Central LB Bissainthe: Rough start ‘not discouraging,’ but Miami needs to finish strong
Wesley Bissainthe wouldn’t stop smiling after helping lead Miami Central to a 24-21 win against Miami Northwestern on Friday. It was his first win in the storied rivalry game and he did with Manny Diaz, Ishmael Aristide and at least four other Miami Hurricanes watching from the sidelines at Traz Powell Stadium.
He was talking through his second-quarter interception — a diving robbery on a screen play — when Khalil Brantley, Romello Brinson and Kamren Kinchens all walked by. They were his rivals in high school and made the quick trip up to Miami to watch their Bulls lose, but the three Hurricane freshmen all knew Bissainthe well from going up against him when they were younger. Brantley grabbed him by the shoulder as they strode by, flashed a big grin and shouted into his ear, “Commit, commit, commit!”
Bissainthe laughed, then turned serious to talk about his recruitment.
“They played for the West, so I competed with them,” he said after Brantley walked away. “They want to make the crib better, so I understand why they’re telling me that. Let’s just see where I go.”
With Miami’s season quickly unraveling, the Hurricanes’ recruiting efforts have stalled. Miami hasn’t picked a commitment since August, missed out on four-star linebacker Devon Jackson on Saturday and now four-star athlete Chris Graves, who has been orally committed since July, is planning to visit the Florida Gators this weekend.
The Hurricanes are also fading for most of their elite targets. The Alabama Crimson Tide is the favorite for four-star safety Jaleel Skinner, the Oregon Ducks are emerging for four-star defensive lineman Nyjalik Kelly, the Georgia Bulldogs have made a move for five-star defensive backs Jaheim Singletary and Kamari Wilson, and blue-chip defensive linemen Shemar Stewart and Anthony Lucas have a long list of more-appealing suitors at this point. With only nine players committed, Miami is in danger of following up a top-15 Class of 2021 with a letdown in the Class of 2022.
Bissainthe remains the Hurricanes’ best shot at adding another top-200 prospect to the class. He has a clear path to early playing time as a linebacker, Central is one of Miami’s most reliable feeder schools and he’s a priority target for Diaz. He’s also willing to give the Hurricanes a chance to prove they can get back on track.
“It’s not discouraging,” the 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior said. “I don’t really look at the losses and stuff like that. It’s what they do at the end. I’m just going to be watching.”
Bissainthe already took his official visit to Miami in June and has also taken official visits with the Florida State Seminoles, West Virginia Mountaineers and Penn State Nittany Lions. This weekend, he’ll use his final official to visit Florida.
The Gators have been a factor in Bissainthe’s recruitment since the summer, although necessarily to the extent of the other four. The four-star linebacker took an unofficial visit to Florida in July, and Gators linebacker coach Christian Robinson has urged him to take an official visit to get back to Gainesville.
“I just want to get up there and check it out,” said Bissainthe, who’s the No. 20 linebacker in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the 2022 recruiting class.
The Hurricanes will have plenty of opportunities to make the final impression on Bissainthe, though. He has already made two trips to Miami Gardens this year to watch the Hurricanes play and Miami can easily get him back down to Coral Gables for an unofficial at some point before he makes his decision.
Right now, Bissainthe is planning to commit sometime around Thanksgiving.
For the Hurricanes, Bissainthe is mostly concerned “how good they’ll do if I go there,” he said. He knows he can be a difference maker, but he also wants to see signs of progress as the season goes on.
Said Bissainthe: “Teams get off to bad starts.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 4:03 PM.
