Five-star Samson Okunlola made everybody sweat this week as he sorted out which school he'd pick but now he's made his decision. In a surprising choice, the coveted offensive lineman has committed to Miami, choosing the Hurricanes over Michigan State, Florida, and Alabama.
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IN HIS OWN WORDS...
"Overall, it was really the relationships I built with the coaches," Okunlola said. "I've talked with them a bunch of times, I've been over there, and my parents have a really good bond with them. My parents get a really good spiritual feeling from them.
"Having a head coach who is an offensive line coach, who loves the offensive line, who wants the offensive line to win, and tailors the program around great offensive linemen is great to have," he said. "I've talked to them about Penei Sewell and what they did at Oregon developing those dudes at a high level. They had Sewell go int he first round. We're both kind of athletic freaks.
"I'm definitely trusting in what the coaches are doing," said Okunlola. "It's going to take a little while because some of these dudes are freshmen and are just coming out of high school and need to develop. I think the results will show when the time comes.
"It's going to be great going against guys like Rueben Bain and Jayden Wayne in practice," he said. "We're all going to get better every day. A couple of dudes might flip or commit once they see me commit. They want to be part of something great and be successful themselves."
WHAT THE HURRICANES ARE GETTING
Okunlola is an elite offensive lineman with the tools to play beyond the college level. He can play either tackle or guard spot and be a dominant run blocker or pass blocker. Okunlola has outstanding athletic traits as well as a wrestling background and an aggressive streak that offensive line coaches love to see in their players. He is so powerful in the lower body and knows how to stay low to use his leverage to amplify his already impressive upper body strength. Okunlola can drive defenders off the line of scrimmage and use his natural athleticism to make blocks at the second level and in the open field on screen plays. As a pass blocker, Okunlola has excellent patience and a great sense of timing when shooting his hands. He does a great job with his hand placement and knows how to reset his hands when defenders try countermoves.
WHY IT'S BIG FOR MIAMI
Miami has been counting on Okunlola for months and with his announcement they can breath a bit of a sigh of relief. The Hurricanes have the makings of a dominant offensive line with Okunlola joining five-star Francis Mauigoa, four-star Tommy Kinsler, and three-stars Antonio Tripp and Frankie Tinilau. There are still a few days until Signing Day and there's a small chance things could change given how much back and forth there was this week. Florida entered the week as the likely favorite but Miami secured the top spot after their in-home visit on Tuesday while holding off a late surge from Michigan State just hours before his decision.
