Four Miami-area football recruits choose Louisville

Mississippi's loss was Louisville's gain last weekend, as defensive backs and Southridge (Miami) teammates Gerrod Holliman and Andrew Johnson each decided to back off their verbal commitments to Ole Miss and instead plan to sign with Louisville.

Holliman made his announcement during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game in San Antonio. As he was making his announcement on NBC's live telecast, Johnson donned a Louisville cap while watching the game with his family back in Miami.

"We felt we had a better opportunity to play for an up-and-coming program at Louisville," Johnson told the Miami Herald. "We love the atmosphere up there, and we thought it was a better situation for us since they don't have a lot of defensive backs coming back next season."

The 6-foot, 180-pound Holliman, rated the Miami Herald's No. 2 overall prospect in Miami-Dade County, had a county-best 11 interceptions and scored 12 all-purpose touchdowns his senior season at Southridge, which lost in the Class 6A regional semifinals. Johnson, who is 5-9 and 170 pounds, registered more than 1,400 all-purpose yards and 17 touchdowns.



Holliman and Johnson, rated the No. 8 prospect in Miami-Dade County by the Herald, give Louisville four recent commitments from Miami who switched to the Cardinals.

Northwestern (Miami) quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who also played in the all-star game in San Antonio, and Northwestern wide receiver Eli Rogers also backed off their verbal commitments to Miami and announced they plan to sign with Louisville.

KELVIN BENJAMIN GOES FOR FLORIDA STATE
Kelvin Benjamin had two very important decisions to make during the past few months, both of which would greatly affect his future. The highly touted 6-foot-6 wide receiver made the first one last summer when he decided to stay at state power Glades Central (Belle Glade) for his senior year after being informed that he would become ineligible for the final two games of the regular season and all of the playoffs because of the Florida High School Athletic Association-mandated age limit of 19 years, 9 months.

Benjamin, who turned down an option to attend a prep school last fall after conferring with his coach and family, recently played in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl on New Year's Eve in Myrtle Beach, S.C., his first live competition since early November. Last weekend, he visited Florida State and announced at the end of the visit to Tallahassee that he plans to sign with the Seminoles next month.

Benjamin, who caught 30 passes for 551 yards and six touchdowns in eight games for Glades Central this past season, has the frame and athleticism to be a nightmare for smaller defensive backs at the college level. By choosing FSU, he could develop into a big-time receiver under the leadership of Seminoles receivers coach Lawrence Dawsey, who played at FSU and in the NFL.

A recent push by new Florida head coach Will Muschamp to sway Benjamin toward signing with the Gators caused Benjamin to delay his decision, which he was expected to make on Dec. 23. His comments after last weekend's visit to FSU indicate that his non-binding commitment to the ‘Noles is solid.

"I was leaning Florida State all along," Benjamin told the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday. "I'm 100 percent Seminole. That's where I'm going. It's where I wanted to be from the get-go. I'm a Seminole at heart. Coach Dawsey, he's been there at all three levels, high school, college and NFL, and I think he can teach me the things I need to do to get better."



Benjamin still has to meet the academic requirements of the NCAA's Clearing House, but both he and his former coach, former FSU and NFL standout Jessie Hester, have said that they don't anticipate any problems with that final hurdle. Benjamin was considering visits to Florida and Miami this month, but hinted that he likely will cancel them. "It would've been wise to visit the other schools and see what they have to offer, but if he's happy with that, then that's great for him," Hester told the Palm Beach Post.

Should highly touted Rashad Greene of St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) stick with his verbal commitment to FSU on National Signing Day on Feb. 2, the Seminoles could land two outstanding wide receiver prospects.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}MAGGITT TO ANNOUNCE DECISION ON TV
Dwyer defensive end Curt Maggitt, one of the state's most sought-after prospects, said he will wait until the day after signing day to divulge his college decision, which will be announced Feb. 3 on the Sportsman Channel's Respect Outdoors program.

Maggitt scrapped plans to announce his decision Dec. 26 on the same TV program, which is hosted by Robert Arrington, a former Dwyer baseball player and family friend of Maggitt.

Maggitt, a U.S. Air Force All-American, has said that Florida, Tennessee and Wisconsin are his top three choices. However, Miami and new head coach Al Golden are making a late push for the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Maggitt, who has cat-like quickness and registered 17 sacks his senior season.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS STANDOUT CB STILL UNDECIDED
The recruiting finalists for Marcus Roberson of Class 5A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas stretch from Florida to California, but the MaxPreps second-team All-America cornerback this past week said two Southeastern Conference schools top his recruiting list.



