Five-star tackle Julian Armella sets another official visit as Miami, FSU make push
St. Thomas Aquinas’ win against Plantation American Heritage on Friday was the sort of showdown that attracts a rare crowd for a high school football game.
Heritage Field was sold out, of course. Jaylen Waddle even made the trek to Plantation to watch the two defending state champions — and national powers — face off. It was also the type of game college football coaches flock to: 11 blue-chip prospects were in action, so coaches from the Miami Hurricanes and Alabama Crimson Tide both stood on the sidelines to watch literally dozens of future players.
It was an obvious first stop for Garin Justice in 2021. Julian Armella, the top-ranked lineman in South Florida, was in action, and Miami is still hoping to lure him to Coral Gables.
“It was good to see him,” the blue-chip tackle said Friday after helping the Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas pull out a 24-16 win on the road. “Me and Coach Justice have been communicating since about my late freshman year, early sophomore year and we’ve just been developing.”
Armella, who’s a five-star prospect in Rivals.com rankings and the No. 126 overall player in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2022, battled against one of the best defensive lines in the country, and helped star quarterback Zion Turner complete 13 of 15 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
Justice was the one coach to stick through a nearly two-hour lightning delay to watch the final three quarters of St. Thomas Aquinas’ win. It served as a statement of sorts to Armella: The Hurricanes want to keep him home.
Armella said he and the offensive line coach talk “every couple days,” and he plans to get to Hard Rock Stadium for a game at some point this season.
Last month, Armella said Miami’s play in 2021 will have a major bearing on how strongly he considers the Hurricanes. He reiterated the same thought last week, before Miami squeaked out a win against the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Saturday.
“I’m excited to see how they perform this year,” the 6-foot-6, 295-pound offensive lineman said.
Next steps in Armella’s recruitment
The Hurricanes are still in Armella’s top seven, though, and a contender to make the cut when he narrows his list to four soon. The Florida State Seminoles, Florida Gators, LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide are also among the contenders to crack his top four, and Alabama seems to be in particularly good position: Armella said he set an official visit with the Crimson Tide for November when it hosts LSU in Tuscaloosa.
Armella also spent the first weekend of the season in Tallahassee and walked away encouraged with Florida State’s overtime loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. However, the senior also said the Seminoles were a team he needed to see have a good season in 2021, and they followed up their loss to Notre Dame with a stunning loss to the FCS Jacksonville State Gamecocks on Saturday.
The four-star lineman continues to not be in any rush to make a decision. Armella’s high school won’t allow him to enroll early, so he’s eyeing a commitment at one of the signing days or at the All-American Bowl in the winter.
Aside from a handful of game visits, Armella could backload his official visit schedule into December, once his senior season is over.
Miami would certainly like to host him in the week prior to the early signing period in December, but the Hurricanes need to make sure they get him around the program some before then, which means getting him to a game in Miami Gardens is the next step.
“The main thing right now — I’m focused on my season,” Armella said. “We usually have Saturday practice. I’m just trying to get right. I’ll most definitely stop by.”
