Top Miami football offensive line recruit could flip to Florida
Four-star Offensive tackle Michael Tarquin who has been committed to the Miami football program since April could flip to Florida according to multiple reports.
An article in the Miami Herald earlier this week stated that Tarquin visited Florida three straight weekends earlier this month. Tarquin took his official visit with the Miami football program this past weekend during Miami’s victory over Pittsburgh.
Following up Tarquin’s visits to Florida he tweeted out a picture on Sunday of himself with Florida Head Coach Dan Mullen and Co-Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach John Hevesy following their in-home visit.
Tarquin is the highest rated offensive lineman and second highest ranked offensive player that is committed to the Miami football program in the Class of 2019. Tarquin is expected to make a decision after taking a final visit to Florida next month.
David Wilson of the Herald reported that Tarquin is planning on signing his National Letter of Intent on December 19 and being an early enrollee where he decides to attend college. Wilson quoted Tarquin following his visit with the Hurricanes Thanksgiving weekend.
"“I’m just very glad I got down there (Coral Gables). Every time I’m there it feels right. It helps me understand some of the factors that went into my decision, like why I made my decision.I feel very comfortable with the coaches and the university — I love the school and the campus. … It’s beautiful. It’s, you know, paradise.I love the University of Florida, too. I’m comfortable there. It’s another great option and they’re recruiting me hard…I’ve got to just see what happens…They (Florida’s staff under Jim McIlwain didn’t really try to recruit me too much because they thought I was solid with Miami, then they kind of knew…They started recruiting me hard."
Tarquin continued talking about his recruitment by Florida.
"“I kind of turned away from Florida because of the old staff. The new staff I like a lot…Obviously, if the team’s not doing good, you want to win, but I try not to let that get in the way of my decision only because that shouldn’t matter too much…Yeah, you want to win, but what matters is where I’m going to be the most comfortable and where I’m going to be the happiest.”"
Miami Hurricanes
The only player that is ahead of Tarquin on Offense in the Miami football Class of 2019 is four-star wide receiver, Jeremiah Payton. Miami has only one other offensive lineman committed for 2019.
Three-star guard Kingsley Eguakun is not very highly thought of. Eguakun is the 782nd ranked player in the Class of 2019 and 46th ranked guard.
If Tarquin does flip to Florida, Miami is working on three-star offensive tackle Darius Washington who is currently committed to Mississippi State. Miami is also high on the list for five-star offensive tackle Evan Neal who is expected to sign with Alabama.
If Miami doesn’t somehow land Neal losing Tarquin would be a huge blow to an offensive line that has not produced at the level expected from two recruiting classes that have added a lot of talent up front.
Next. Miami Seniors have been through a lot during their tenure. dark
Miami Head Coach Mark Richt and Offensive Line Coach Stacy Searles need to land a high-level offensive lineman in the Class of 2019.