Northwestern WR Andy Jean wants ‘to be a leader’ in Miami’s 2023 recruiting class
When Andy Jean first suited up for Miami Northwestern as a freshman, he chose No. 80 for a reason.
A few years earlier, Romello Brinson was an up-and-coming underclassman for the Bulls, and he donned No. 80 before he became their biggest star and got to switch to No. 1. Jean, who wore No. 2 as a junior and earned first-team all-county honors from the Miami Herald for the first time, wanted to the successor to Brinson in Northwestern’s legacy of star wide receivers.
“He came in as a freshman and he watched Romello,” Bulls wide receivers coach Chaviss Murphy said. “He likes to look at Romello as a big brother, as a role model because Romello came in as a ninth grader. They kind of walked the same path.”
The parallels, in all likelihood, won’t just stop with what they’re doing at Northwestern. Brinson is now a soon-to-be sophomore wide receiver for the Miami Hurricanes, a budding star after he made one of the most spectacular catches of the season as a freshman, and Jean decided last month he wants to follow Brinson from Miami to Coral Gables.
In January, the three-star wide receiver orally committed to the Hurricanes, about a week after spending time on campus for their massive junior day event and a few days before former wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon decided to leave for the Georgia Bulldogs.
McClendon’s decision didn’t rattle him, though. His long wait until he can sign his national letter of intent in December isn’t leaving him with any hesitation, either. Even though he said he plans to take a few other visits, Jean said he wants “to be a leader” in the Hurricanes’ Class of 2023.
“With me committing, all the gangsters at receiver and DB — they’re going to start coming in and following in 2023,” said Jean, who joined fellow wide receiver Lamar Seymore — now a teammate with the Bulls — as the second commit in Miami’s 2023 class. “We’re trying to build something great, make people stay home, make people have a great time. We’re trying to make a difference. I’m trying to be a leader, not a follower.”
Jean’s excitement about the Hurricanes went far beyond McClendon. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound wideout said he now talks “almost every day” with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who doubles as the wide receivers coach. He has a close relationship with Brinson, tight end Kahlil Brantley and safety Kamren Kinchens, all of whom were his teammates at Northwestern and are still frequently around the Bulls.
Mario Cristobal plays an important role, too. On Sunday, Jean spent the afternoon in Ives Estates for an Under Armour Next Camp. As soon as he got off the field at Ives Estates Park, Jean went to check his phone and saw he had a text message from the coach, who had apparently seen a few videos of Jean’s work floating around on Twitter.
“He’s surprising,” said Jean, who’s the No. 432 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the 2023 recruiting class. “On and off the field, they treat me like a family.”
With a deep wide receivers class in South Florida this cycle, Jean and Seymore are a strong starting point. Both have had reputations as up-and-coming stars in Miami-Dade County since they were freshmen and they’ve combined to win four state titles.
Seymore won three straight state championships at Miami Central before he transferred to Northwestern earlier this year. Jean, who had 40 catches for 733 yards and eight touchdowns in 10 games last season, won his as a freshman in 2019 when he was a bit player, buried on the depth chart behind Brinson, Brantley and Marcus Fleming, who’s now a wide receiver for the Maryland Terrapins.
It was a transition year for Jean, who was mostly a defensive back before he got to high school and the Bulls let him know they liked him as a receiver. In the spring of his eighth-grade year, he was a fixture in parks around the Liberty City neighborhood, where he’d run routes by himself to get ready for his position change.
Even though Jean didn’t catch a single pass as a freshman, his year spent contributing on special teams for a championship team went a long way, Murphy said.
“You already knew that he was going to step into the room as the No. 1 guy when it was his turn,” he said. “He was very patient and humble, and stepped in as a sophomore and he understood his role.”
As a sophomore, he flashed behind Brinson and Brantley, and started to pick up scholarship offers, including one from the Hurricanes before the season was over. As a junior, he starred and now claims more than 20 offers with coaches still trying to get him to come on visits.
Jean will at least tour the top schools in the state. He said he has plans to see the Florida State Seminoles, Florida Gators and UCF Knights in the coming months. He doesn’t expect to ever waver from Miami, though.
“My mom wants me to take visits and explore because I’m a humble kid,” Jean said. “I want to let everybody view my stuff, take flights, go out of town.”
