There was a lot of buzz when CJ Cypher committed to the Miami Hurricanes a couple of weeks ago. The class of 2029 quarterback from Carrollton, Georgia, was a clear target for Mario Cristobal and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, but why would he want to commit so early in high school, and why would Miami be so quick to take him?
Some of those questions were answered this past weekend at IMG Academy, where Cypher was the talk of the UA Next S7VNS tournament and took home MVP honors. Cypher quarterbacked his Carrollton High team to the championship.
READ MORE: Miami lands elite 2029 QB after his breakout freshman season put the country on notice
Miami commit C.J. Cypher dominated from start to finish to take home MVP for the champion Carrollton Trojans at UA Next S7VNS 🏆 @CJCypher7
— Billy Tucker (@TheUCReport) July 12, 2026
Great weekend for the 2029 standout #UANext pic.twitter.com/YJktgDRcwJ
2029 QB commit CJ Cypher puts on a show at UA Next S7VNS
Cypher, listed at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, committed to the Hurricanes on June 24 and gives them a quarterback commit for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 classes to completely reshape and stock the quarterback room for the next several seasons.
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Another Miami QB commit, Knox Annis, was also at the event and gave Cypher a small taste of the in-house competition he will face once he gets on campus.
"When we get to college, it's going to be the same way," Cypher told Rivals/On3 writer EJ Holland. "We're going to build that friendship, but also be competing at the same time."
Most of the teams in the event were "all-star" squads, but Cypher came with his full Carrollton team, the only public school that participated in the first-year event.
CJ Cypher says he's solid in his commitment to Miami
Any time a prospect commits over two years ahead of time, it's going to be met with some skepticism and eye rolls. But Cypher told Holland that he's fully committed to Miami and previously added that he wanted to settle things early so he could focus on enjoying his time in high school without the pressure of recruiting battles. The recruiting cycle in college football has sped up significantly. Many of the Power Four programs have closed out the majority of their 2027 recruiting classes and are already working on prospects for 2028.
That clock is even faster for quarterbacks, as we are starting to see 2028 quarterbacks making commitments or announcing a list of finalists. It makes sense for a quarterback to commit earlier because they are often the centerpiece of the class and offer coaching staffs an additional pitch in recruiting other key players. Cypher's early commitment gives him time to get acclimated to his future teammates, coaches and help Cristobal as an unofficial recruiter for the upcoming classes.
"Everything about [Miami] is perfect. You wouldn't want to go anywhere else," Cypher added. "I'm 100 percent committed. I'm not going anywhere."
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