The Hurricanes on Monday afternoon picked up their third commitment in a 24-hour span when four-star Miami Columbus cornerback Trajan Bandy became the latest player to join the University of Miami's 2017 recruiting class.
Officially committed to The University of Miami‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ #cane gang #bringitback #sq🙌🏾ad17 pic.twitter.com/ueXMiOodFt
— Trajan Bandy〽️ (@BandyTrajan) August 8, 2016
Bandy (5-9 1/2, 180) is rated the 29th best corner in the country according to 247Sports.com and had offers from Clemson, Oklahoma and South Carolina among others. He was previously committed to Oklahoma.
"Coach [Mark] Richt and [cornerbacks] Coach [Mike] Rumph, they were genuine from Day 1," Bandy said. "They recruited me throughout the process. They kept in contact with me when I was committed to OU. They stayed in contact with me every single day. Just going out there and speaking with Coach Richt, he doesn't pressure you at all. When I was uncommitted and undecided he took his time with me and I really like that about him. He just wanted me to fall in love with the school and get back on campus and get the feeling again of being home. I feel like [Sunday] was the time to do it. I did it last night and I called him up and let him know what I was going to do. I'm excited to get out there and show them what I'm going to do."
Bandy, who has a 3.0 GPA and scored an 18 on the ACT, said he's "100 percent committed to UM" and will not be taking any other recruiting visits. He said coaches are recruiting him as a corner and that he could play nickel corner and on the punt return and punt coverage teams. He expects to enroll in the summer.
Bandy's high school teammate, four-star corner back Christopher Henderson (6-1, 175), is rated the 19th-best at his position according to 247Sports.com.
In addition to Bandy and Henderson, Miami also has a previous commitment from three-star St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Brian Edwards (6-1, 195), who is rated 55th best at his position. UM is expected to sign at least four cornerbacks.
Cornerback is a huge position of need for the Hurricanes, who are transitioning from a read-and-react, funneling 3-4 zone defense under Mark D'Onofrio to a more aggressive, 4-3, man-to-man bump and run style under new coordinator Manny Diaz.
"Playing man coverage is something that we want to do more of," Diaz said Monday.
"We're recruiting to that idea -- guys with the speed and the instincts and the mindset to play press man out there. It's the first defense we called in the spring practice. It's the first defense we called in fall practice was bump-and-run man-to-man. We will play it. The issue is what's the proper mix of how much we're going to play."
Earlier Monday UM received a commitment from three-star defensive end Jonathan Garvin from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, who was the defensive line MVP from The Opening at Miami.
On Sunday, the team received a commitment from Jacksonville Sandalwood three-star outside linebacker Bradley Jennings Jr., a former FSU commitment and son of former FSU linebacker Bradley Jennings.
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