Last night, The Miami Hurricanes landed another big time commit for the 2016 recruiting class. Linebacker Zach McCloud gave his verbal commitment to the Miami coaches just a few days after receiving an offer from the Canes. McCloud is currently unranked, but anyone who takes the slightest peak at his explosive, hard hitting highlight tape can tell that his ranking will soon be bumped tremendously. The 6’3-215lb product, from Santaluces HS in Fort Worth also had an offer from the Georgia Bulldogs. I spoke with the new commit to discuss his decision, his ability, and more.
Zach McCloud said of his commitment “It was exciting, it’s something I have been working on since I first started playing football”
I asked McCloud why he chose Miami, his response “My dad infected me with Miami at a young age, so I’ve wanted to play there since I was a kid. I watched them play a few times and became a fan. It’s also close to home and I have a former teammate that plays there.”
That former teammate is freshman receiver Darrell Langham.
McCloud said in regards to Langham, “I plan on reaching out to him soon. I’m excited to know what it’s like and I just want to talk to him about being a Hurricane. Also, I want to know how he managed the transition from high school to Miami.”
McCloud attended the Miami-FSU game this Saturday and spoke about his experiences and his take on the game: “It was great to see everything close up. I had never been to a college game of that caliber. It was great to be in that atmosphere and get to see the team that I’ll be playing for. I think we beat them systematically, they caught a break on the tipped pass that the receiver caught for a touchdown. If they had to only score with their regular offense and what they were trying to do, we had them beat. I want to make sure that in two years that result doesn’t happen again.”
McCloud says he knows his strengths and his weaknesses and wants to develop into a complete player before even getting to Miami, “It will help me to take my game to the next level and improve myself. A lot of people take senior year as just a year to have fun and I want to have fun, but I wont be able to have fun later if I stay at the same playing level that I’m at now.”
One of the first things people noticed when they watched Zach McCloud’s highlights were his big hits and his attacking style.
McCloud spoke about that physical aspect of his game: “Well, it had to be felt out. My first time in pads, I got blown up by the running back and then it happened a few more times. I got up and said that I would never let that happen to me again and so far I’ve kept that promise to myself and it never happened again. I get that natural aggression from my dad, my mom is too nice. It just happens though, I’ve got a long frame so when I get low enough and put my weight into the impact it just happens naturally for me. It didn’t have to be taught.”
Brian Dawkins is an NFL player that McCloud said helped him to consistently bring that natural aggression: “In JV it would kind of flash on and off so I started wearing #20 to remind me to bring it every play. As far as players from The U, I think I can play a lot like Sean Spence. We can do a lot of similar things and I want to bring some of that back to The U”
Zach McCloud left Miami fans with this message: “Rely on me. You can rely on me, you can trust me. I’m not going anywhere, I’m going to be a Cane.”
Brennan Carroll and Hurlie Brown were McCloud’s main recruiters.
You can Check out Zach McCloud’s impressive highlights here.