Central LB Bissainthe signs with Miami, ready to ‘contribute to our winning’ right away
Less than 24 hours after he arrived in South Florida and only about three or four hours after the Miami Hurricanes formally introduced him as their new coach Dec. 7, Mario Cristobal made the quick trip from Coral Gables to Miami Central Senior High School, along with seven of his assistant coaches, to go watch Wesley Bissainthe practice.
The four-star linebacker had only orally committed to the Hurricanes three days earlier, when Manny Diaz was still the coach, and Cristobal wanted to make sure Bissainthe knew he was still important to this new regime.
A little more than a week later, Cristobal officially landed his first local prized recruit. Bissainthe, alongside four other teammates, signed his national letter of intent Wednesday inside the auditorium at Central. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior is staying home.
“I’m excited,” Bissainthe said. “He’s trying to change the program around.”
As the No. 169 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2022, Bissainthe is the top-ranked player in Miami-Dade County to sign a letter of intent Wednesday, and four other Rockets also locked in with Division I schools on the first day of the early signing period.
Three-star tackle Daughtry Richardson signed with the Florida State Seminoles, three-star safety Anthony Rose signed with the South Carolina Gamecocks, three-star edge rusher Ky’mani Williams signed with the FCS Campbell Camels and Caleb McKenzie, a two-star cornerback in 247Sports’ own rankings, signed with the FCS South Dakota Coyotes.
“We like winning football games,” Central coach Roland Smith said, “but this is the best time of the year.”
The Rockets saved Bissainthe, the potential hometown hero, for last. Surrounded by friends and family, the blue-chip prospect signed a ceremonial document in Miami, prompting an excited tweet from Cristobal about 10 miles south in Coral Gables.
The new coach shouted out 95th Street — where Central is located in the West Little River neighborhood of Miami — and used Bissainthe’s recruitment as a chance to emphasize how important Dade County will be to his long-term vision.
Bissainthe said Cristobal’s Dec. 7 visit to campus — and, later, to Bissainthe’s home — was important and so was Bissainthe’s second official visit with the Hurricanes over the weekend.
“It definitely meant a lot. Coming straight from Oregon, coming straight out here — that means a lot to me, a lot to my teammates and my coaches,” Bissainthe said. “The trip was just more to talk to Cristobal more, get a feel for him, see what he’s like. I got a great feel for him.”
Bissainthe said he hopes to play early with Miami and he’ll have a real chance to. The Hurricanes only have one former four-star linebacker on their roster — freshman Avery Huff — and Bissainthe has seen what other local freshmen have been able to do right away at Miami.
Defensive lineman Leonard Taylor, and safeties James Williams and Kamren Kinchens — all Miami-Dade natives — set the blueprint by carving out critical roles this season and Bissainthe wants to follow their lead.
“I want to come in, I want to play right away. I want to contribute to this team, contribute to our winning and I want to make it happen — All-ACC, all that,” Bissainthe said. “They’re from Miami, too, so I’m excited to play with them guys from here, so we can all come together and make the U great again.”
Richardson is hoping to be a different kind of hometown hero at Florida State.
The 6-4, 285-pound offensive lineman spent his first two years of high school at Tallahassee Godby before moving to South Florida ahead of his junior season. He played at Edison last year before transferring and starting at left tackle for the Rockets this season.
His decision mostly came down to the Hurricanes and Seminoles, and Richardson, who grew up rooting for Florida State, orally committed to the Seminoles in July.
“There’s nothing like home. Being a Nole — it feels great, just going home seeing my friends, family and just putting on for my town, just being a neighborhood hero,” Richardson said. “It’s crazy to think about that I’m going to be playing on that field that I watched them boys play on, went to the NFL on.”
Seminoles land 2 from Homestead
As recently as this weekend, Dante Anderson didn’t know where he was going to wind up Wednesday. He wasn’t even sure if he was going to sign, leaving open a strong possibility he would hold off until National Signing Day next year.
Instead, he’s following teammate Daniel Lyons, a three-star defensive lineman, to Tallahassee.
The four-star edge rusher orally committed to Florida State on Wednesday, although he did not send in a letter of intent. Lyons, however, officially signed with the Seminoles.
Where the top players signed
Columbus: CB Cornelius Wright, 5-10, 165, UMass. Dade Christian: CB Darian Anderson, 5-8, 150, FCS Western Carolina. Edison: CB Elijah Mc-Cantos, 6-0, 170, Illinois; LB Leon Hart, 6-2, 190, Marshall. Gulliver Prep: LB Travious Lathan, 6-1, 205, West Virginia; TE De’Carolo Donaldson, 6-2, 215, West Virginia; QB Carson Haggard 6-0, 165, Tulane; K Will Bettridge, 5-11, 165, Virginia. Homestead: DL Daniel Lyons, 6-4, 270, Florida State. Killian: RB Maurice Jones, 5-9, 185, Marshall. Miami Central: LB Wesley Bissainthe, 6-1, 205, Miami; S Anthony Rose, 6-3, 180, South Carolina; T Daughtry Richardson, 6-4, 285, Florida State; EDGE Ky’mani Williams, 6-1, 225, FCS Campbell. Monsignor Pace: LB Mekhi Mason, 6-1, 220, Syracuse. North Miami Beach: S Phillip Dunnam, 6-1, 180, Indiana; IOL Jason Seraphin, 6-3, 300, FCS Howard. Northwestern: CB Jamari Sharpe, 6-1, 175; WR Daverrick Jenkins, 6-2, 185, Arkansas State; WR Jalen Rogers, 5-11, 155, Tulane. Palmetto: ATH Jai-Ayviayunn Celestine, 5-9.5, 175, Arizona.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 12:58 PM.