Roberson, who said he does not plan to announce his decision until signing day, has narrowed his choices to Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Southern Cal and Texas Tech. He already has taken official visits to Auburn, Georgia and Texas Tech and will visit USC this weekend and Florida the weekend of Jan. 21. Recent comments by Roberson about the recruiting process suggests that Auburn and UF might have the inside track on signing the 6-foot, 170-pound cornerback.

"I think Auburn, they're looking at me to play corner and safety. And Florida, the same," Roberson told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "Those two are the top two that are really standing out for me right now. They are really standing out."

DEFENSIVE POY NARROWS LIST TO 5
B.J. Dubose, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Broward County Defensive Player of the Year from Northeast (Oakland Park), announced at the Broward-Dade All-Star Game that his five finalists are Florida State, Louisville, LSU, Miami and Texas Tech. The 6-5, 237-pound defensive end, who had 60 tackles, 11 sacks and one interception his senior season, recently made official visits to Texas Tech and FSU and will visit Louisville this weekend. He has a visit scheduled with Miami on Jan. 28. The Hurricanes, however, like Dubose as a tight end prospect.

GORMAN SOLD ON MUSCHAMP, FLORIDA
The fallout of Urban Meyer stepping down as Florida's head coach did not affect the decision of standout safety Jabari Gorman of Monsignor Pace (Miami). Gorman announced during last week's Under Armour All-America game in St. Petersburg, Fla., that he will sign with the Gators.

Gorman, the Miami Herald's No. 9-rated overall prospect in talent-rich Miami-Dade County, chose UF over Miami and Ohio State. "I want to be a part of a new program that can win a national championship," the 5-11, 170-pound Gorman said. "Coach Muschamp is a defensive guy, which made me have interest in him."

Robenson Therezie, another highly touted defensive back from Jackson (Miami), also announced his verbal commitment during the live telecast of the Under Armour all-star game, choosing national champion Auburn. "They simply have one of the best business programs around, which is what I want to study," the 5-10, 180-pound Therezie said. "They have great coaches (and) it's a great school."



MIAMI STEALS COMMIT FROM SPURRIER
Miami coach Al Golden finally nabbed a recruit in the Hurricanes' own backyard last Friday when cornerback Thomas Finnie of Class 6A state champion Miami Central switched his commitment from South Carolina to UM two days after Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier reportedly missed an in-home visit with Finnie, who has 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash and was a three-year starter at Central. Finnie committed to South Carolina after UM backed off of him during the season while Randy Shannon was still the ‘Canes head coach. Finnie was planning to enroll early this week at South Carolina before UM defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio visited with him and his family early last week and re-ignited Finnie's interest in signing with the ‘Canes.

COACHING CHANGES
Willie Bueno, whose resume includes a career record of 80-21 and three state championships during an eight-year head coaching career, has been tabbed to take over the struggling program at Royal Palm Beach, which was 6-15 over the past two seasons. Bueno, 42, won a state title at Glades Central in 2000 and state titles at American Heritage (Delray Beach) in 2007 and '09. He stepped down at American Heritage following the 2009 season and did not coach this past season.

Allen Jackson has been named the head coach at Deerfield Beach, where he was an assistant for 13 years prior to coaching stints at Monarch and Coconut Creek. Deerfield Beach was a district runner-up and qualified for the playoffs for the 13th consecutive year last season despite a 2-9 record.

DORSEY'S DIGS
Dillard (Fort Lauderdale) safety Wayne Lyons, rated the No. 2 overall prospect in Broward County by the Miami Herald, announced during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl last Saturday that he plans to sign with Stanford despite the departure of Cardinal head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. Lyons, who missed several games his senior season after sustaining an MCL injury on Sept. 29, chose Stanford over Michigan and UCLA. Lyons, who is in contention to be his school's valedictorian and is widely involved in community service programs, received the Felix 'Doc' Blanchard Award, given to the East all-star team's player who epitomizes the Army's high standard of excellence in community service, education and athletic distinction.

In making his announcement to sign with Stanford, Lyons said that academics — not the coaching staff or defensive scheme or chance to play early — was a major factor in his decision-making process. Personally, I find that a very refreshing approach. Two thumbs up from this corner for Mr. Lyons.

Steve Dorsey, who covers the South Florida region for MaxPreps.com, is a freelance writer based in West Palm Beach. He has covered the South Florida high school sports scene for the past 29 years. He also is a contributing writer for American Football Monthly and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.