Miami Hurricanes add fast-rising in-state cornerback to 2020 recruiting class

The Miami Hurricanes’ strong recruiting summer isn’t slowing down. Miami added another in-state commitment Saturday when Marcus Clarke, a three-star cornerback from Winter Park, orally pledged to the Hurricanes.

Clarke, who becomes the 23rd member of Miami’s Class of 2020, announced his commitment on Twitter while on an unofficial visit in Coral Gables.

The nation’s No. 61 cornerback in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, Clarke picked the Hurricanes over the Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers and West Virginia Mountaineers.

Clarke is the third player to commit to Miami’s 2020 recruiting class in July and the ninth since the start of June. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior jumped 400 spots in the 247Sports rankings up to No. 353 earlier this week. He was clocked at 4.57 seconds in the 40-yard dash in February and impressed coaches at Paradise Camp last month.

Clarke’s commitment gives the Hurricanes four true defensive backs in the 2020 class and three true cornerbacks. Miami also holds pledges from four-star cornerback Jaiden Francois, three-star cornerback Daran Branch, and three-star safeties Keshawn Washington and Justin Hodges, plus three-star athlete Xavier Restrepo, who plays some strong safety for Deerfield Beach. All but Washington spent Saturday on campus.

Although he projects as a corner at the next level, Clarke was a standout wide receiver for the Wildcats on their way to a 10-win season. Clarke caught 59 passes for 1,004 yards and 21 touchdowns, ran five times for 14 yards and averaged 13.1 yards per punt return with two more touchdowns. He also pulled in three interceptions, two of which he ran back for touchdowns.

Clarke’s commitment solidifies the Hurricanes’ hold on the No. 2 class in the Atlantic Coast Conference and No. 8 in the country. It also wraps up a major recruiting weekend for Miami, which began fall camp Friday. The Hurricanes hosted most of their 2020 commitments across the first two preseason practices, plus top 2020 targets like four-star defensive end Jaylen Harrell and three-star safety Brian Balom.

This story was originally published July 27, 2019 at 10:18 PM.