The Miami football program is currently the prohibitive favorite for four-star edge rusher Booker Pickett Jr. There are three 247 Sports Crystal balls logged in Miami’s favor for Pickett Jr. On3 lists Miami with a 91.1 percent chance for Pickett. Miami is building a potentially elite defensive line class in 2024.
Zach Blostein of Noles 247, Gaby Urrutia of Inside the U and Steve Wiltfong the 247 Sports Director of Football Recruiting all have logged Crystal Balls this week projecting Pickett Jr. will commit to the Miami football program. Pickett Jr. visited Miami this past weekend which included attendance at the game versus Texas A&M.
Pickett is the 190th player nationally, the 14th edge rusher and 29th prospect in Florida out of Tampa Wharton in the 2024 247 Sports composite rankings. Miami currently has the 16th-ranked class nationally with 22 players committed. Pickett would be the third edge rusher committed to the 2024 class.
Miami currently holds commitments from four-star edge rushers Marquise Lightfoot from Chicago and Elias Rudolph from Deerfield Beach. A commitment from Pickett will move Miami past Clemson and Auburn into the 14th-ranked 2023 class nationally. Miami projects to have an extremely deep DL in the future.
Pickett named a top five of Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and South Carolina on August 4. According to his On3 profile, Pickett has taken unofficial visits to the five above schools plus Florida, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA and USC. Defensive line coach Jason Taylor is the primary recruiter for Pickett Jr.
Including this season, Pickett has 196 tackles, 41.0 tackles for loss, 63 sacks, eight forced fumbles, five QB hurries, one fumble recovery and one blocked punt in his high school career. Pickett would be another DL that has proven production throughout his high school career.
Pickett’s father was a DL and linebacker at Miami in the mid-1990s. At 6’3 and 205 pounds, Pickett has a lot of room to fill out into his body. Andrew Ivins in 247 Sports scouting report projects Pickett with the ability to play a JACK LB in 3-4 defense or a