Miami’s new CB commit has way more experience at WR. Here’s why UM thinks he can be great

Marcus Clarke wasn’t much on the Miami Hurricanes’ radar before he took the field for Winter Park’s spring game against Orlando Dr. Phillips in May. Before the spring, Clarke was almost always lining up as a wide receiver and it led to a 1,000-yard season as a junior for the Wildcats. He was a three-star athlete without some of the ideal size colleges look for in a blue-chip wide receiver.

Mike Rumph had a different thought when he watched Winter Park’s exhibition game in Orlando. The cornerbacks coach saw the speed that made Clarke the most productive receiver in Central Florida for the Class of 2019 and saw some of the physical traits he most values at his position. The assistant coach decided to offer Clarke as a cornerback prospect in early June to cap a rush of offers throughout the spring for the in-state prospect.

“They just really loved how I performed, and then they just offered me and said that I really have potential here at Miami,” Clarke said. “We can do big things here.”

The Miami offer stood out a little bit more than some of the other schools which made him offers throughout the spring, including the Tennessee Volunteers, Ole Miss Rebels and Central Florida Knights. On Saturday, Clarke made his pick from a top five which also included the Florida State Seminoles, West Virginia Mountaineers, Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee by orally committing to the Hurricanes while in Coral Gables to watch one of Miami’s first practices of fall camp.

Since Rumph evaluated Clarke as a defensive back for the Hurricanes, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior’s stock has soared. He’s still only a three-star cornerback in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, but he jumped more than 300 spots in the most recent round of significant updates to 247Sports’ rankings. Fourteen schools have offered Clarke since the start of February, including Miami and Georgia. The whole nation has caught on to what Rumph saw in the spring.

At The Opening Orlando regional in February, Clarke ran a 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds, ran the short shuttle in 4.38 seconds and recorded a 33.5-inch vertical leap. Pair his quick-twitch athleticism with an impressive wingspan and Clarke ticks all the boxes for Rumph. After he impressed Rumph at Paradise Camp in June, Clarke emerged as a major priority in the secondary for the Hurricanes.

Clarke hopes a larger commitment to defense will only help him continue improving. He was primarily a defensive back as a freshman for the Wildcats before he shifted to offense to get consistent playing time as a sophomore on varsity. As a junior, Clarke was still most productive as a wide receiver, although he did come in occasionally on defense and grabbed four interceptions.

“Being able to like pick up on plays better, just being able to move around,” Clarke said, evaluating what about his game best translates on defense. “The bond that I have with Coach Rumph, it felt like it was a bond, so I felt like I wanted to give my full commitment to the defensive side.”