Three hours and two big-time four-star commits. Needless to say, it was a good day for Mark Richt and the Miami coaching staff.
Saturday served as ‘Junior Day’ at the University of Miami, which hosted some of Florida’s (and America’s) top junior prospects just as the Hurricanes basketball team was capping off a second round victory that moved them to the Sweet 16. The results back on campus were equally promising, with 4-star quarterback N’Kosi Perry and 3-star wide receiver Kevaughn Dingle both pledging their futures to Mark Richt’s program.
Perry’s commitment capped a whirlwind romance that has seen the dual-threat passer commit to the Hurricanes, back off that decision and, now, recommit. “#ForGood” as he put it on Twitter:
A multiyear contrubutor at Vanguard High in Ocala, Perry passed for an impressive 2,510 yards as a junior, with 33 touchdowns and just three interceptions from 242 attempts. With Brad Kaaya in the saddle for one more year in Coral Gables, Perry should arrive just in time to usher in another quarterback battle at the home of some of college football’s best at the position.
One of his prime targets at ‘The U’ is likely to be Dingle, the Miami Carol City prospect who is currently rated just outside the top-50 overall prospects in Florida, but who has the athleticism to rise up those rankings significantly with a strong senior season. In addition to Miami, Dingle holds scholarship offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Tennessee, Arkansas and West Virginia, though no one has reason to doubt the Opa Locks, Fla. native’s decision to join Mark Richt’s squad.
With 838 yards and 11 touchdowns on 29 receptions as a junior, Perry could be primed for a rise up the statistical charts in his final prep campaign. That will all make Richt’s big Saturday even better in retrospect. As it is, it’s probably feeling pretty good in South Florida.