This Miramar defensive back is emerging as a major Miami Hurricanes recruiting target
Like pretty much everyone rooting for the Miami Hurricanes from the crowd at Camping World Stadium, Brian Balom considered one of the highlights of Miami’s opener to be Scott Patchan’s fumble recovery in the second quarter.
The defensive lineman pounced on a loose ball and everyone knew what was coming — sort of. The redshirt senior headed to the bench and his teammates surrounded him to present him the 2019 version of the Hurricanes’ turnover chain.
Balom still laughs when he thinks about the gaudy 305 chain placed around Patchan’s neck and the “3-0-5” chants which followed.
“It caught me by surprise. It’s cool,” Balom said. “The 305 — really that was nice.”
Since he received an offer from Miami in June, Balom has been a mainstay around the Hurricanes whenever the opportunity has presented itself. He visited Coral Gables for one of the few July practices Miami could use to host prospects, then trekked up to Orlando on Saturday to watch the Hurricanes open the season with a 24-20 loss to the No. 8 Florida Gators. Even though they couldn’t communicate with prospects in person, the Hurricanes and Florida each had a limited amount of tickets they were allowed to distribute to recruits, and Balom got one of those limited invitations from Miami.
Communication between coaches and recruits can pick up again in earnest Sunday when the dead period ends and an evaluation period begins. Balom will almost certainly be one of the uncommitted South Florida prospects the Hurricanes keep in touch with most, and he said he plans to frequent Hard Rock Stadium in the fall.
The spring was busy for Balom, who was a bit of a late bloomer in the recruiting scene across the Miami metropolitan area. Although he still sits outside the top 1,000 in the 247Sports.com rankings, Balom spent the spring pulling in offers and boasts more than a dozen with teams like the Louisville Cardinals and West Virignia Mountaineers pushing hard for the 6-foot, 179-pound senior.
He thrust himself on to the Hurricanes’ radar in June when Miramar won one of the 7-on-7 tournaments at a Manny Diaz Football Camp, and Balom secured an invitation to Paradise Camp. At Miami’s signature recruiting event, Balom did enough to earn an offer from the hometown team.
“They say the way I play could be impactful at Miami,” Balom said. “As a homegrown kid in their system, it’s just like a perfect fit.”
So far, the Hurricanes only have one true safety committed to their Class of 2020 with South Dade’s Keshawn Washington, and adding another is one of the clear remaining goals this cycle. DeLand’s Avantae Williams, who is currently committed to the Oregon Ducks and used to be committed to the Hurricanes, and Rockledge athlete Ladarius Tennison are two of Miami’s top remaining targets at any position, but Balom is the top remaining option from South Florida.
His combination of size and speed — he ran a 40-yard dash in 4.63 seconds at The Opening regional in Davie in February — are impressive, and the Hurricanes’ ability to watch Balom closely at Paradise Camp in June solidified their interest in him.
Balom said safeties coach Ephraim Banda praised his ability to read the quarterback in the 7-on-7 portion of camp. Balom also thinks he impressed the co-defensive coordinator with his sheer effort.
There’s one play he still thinks about from the camp, when he got beat off the line by a receiver and the quarterback threw Balom’s way. The defensive back regrouped, though, and broke up the pass.
“There was one play where I got beat at the line, but I just kept fighting through the whole play,” Balom said, “and they ended up throwing it to my man and I chased him to make it incomplete, so I guess the will I showed it stood out.”