What’s Miami QB target Jacurri Brown thinking on eve of commitment? His coach weighs in
It was impossible for Jamey DuBose not to be enamored — fascinated, even — with the prospect of coaching Jacurri Brown when he made the move to Vladosta, Georgia, in 2020 to become the coach at Lowndes.
Brown took over as the Vikings’ full-time starting quarterback in 2019, and scholarship offers soon followed. At 6-4 and 205 pounds, Brown could have been a defensive end playing quarterback, and he ran for more than 1,500 yards, threw for another 1,300 and accounted for 30 total touchdowns. The worst-case scenario DuBose faced was getting to mold an athlete with limitless potential. Instead, he encountered a player already in command.
“The first time I met him, the first time I saw him in person — he has confidence and confidence just comes out of him,” DuBose said. “He’s a guy that demands a presence in the room.”
In the last year, Brown transformed into one of the most coveted recruits in the country and the four-star quarterback will make his decision Friday at 9:30 a.m. He will pick from a top five of the Miami Hurricanes, Arizona State Sun Devils, Texas A&M Aggies, Auburn Tigers and Florida Gators, and Miami is in good position to land the blue-chip prospect after he visited Coral Gables over the weekend.
The Hurricanes, who firmly placed themselves on Brown’s radar by revamping their offense and piecing together a Top 25 breakthrough in 2020, have singled out Brown as their top target at the position in the Class of 2022. Every projection in the 247Sports.com Crystal Ball pegs Brown to Miami.
“He’s done his due diligence in looking at all schools that he’s interested in,” DuBose said. “He’s got five schools that offensively fit the things that he does and they can help him.”
The interest in the Hurricanes, however, goes back to even before they hired Rhett Lashlee as their offensive coordinator last year. Brown first visited Miami in 2019, attending a camp at the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility as part of a swing through South Florida.
At the time, Brown was still an unknown. He attempted only 71 passes as a freshman and didn’t hold a single scholarship offer. He was simply fascinating — his size and athleticism already in place, but little of the passing track record he now has as the No. 5 dual-threat quarterback in the 247Sports composite rankings for the 2022 recruiting class.
Last year, he went 88 of 184 for 1,537 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and added 1,101 yards and 16 touchdowns on 189 carries. He runs with Cam Newtonesque long strides and has the arm strength to stretch the field with ease — his longest completion in 2020 was an 81-yard touchdown pass.
“He’s got all the God-given talent and tools,” DuBose said, “to really go excel at the next level.”
It’s easy to see why he’s one of Lashlee’s favorites in the 2022 class. His highlight reel is filled with read-option runs and play-action bombs. He makes throws on the run and buys time in the pocket. He has athletic gifts similar to D’Eriq King’s and the physical stature of fellow quarterback Jake Garcia, who was the first high school quarterback Lashlee signed with the Hurricanes.
From the scheme fit to Brown’s relationship with Lashlee and beyond, Miami checks all the boxes Brown is looking for, DuBose said.
“Miami’s a place that the weather is, of course, suitable to him,” said DuBose, who also coached defensive lineman Thomas Davis at Lowndes. “He wants to go to a place that he can compete for the job. I think he feels really comfortable with Coach Lashlee and has developed a relationship there with him, which makes it a little bit comfortable because Jacurri, I think, is a relationship guy. He’s a guy that can communicate well and talks well, and I think he feels comfortable with him.”
There is a path to Brown playing as a freshman, although he will have an uphill battle after Garcia and fellow quarterback Tyler Van Dyke spend the spring competing while King rehabilitates a knee injury. King, if he’s healthy, will start every game in 2021, leaving the Hurricanes without any returning players with starting experience. In 2022, Brown could join an open competition with Garcia and Van Dyke.
There’s another reason, though, the Hurricanes were on Brown’s radar even before Lashlee took over as quarterbacks coach: tradition.
Brown wasn’t exactly a clean fit in former offensive coordinator Dan Enos’ pro-style system, but he visited Miami anyway. He understands what it means to be a quarterback for the Hurricanes and he’s a program pointed back toward potential glory.
“he tradition of it jumps out to him,” DuBose said. “They’ve done some really good things there. I know over the last couple of years the program has been on the rise and there’s a lot of buzz right now, a lot of talk.”
