Miami Hurricanes Recruiting: Catching Up With Sam Bruce
On July 8th, The Miami Hurricanes received a pair of huge commitments from two players that are very close, yet were very far apart. On that early July evening, 2016 WR Sam Bruce made his commitment to Miami on a local radio show while his St. Thomas Aquinas teammate, 2015 RB Jordan Scarlett, made his pledge to Miami thousands of miles away at the Nike Opening in Oregon. Scarlett is one of top running backs in the country for 2015 and chose Miami over the likes of Florida, Florida St, and Alabama.
Sam Bruce is also one of the best players in the entire country. Bruce ranks 34th overall in the 2016 ESPN 300 and 29th overall in the 2016 Rivals 150. Bruce is arguably the most exciting player to watch in the country and is the quickest player I’ve seen. I was able to speak with Sam Bruce a few days after St. Thomas’ 38-7 destruction of nationally ranked American Heritage, to talk about the rest of his season and his recruitment.
St. Thomas has a bye this week before playing two more nationally ranked teams, Don Bosco, from New Jersey, and Miramar, the team that has beat St. Thomas the last three years.
I asked Sam Bruce what he’s expecting over the next few weeks and the rest of the season, his response: “I’m expecting my team to really bond, become closer and build better chemistry. We’ve had some time off this week that we are spending together and that’s basically our thing”
Bruce added that “We’ve got a couple of things on offense and defense to work on, but we’ll be good.”
Sam Bruce prides himself on being a complete player, so I asked what is the main thing he wants to continue to improve on before he gets to college: “Definitely blocking, a lot of people talk about my stature(5’8-180) so blocking is a very big thing for me. When I block to help my teammates get a touchdown, I feel like I scored.”
Much like former NFL receiver Hines Ward, Bruce loves to go for the big crack back block on defenders. Bruce threw a big block on a screen to Jordan Scarlett vs. American Heritage this past weekend, which you can view here.
https://vine.co/v/OBbnOr72l2q
Bruce discussed that play saying “I gave him a little extra time and that’s a prime example of my blocking. If I don’t come over and make that block, he might get tackled and not get that extra 20 or 30 yards. That’s definitely part of my game, it’s not just about punt returning, catching the ball, or running the ball, my blocking goes a long way too.”
Bruce mentioned his punt returning, here are two of his punt returns vs. American Heritage last week in which he displays some of quickness and elusiveness.
https://vine.co/v/OBbhM6jj0KK
https://vine.co/v/OBbJ21520hd
I also spoke with Sam Bruce about his relationship with teammate and fellow Cane commit, Jordan Scarlett.
Sam spoke fondly of Scarlett saying “That’s my best friend. I talk to him everyday, I see him everyday. I spend most of my time with him and Brandon Boyce. I’m glad that Jordan chose Miami and that we’re going to play together for the next 3 or 4 years again.”
September 1st was the first day that coaches could contact 2016 recruits more, so as you can expect, Bruce’s mailbox was surely full. Bruce said that he received mail from “Florida St., Auburn, Ohio State, and of course Miami.”
Bruce said that the schools he’ll likely visit next year, other than Miami, are Florida St. and Ohio St.
When Kevin Beard was hired by Miami a few weeks ago, Bruce was thrilled. Sam Bruce was very close with Coach Beard and had been coached by him before.
On hiring Coach Beard, Sam Bruce said “I think it’s a big gain for the Miami Hurricanes’ staff to get Kevin beard. He’s an all around great guy. He’s a guy with wisdom and it’s just a blessing to know that he’ll be there when I get to Miami.”
Sam Bruce ended by saying that he has “Much love for the Miami fans.” and immediately responding “Of course.” when asked if he was solid with the Canes.
You can view Sam Bruce’s highlights from last season, when he was at University School, here.