The West Coast’s No. 1 tight end prospect is planning a Miami Hurricanes official visit

Even out in Washington, D.J. Rogers knows all about the Miami Hurricanes’ reputation with developing tight ends. They have one of the best in the country right now — who also happens to be from out West — and have produced some of the NFL’s bests for decades.

The reputation has placed Miami firmly on Rogers’ radar even though he has never been down to Coral Gables and only picked up an offer in June. The four-star tight end from Eastside Catholic in Sammamish named a top 10 on Sept. 3 and the Hurricanes.

Miami isn’t just filling a spot on the extended list, though. Rogers said the Hurricanes are one of three teams he plans to officially visit this year as he starts to narrow his list even further.

“I definitely want to to try and get down for an official visit to Miami,” Rogers said Wednesday. “We’ve just got to figure out when we’re going to do it.”

Although he doesn’t have any visit dates scheduled, Rogers knows the Hurricanes, LSU Tigers and Penn State Nittany Lions are three of the five he’ll officially visit. He’ll pick his final two from the rest of his top 10, which also includes the Georgia Bulldogs, West Virginia Mountaineers, Oregon Ducks, Washington State Cougars, Southern California Trojans, California Golden Bears and Arizona State Sun Devils.

Miami’s pitch to the blue-chip receiver hinges not just on its history, but also what it is doing at the position now, particularly with Brevin Jordan.

Like Rogers is now, Jordan was a four-star prospect from the West, lacking slightly in height, and making up for it with speed and versatility. In his second year out of Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jordan has become one of the nation’s best tight ends, lining up all over the field in offensive coordinator Dan Enos’ pro-style offense.

Tight ends coach Stephen Field has explicitly compared Rogers to Jordan, at least in terms of how he envisions using the 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior. The No. 7 tight end in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2020, Rogers was clocked at 4.21 seconds in the short shuttle at The Opening regional in El Cerrito, California, in May.

The Hurricanes already have one tight end committed in the 2020 recruiting cycle, but they have been proactive in finding a second player to complement Naples three-star prospect Dominic Mammarelli. While five-star athlete Darnell Washington has long been the No. 1 target, Miami is trying to beat out the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia for the nation’s No. 12 overall prospect. Rogers is another strong option for the Hurricanes.

“He was just like, You’re the type of tight end we want and need. You could be an in-line blocker, but you could also spread the field and run deep routes, run a route tree,” Rogers said of his conversations with Field. “They’re tight end U, so they know what they’re talking about with tight ends. He liked that I’m a hybrid player and I can be moved around the field, so that in all these packages, he doesn’t have different packages for different tight ends, that I can just be on the field for any package.”

Field first reached out to Rogers in the spring to let the tight end know he was evaluating him. They talked off and on for a few weeks, before Field one day gave Rogers a call and let the athlete know they were ready to offer him a scholarship even though Field never got out to Washington to see Rogers in person.

Immediately, Miami jumped into contention.

“Miami is a great school, a private school, good academics and it’s also tight end U, so if you play tight end of course that’s the school you want to have your eye on,” Rogers said. ”I had to put them on the list because I have interest in that school and just the history and tradition that they have.”

Rogers said he still talks with Field on a regular basis and now they’re trying to figure out when he should come down to South Florida for an official visit. He’s not sure yet whether he’ll make the trip in season to see the Hurricanes play at Hard Rock Stadium or if he’ll wait until after the season to get more hands-on time with the coaches.

Right now, he’s not in a rush. Rogers won’t early enroll and he only plans to sign in December if he is committed by then. He doesn’t want to rush any decision.

“I’m really trying to find the best fit for me,” Rogers said. “I do have time, but I also want to make sure I’m on track and I’m doing what I’m supposed to, and I’m talking to all these coaches and doing what’s best for me.”