18 weak-side defensive end in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2019, Boykin is the second-highest ranked uncommitted prospect at his position. At 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Boykin, however, is a bit undersized, which has prevented him from gathering some of the interest from Power 5 Conference schools his production suggests he deserves.

After he spends the weekend in Coral Gables, Boykin is set to visit Louisville the weekend of Jan. 25, then sign a National Letter of Intent on National Signing Day in February. If Miami makes him a priority, the Hurricanes offer a defense Boykin feels could be a perfect fit.

“Obviously, it’s Miami. It’s a great name-recognition school,” Rogers said. “A lot of people associate that, but then also, after talking to Coach Simpson about the defensive style, just how vertical coach [Manny] Diaz likes his defense, getting up field and being a premium on rushing the passer, I think that attracts him, as well.”