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DEL.ICIO.USHurricanes announce highly touted class
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Highly coveted wide receiver Tommy Streeter stopped halfway through the process of signing his letter of intent Wednesday morning, sending angst through the library at Miami Northwestern High.
Second thoughts?
No, the pen was merely out of ink.
Moments later, Streeter was officially a Miami scholarship recipient — just like seven of his Northwestern Bulls teammates, who went 30-0 the past two seasons and, by staying close to home, gave the Hurricanes one of the top recruiting classes in the country.
“This is going to be the next four, possibly five, years of my life,” said Streeter, who was ranked among the nation’s top 25 players at any position by major recruiting services. “This is a big decision, so I had to be 100 percent sure this is the place I wanted to be. And this is the place. I want to be at Miami.”
More than two dozen players from around the country would be saying the same thing by the close of Wednesday, the first day high school players could formally accept college offers.
Perhaps most notably, Miami Booker T. Washington High cornerback Brandon Harris, who led his team to Florida’s state Class 4A title last fall, also decided to stay close to home and signed with Miami — spurning, among others, Ohio State.
Harris was ranked among the top three available defensive backs nationwide in the class of 2008. He was among the last remaining elite recruits who hadn’t committed with a school before signing day, and there was speculation he’d get away from the Hurricanes.
“My heart said Miami,” Harris said.
The Hurricanes were expecting scholarship acceptance letters from California, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kansas and New Jersey — but talent-rich Florida is where Miami really cleaned up. They did especially well in South Florida, led by Northwestern, which won the national high school championship last fall.
Quarterback Jacory Harris, linebacker Sean Spence, defensive tackle Marcus Forston and wide receiver Aldarius Johnson are already enrolled, and on Wednesday, more Bulls kept running to Miami.
One by one, they signed their names, then stood and put on the distinctive ‘U’ caps for the camera. Offensive lineman Ben Jones, then Streeter, then offensive lineman Brandon Washington, then finally wide receiver Kendal Thompkins, as the applause grew louder.
“It’s right at home and I’ve got my family down here. That’s important,” said Jones, who chose Miami over Clemson. “And I’ve got all my former teammates now at the University of Miami, and I’d love to keep playing with them. So that’s what it came down to.”
Up the road in Melbourne, Miami scored a bit of a coup when defensive back Ramon Buchanan — who committed to Miami, then said he was going to Florida — signed with the Hurricanes.
Buchanan, like Streeter, was a down-to-the-wire choice, one that the Miami coaches fretted over until the end.
Miami coach Randy Shannon was expected to discuss the class publicly for the first time later Wednesday, once all the letters of intent arrived. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from speaking about recruits until those letters are signed and reach the respective schools.
“Coach Shannon, he inspires me,” Streeter said. “He’s a great man and that played a part in my decision.”
It’s hard to say who was happier Wednesday — Shannon or Streeter’s mother. Karen Streeter began to cry Monday night when her son revealed that he’d be signing with Miami, and wept more tears of joy Wednesday when discussing her emotions.
Streeter’s sister chose to attend college away from home two years ago, and the close-knit family had a difficult time dealing with that.
“We really, really miss her,” Karen Streeter said. “But I know God had a place for her, and she is on a full scholarship and doing really well. But if my son had an opportunity to stay at Miami, I would have really liked that. There’s nothing like support and nothing like seeing your kid play at home.”
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