The Canes are making an attempt to add a striker to recruiting class with official visit

Martin Emerson was in no rush to finalize his college choice last month, so after a visit with the Miami Hurricanes he opted not to finalize anything with the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the early signing period.

Emerson wasn’t going to early enroll anywhere, so he figured he might as well take his time. Mississippi State would be there in February, but waiting to sign would give him more time to consider other suitors like Miami and the Oregon Ducks.

At the end of the month, things changed with the Hurricanes. Former coach Mark Richt retired and Miami replaced him with Manny Diaz. Now Emerson will get another chance to take in a weekend with the Hurricanes.

“He’s going to go back and give it one more shot down there,” said Jason McDonald, Emerson’s coach at Pensacola Pine Forest. “Of course, he wants to meet with him and talk with him, and kind of see how things are going to be. Of course, things are going to change when a new coach is brought in, so he just wants to see maybe the differences.”

Miami is hosting a big group of official visitors this weekend in Coral Gables and, given this is his second official visit with the Hurricanes, Emerson seems to be one of the prospects most interested in Miami.

Despite being committed to the Bulldogs since the summer, Emerson visited the Hurricanes multiple times throughout the fall, including an official visit last month. The senior is allowed to take a second with Miami because of an NCAA rule allowing prospects to visit a school a second time after a coaching change.

After the Hurricanes announced their class of early signings last month, co-defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda said Miami was still working to add three more defensive backs to the roster by next year. One of Banda’s biggest priorities since the calendar turned to 2019 has been Emerson.

Banda, who is safeties coach, has taken multiple trips up to the Florida Panhandle this month and even brought coach Manny Diaz along with him for an in-home visit with Emerson on Wednesday.

Although Emerson is considered a three-star cornerback in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, Banda and the Hurricanes envision Emerson as a more versatile player.

With the Eagles, Emerson sometimes plays cornerback, but he’s more frequently a strong safety, playing in the box. McDonald said Miami sees the 6-2, 185-pound defensive back potentially playing striker as a hybrid between an outside linebacker and strong safety.

“That’s kind of the position they like him in is that striker position, so I think that’s really what they’re basically recruiting him as,” McDonald said Thursday. “His size with his athletic ability, he’s got a lot of options. The kid can play corner — he’s skillful enough that you can put out there and play corner, but he’s also big enough he can play a strong safety, a free safety, even an outside linebacker. He’s going to be skilful enough to cover a slot receiver, as well. He’s very versatile.”

As a senior at Pine Forest, Emerson finished third on the team with 91 tackles and added two tackles for loss. Emerson also broke up four passes, recorded one interception, and forced one fumble and recovered two.

Last season was the first time the Hurricanes played with their new striker position as part of the base defense, so Miami has never explicitly recruited a player with the position in mind. Striker Romeo Finley, who saw the vast majority of playing time at the position, came to the Hurricanes as a three-star safety in the Class of 2016.

Striker Derrick Smith, the only other player listed at the position on Miami’s roster, actually came to the Hurricanes as a three-star wide receiver in the Class of 2017.

Miami didn’t start thinking about strikers until starting to implement in the position in the spring, more than a year after Smith signed. Almost a year later, Emerson can be the first player the Hurricanes sign explicitly to play the new position.

“Just the program itself, just its history,” McDonald said sparked Emerson’s interest in Miami, “the ability to go down there and compete for a job just right away possibly, just several things I think figured into it.”