Miami Hurricanes land four-star CB Chris Graves from Fort Myers
The Miami Hurricanes are back on the commitment scoreboard after missing on a few recent recruiting targets to announce college pledges in the past week.
Four-star athlete Chris Graves picked UM over Florida, South Carolina and LSU in a Friday evening announcement that aired on CBS Sports HQ. A two-way player who also returns kicks, Graves figures to play cornerback at Miami, although more of his high school tape is at receiver. His main recruiters on the Hurricanes’ coaching staff were defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson and cornerbacks coach DeMarcus Van Dyke.
“DVD and Coach Rob, I had a tremendous relationship with DVD and Coach Rob,” said Graves on the livestream, adding a conversation with Carolina Panthers first-round cornerback Jaycee Horn, who played under Robinson at South Carolina, helped him make his decision. “My mom, she loves Miami. DVD, she’s got a great relationship with DVD and [coach Manny Diaz].”
Hailing from Fort Myers Bishop Verot, his commitment marks the second consecutive recruiting cycle where UM has landed a player from his high school. Freshman cornerback Malik Curtis also came from Bishop Verot in the 2021 class. The 247 Sports composite rankings list Graves — at 6 feet 2, 180 pounds — as the nation’s No. 15 player with the “athlete” position designation, while Rivals tabs him the 36th-ranked cornerback in the class.
The Hurricanes’ 2022 recruiting class is back up to four commitments. The other three hail from out of the state of Florida: four-star quarterback Jacurri Brown from Georgia, four-star cornerback Khamauri Rogers from Mississippi and Louisiana-based three-star wide receiver Landon Ibieta. Three-star wide receiver Quan Lee from Gainesville was previously in the class before being dropped, and he flipped to UCF.
Miami finally hit on one of its recruiting targets making July announcements after American Heritage cornerback Jacolby Spells and a pair of Orlando-based front-seven defenders, defensive lineman Zane Durant and linebacker DeMario Tolan, went elsewhere within the past week.
The 2022 class is expected to be a small one for the Hurricanes as UM coach Manny Diaz has an abundance of returning players and depth at most positions since the NCAA granted college athletes an extra year of eligibility because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the 2020 season.
Graves, who is only 16 years old despite entering his high school senior year, visited Coral Gables the first weekend of June, when the NCAA initially lifted a 15-month-long recruiting dead period due to the pandemic. He took trips to LSU and South Carolina later in June.
