Miami On300 commit Chris Graves visiting Florida this weekend

On3 imageby:Keegan Pope10/09/21

bykeeganpope

Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot four-star cornerback Chris Graves pledged to Miami back in July, but he’s on campus this weekend at Florida, On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons has confirmed.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Graves ranks as the No. 194 overall player in the 2022 On3 Consensus rankings.

“I’m just scoping things out,” Graves told Simmons of his visit.

He visited the Gators over the summer, as well as making trips to LSU, South Carolina and Miami before ultimately committing to Manny Diaz and Co. on July 9.

The Hurricanes have struggled out of the gate in 2021, getting blown out by Alabama in Week 1 before being blown out by Michigan State in Week 3 and losing a heartbreaker to Virginia last weekend. Miami, which started the season ranked No. 14, has fallen out of the Top 25 and is just 16-13 through two and a half seasons under head Manny Diaz.

Rumors have swirled about Diaz’s future in Coral Gables, and that uncertainty only hurts on the recruiting trail. Miami has the No. 44 overall recruiting nationally and ranks eighth in the SEC after finishing with the league’s No. 2 class a year ago.

Florida looking to close top-15 class

The Gators, meanwhile, are looking to lock up yet another top-15 recruiting class, and adding Chris Graves would go a ways toward doing so. Florida has 14 players committed for 2022, including five in the latest On300 rankings. They have just one defensive back committed in the class, though: No. 229 overall player Julian Humphrey.

Dan Mullen and Co. remain major players for top-five wide receiver Evan Stewart, as well as On300 athlete Azareyeh Thomas and cornerback Gentry Williams.