Could Hurricanes flip an All-American Panhandle LB from FSU? UM take shot this weekend
It was only about a month ago Keyshawn Greene assumed his recruitment was over.
The four-star outside linebacker from Crawfordville Wakulla was all set to stay close to home and sign with the Florida State Seminoles in the early signing period. He has been orally committed to Florida State for more than 18 months and no other school was going to sway him.
This was all until last month, when the Seminoles fell to the Miami Hurricanes in Tallahassee and fired Willie Taggart just about 24 hours later. Greene didn’t back away from his pledge, but he at least gave second thought to the idea of his recruitment being entirely over.
“He was signing early at FSU and with all that’s going on he’s pulled back from signing early,” Wakulla coach Scott Klees said Thursday, “and is now taking his visits and just looking at everything.”
He’ll take his first official visit this weekend in Coral Gables. After Miami indirectly reopened Greene’s recruitment by delivering the killing blow to the Taggart era, the Hurricanes will be the first team to get a real shot at flipping the senior from his longstanding pledge.
Miami was proactive in the days immediately following Taggart’s firing.
The Hurricanes offered a scholarship to Greene just two days later and defensive coordinator Blake Baker made the trip up to the Florida Panhandle less than two weeks after. With Florida State’s coaching situation still unsettled and Greene not on track to early enroll, the linebacker decided to take a step back in his recruitment. Staying close to home played a role in Greene picking the Seminoles, of course, but it wasn’t all of his decision.
“With us being up here, we have players at FSU and they like FSU, but we also had a kid that went to Miami not too long ago and we’ve had kids at the University of Florida,” Klees said, “so it’s not that he’s a die-hard.”
Right now, Miami can pitch Greene both on relative stability and the potential for immediate playing time.
The Hurricanes still finished the regular season No. 13 in total defense and both starting linebackers are departing. Linebacker Zach McCloud is penciled in as one starter for 2020 and Green, the No. 154 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2020, would have an opportunity to compete for the other.
He’s a scheme fit, too. Greene measured in at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds at The Opening Orlando regional in February and ran a 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds. Klees said he has bulked up to about 210 pounds since without losing his speed and expects him to quickly get up to 225 or 230 pounds in college.
The War Eagles’ base defense is similar to the Hurricanes in that they only use two traditional linebackers in a 4-2-5 alignment. Greene played the weakside linebacker spot, which is where most schools have recruited him play.
“He’ll be as fast as any strong safety they have,” Klees said.
If Miami is going to land the All-American athlete, this weekend will be critical. Greene is slated to officially visit Florida State next weekend and if his recruitment drags into 2020 the Seminoles’ proximity will only help their case with the Hurricanes’ official visit already burned.
Miami’s best hope to get Greene is to seal him up in the next few weeks and have him sign a National Letter of Intent when the early signing period begins Dec. 18.
“You know,” Klees said, “these kids change their mind.”
