No. 1 TE Jaleel Skinner talks visit plans, NIL possibilities at Miami as decision nears
Jaleel Skinner is getting close to a decision date and the No. 1 tight end in the Class of 2022, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, isn’t done sorting through all his options.
He still plans to visit the Florida State Seminoles next month and wants to squeeze in one more visit during the first weekend of October, just before he makes an oral commitment. Most likely, Skinner has visited the Miami Hurricanes for the last time, but Miami made a strong impression on the four-star tight end when it welcomed him to Coral Gables for an official visit in June.
“The OV—it was great,” Skinner said last Friday after helping Bradenton IMG Academy win a preseason game against Plantation American Heritage in Plantation. “The one thing that stood out to me was the players. All of them reached out. They all knew who I was the minute I was on campus and then they all showed like a real brother thing with me. I really loved all that.”
This included the alumni who spent the same weekend back in South Florida for the Hurricanes’ annual Paradise Camp.
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound receiver couldn’t participate in the recruiting camp because he was on an official visit, so he instead spent the evening wandering around Greentree Practice Fields and the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility, talking with the NFL players and alumni who returned to their alma mater for the weekend. He talked with Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku -- “He was like, I know who you are. I watched some of your film,” Skinner said -- and even got to have a lengthy conversation with Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin.
The Dallas Cowboys legend left the strongest impression on Skinner.
“He’s a cool person. We chopped it up for a little while,” the senior said. “Next time I go back down there, he’s going to come back down there and I’m going to talk to him again.”
The trip was Skinner’s first to Miami and it helped him get a sense of what life would be like in the city if he decides to sign with the Hurricanes in December. Skinner is originally from South Carolina — the Clemson Tigers are one of the favorites to land him, according to 247Sports’ Crystal Ball — so he needed to get an idea of what it would be like to live in a major city.
The new name, image and likeness rules (NIL) could be a plus for Miami.
“There’s a lot to do in Miami. If you really want to go down there, you can lose your head,” Skinner said, “but if you’re down there for one reason -- like if I was going down there, I’m going down there focusing on football -- you’re going to have a great opportunity down there, especially with the NIL stuff going on.”
While he likely won’t make it back to Miami before his October commitment, Skinner remains in touch with tight ends coach Stephen Field and a number of current Hurricanes. He talks to Field every day, he said.
“Sometimes we don’t even talk about football,” Skinner said. “We just talk about life and how to better yourself every day.”
Quarterback Jake Garcia is the current player most involved in Skinner’s recruitment.
“Jake—that’s a real cool person. He’s going to keep everything real with you,” Skinner said. “He’s a real good leader. Even though he’s so young there at Miami, I believe he’s a really good leader.”
With about a month and a half until he makes a decision, Skinner isn’t tipping his hand.
Florida State and Clemson lead in the 247Sports Crystal Ball, but the Hurricanes, Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns round out his top 5, and he has taken official visits to all three.
“Every program has an even chance to me right now,” Skinner said. “I’m trying to get out and visit as much as I can.”
