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Change of heart

By Carlos Pineda
SouthernPigskin.com
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Antonio Crawford visited Miami last weekend and said yes to the Hurricanes.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — After taking his official visit to Miami over the weekend, Tampa Plant cornerback Antonio Crawford dropped his commitment from Georgia Tech to Miami, TBO.com reported Monday.

Crawford visited Georgia Tech a few weeks ago, but became more interested in the Hurricanes after they picked up key commitments on Saturday Jan. 7. UM nabbed three four-star recruits that day, including safety Deon Bush from Miami Columbus, Robert Lockhart from Fork Union Military Academy and Tyriq McCord out of Tampa Jefferson.

While he enjoyed his visit to Atlanta, Crawford told TBO.com that he changed his commitment based on the talks he had with Miami head coach Al Golden, his staff and the connections he made with the current players.

"I really bonded with the players and coaches down there and had a good time," Crawford said. "It felt right. I just needed to talk it over with my family and coach Weiner before I made my final decision."

Crawford, known to play both sides of the ball, rushed for over 550 yards and seven touchdowns at running back, along with five interceptions and over 50 tackles on defense. Including Crawford, the Hurricanes have commitments from defensive backs, an area of major need for UM. Although he committed to the Yellow Jackets over the summer, Crawford started leaning towards Miami after landing an offer from them following the 8A state title game in which Plant defeated nationally ranked Miramar 31-20 in December.

The move is another sign of Golden and his staff making an aggressive push in the waning time of this recruiting period.

Five-star defensive end Darius Hamilton from Ramsey Don Brosco Prep will choose between Miami and Rutgers on Tuesday night, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark. Rated by Rivals.com as the second best player at his position, the Ramsey, N.J. native held his last official visit before signing day at UM this weekend and enjoyed his time there.

It's shaping up to be a great recruiting for the Hurricanes.
 

Carlos Pineda - Carlos Pineda is a featured writer for Southern Pigskin. He covered the UCF Knights football team for Florida Today in 2010. Carlos' work has been published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel and Orlando Business Journal. He attended the University of Central Florida. Follow Carlos on Twitter @CarlosFPineda.