Premier Florida Athlete Delays Signing Hours Before Announcement


Marcus Benjamin @_BenjaminReport

Miami, FL – During most of the season, the race for Tyrique Stevenson  has been a two-school race between the University of Miami and the University of Georgia.  On December 19th, the first day of early national signing day…nothing changed.

“I came to a decision,” said the four-star recruit out of Florida City.  “That’s why I announced it would be out that top two, but talking to my mom and to myself I decided to hold it off a little bit.  I wanted to make sure everything will be good so I’m doing a little bit more research.”

Stevenson will be silently signing Friday and announcing his decision publically at the U.S. Army All American Game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.  The game will be broadcast on a nationally televised audience on January 5th at 2:00 PM eastern on NBC. Stevenson explained what the determining factors will be for his decision.

“Whether or not the coaches are staying.  How comfortable I am in the locker room with the team and how comfortable I would be on campus even I were to throw football away.”  

Stevenson has had both schools as clear front-runners since his sophomore year.  Both schools established relationships with Tyrique then he continues to honor the bond created since.  

“They’ve been there through me growing into the player that I am today.  They’ve always been around through the good and the bad and I’ve built relationships with them that other colleges could not have built in a year or two.”

It’s not only a two-school race but it seems it is a two-coach race.  Newly appointed defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda at Miami and Head Coach Kirby Smart at Georgia will be the coaches Stevenson consults in the next two days.  Former Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has decided to take the head coaching job at Temple last week.

“Coach Banda and Coach Smart are really the two coaches I am talking to.  They are giving more information to help me decide.”

Stevenson will be making his announcement along with five-star wide receiver Jadon Haselwood on January 5th.  The game is considered the premier All-Star football game for high school seniors across the country. Haselwood reportedly will also decide between Miami and Georgia.  

 

Marcus Benjamin works as the senior writer and editor for FootballHotbed.com. He attended Florida A&M and Florida Memorial University completing a bachelors degree in communications in 2010. He's covered high school football in the South Florida area since 2010 for the Miami Herald, Miami Sports Tribune and ShawSports.net. He is married and lives in Fort, Lauderdale, FL.

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