Stranahan linebacker Omar Graham recaps Miami official visit, discusses what’s next
Omar Graham Jr. was the one South Floridian to take an official visit with the Miami Hurricanes over the weekend and the trip to Coral Gables still managed to surprise him.
Graham, a Broward County native, got to spend time in Miami Beach for the first time. He got to meet about half a dozen other recruits from outside the area and spend time with some Hurricanes he didn’t know. He even got to see a different side of Manny Diaz.
“What impressed me most was just seeing and meeting all these coaches in person, spending time with them and then being able to see how comfortable I can get with them. And then just seeing Coach Diaz’s personality, like him talking and stuff like that,” Graham said. “When we were talking about football, I can just see a whole other side of him.
After a breakout junior season for Fort Lauderdale Stranahan, Graham is one of the most coveted linebackers in Florida. The three-star linebacker only picked up his first scholarship offer about seven months ago and now he has more than 40. Miami got the first real chance to make an impression last week.
“They set the bar very high for the rest of my visits,” said Graham, who’s the No. 586 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2022.
Graham was on campus for the Hurricanes’ “First Day Out” cookout June 1 — the first day the dead period ended — then he returned to Miami on Friday to spend parts of three days around the program for his first official visit.
Linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. hosted Graham, and the senior got to spend time getting to know Diaz and inside linebackers coach Jonathan Patke. Graham went on the visit with his father, an aunt and one of his cousins.
The highlight, he said, was hanging out with the rest of the recruits on South Beach, including four-star tackle Malik Agbo and four-star cornerback Trequon Fegans.
“That was amazing, being able to bond with people I never met before and being able to bond with players,” Graham said. “That was amazing because I thought when I went there it was just going to be me, and then me and the recruits were going to be quiet, but we actually bonded together very well.”
Next up will be an official visit this weekend with the Florida State Seminoles — the favorite in his recruitment, according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball. He also has official visits lined up with the Penn State Nittany Lions and Auburn Tigers for later in June, and is working on setting up unofficial visits with the Florida Gators and UCF Knights.
Graham is still targeting a July commitment date.
