Champagnat OLB on Miami: ‘That’s the dream offer.’ Here’s the path to him joining Canes.
The recruiting process for Jesus Machado began about as early as it can. When he was still in eighth grade, Machado pulled in his first scholarship offer from the Alabama Crimson Tide.
It was exciting, of course, but the offer Machado had been waiting for all along didn’t come until Sunday. The Miami Hurricanes kicked off the contact period by finally offering a scholarship to the local three-star outside linebacker.
“That’s the dream offer that I’ve been waiting on,” Machado said Monday at Milander Park. “Since I was little, I always dreamed of it.”
Machado’s recruitment has moved in fits and starts since some viral clips as an eighth-grader led to a handful of offers from Power 5 Conference schools. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker from Hialeah Champagnat Catholic never quite grew the way some of those first coaches thought he might and now he ranks outside the top 1,000 in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2020.
All along, his production has been undeniable, though. He was the Miami Herald’s Class 5A-Independent Defensive Player of the Year for the 2017 season after he racked up 20 1/2 sacks, 32 1/2 tackles for loss and 84 total tackles as a sophomore to help Champagnat win the Class 2A championship. He transferred to Miami Central for his junior season, moved to defensive end and still had nine sacks, but it clearly wasn’t the position he would play in college. Now back in Hialeah, Machado leads the Lions with 119 tackles heading into the 2A championship against Lakeland Victory Christian Academy on Thursday.
Miami’s goal is to add one more linebacker to its 2020 recruiting class and Machado could be the answer.
“It was a little frustrating. I’ve been waiting since eighth-grade year,” Machado said. “I didn’t really know if they were going to offer me or not, so I was just patiently waiting.”
The Hurricanes are still in the mix to land Justin Flowe, the No. 5 overall player in the country, so Machado’s spot in the class is largely contingent on the five-star inside linebacker’s decision. The Clemson Tigers are the presumed favorite to pull Flowe out of Upland in California, but the linebacker did officially visit Miami last month. The senior has not yet set a decision date.
Machado’s top recruiting priority before the early signing period begins Dec. 18 is to get down to Coral Gables, too. He plans to take an official visit either this weekend after Champagnat returns from the state championship in Tallahassee or the weekend of Dec. 13. He’s on track to early enroll, so he wants to sign in the early signing period.
Players can still enroll early even if they don’t sign in the three-day window, though. If Flowe’s recruitment drags and the Hurricanes leave Machado temporarily in limbo, the senior could still enroll at Miami as long as he’s admitted and signs up for classes by the add-drop date for the spring semester. This is the same method by which players used to early enroll before there was a December signing period.
If Machado can take his official visits with the Hurricanes this weekend, he plans to take an official visit with the Utah Utes the weekend of Dec. 13. He wants to make sure he sees Miami first, though.
While his fit in the Hurricanes’ defensive scheme is a bit of a question mark, Machado said Miami’s coaches like him as a potential fit at either linebacker spot. A potential transition to middle linebacker could be similar to the one linebacker Patrick Joyner made. Like Joyner, Machado was primarily an edge rusher in high school, but his downhill style at middle linebacker, which has been a tackle-for-loss spot for the Hurricanes while linebacker Shaquille Quarterman has manned the position.
“I’ve been playing with Zues my whole life. I already knew what he was capable off. I knew he was dog and his mind-set — he’s a leader on and off the field,” said four-star safety Jalen Harrell, who orally committed to Miami on Friday and has played with Machado the past two seasons. “He’s a person that you definitely need in your program.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 12:40 PM.
