Four-star recruit commits to the Miami Class of 2021. His dad played for the Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes’ well-regarded 2021 recruiting class got even stronger on Thursday when four-star prospect Chase Smith committed to UM.
Smith, who attends Bayside High in Palm Bay, told Canesport.com that he will be a striker for the Hurricanes, though he also has the ability to play wide receiver and linebacker.
In 2021, he will compete with Gilbert Frierson and Keontra Smith at striker, which is a hybrid linebacker/safety position requiring strong pass coverage skills. Freshman Jalen Harrell is starting his UM career at safety but also has the ability to play striker.
Smith, who is 6-4 and 185 pounds, is rated by Rivals as the 202nd best player in the 2021 class. 247Sports has him ranked 221st.
He also had offers from UF, FSU, Auburn and Oklahoma, among others.
Smith is UM’s 22nd commitment, with the Hurricanes having room for a class of about 25 players.
His father, Willie, played tight end for UM in 1980s and was an All American in 1985.
The Hurricanes’ 2021 class is rated eighth by 247 Sports and Rivals.
In the Rivals’ top 250 player rankings, UM now has commitments from Plantation American Heritage safety James Williams (18th), Miami Palmetto defensive tackle Leonard Taylor (36), Miami Central guard Laurence Seymore (142), Miami Northwestern receiver Romello Brinson (161), Northwestern safety Kamren Kinchens (181), Plantation High receiver Jacolby George (185), Smith (202), Columbus High defensive end Jabari Ishmael (206) and Fort Lauderdale Chaminade Madonna running back Thaddius Franklin (219).
Here’s recruiting expert Larry Blustein’s assessment of this UM class.
COVID CHANGE
UM, which had initially been testing football players once a week for COVID-19, plans to start testing players three times per week when the season begins.
UM athletic director Blake James told WQAM’s Joe Rose Show that “all of our young people show they want to play because they’re taking the guidelines we’ve given them and taken them seriously. and the results show that.”
▪ Several schools -- including Boston College, Kentucky and South Florida -- did not practice on Thursday in the wake of the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, in Wisconsin last Sunday. The Hurricanes went ahead and practiced on Thursday, according to the school.
But Manny Diaz and other UM coaches have been proactive in engaging players in discussions about racial injustice.
▪ ESPN will announce in the coming days which of its networks will televise the Hurricanes’ Sept. 10 opener against UAB. That will be the only game involving an ACC team that will compete with an NFL game this fall. The NFL opens its season Sept. 10 with a Houston-Kansas City game.
But UM preferred a Thursday game so it would have nine days to prepare for its conference opener against Louisville.
This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 8:57 PM.
