Miami’s commitment drought is over: UM lands 4-star athlete from Fort Myers Bishop Verot
The Miami Hurricanes have finally picked up a major July commitment.
Chris Graves, a four-star athlete from Fort Myers Bishop Verot, orally committed to Miami on Friday, announcing his commitment on CBS Sports HQ after he visited the Hurricanes three times throughout June.
Graves rose to his feet, donned a pair of white sunglasses, then unzipped his sweatshirt to reveal a Miami T-shirt underneath. He hugged his mother, gave his younger brothers a pair of high fives, then broke down his decision, crediting his relationship with position coaches DeMarcus Van Dyke and Travaris Robinson.
“I have a tremendous relationship with DVD and Coach Rob,” Graves said on the CBSSports.com broadcast from Fort Myers. “My mom — she loves Miami, man. She’s got a great relationship with DVD and Manny [Diaz], so you’ve got to make mom proud.”
Graves picked the Huricanes over the LSU Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks, giving Miami a strong cornerback pairing in their Class of 2022 — and a necessary balm after missing out on Plantation American Heritage four-star cornerback Jacolby Spells on Sunday.
The relationship with Robinson, in particular, was critical. Graves’ favorite player is Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn, who was a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of South Carolina. The Hurricanes, though, were able to use Horn to vouch for them because Robinson was the Gamecocks’ defensive backs coach before taking the same position at Miami in January.
“I had a talk with Jaycee Horn,” Graves said. “We had a chat and I just think T-Rob will get me to the league.”
Graves is the No. 288 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2022 and joins four-star cornerback Khamauri Rogers, a top-100 overall prospect, as the two defensive players the Hurricanes’ 2022 recruiting class. Miami now has four total commitments and Graves is the first from Florida.
Graves also had a Florida Gators hat on the table for his selection, although he hasn’t taken an official visit to Gainesville.
He’s also the first player to commit to the Hurricanes this month after they missed out on a trio of other blue-chip players earlier this week. Spells committed to the West Virginia Mountaineers and Orlando Lake Nona four-star defensive lineman Zane Durant committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday, and Orlando Dr. Phillips four-star linebacker DeMario Tolan picked LSU on Thursday. While he isn’t ranked as highly as Spells or Tolan, Graves is still only 16 and one of the fastest-rising recruits in the state. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound defensive back didn’t pick up his first scholarship offer from a Power 5 conference school until Miami offered him in January and he was unranked as recently as February.
Graves had an excellent junior season, though, as a two-way athlete for Bishop Verot. Graves was actually primarily a wide receiver, and caught 27 passes for 500 yards and four touchdowns with one fumble lost last year. He also logged 26 tackles, an interception, four passes defended, two fumble recoveries and two blocked kicks, playing alongside Hurricanes cornerback Malik Curtis.
Graves quickly displayed an affection for Miami last month. He was in Coral Gables on the first day of June, right after the dead period ended, for the Hurricanes’ “First Day Out” cookout, then returned to campus just a few days later for his first official visit. He was back in South Florida the following weekend for another unofficial visit. Miami became the favorite early in June, according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball, and was able to hang on to the in-state corner even after he took official visits with LSU and South Carolina later in the month.
While they’re just 1 for 4 in recruiting battles so far this month, the Hurricanes still have some important decisions looming from top targets. Miami Central three-star tackle Daughtry Richardson is slated to make a commitment July 26 and Nick Cull, a three-star cornerback from Georgia, is set to make his college choice July 30.
This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 6:10 PM.
