Four-star DB Damari Brown narrowing his recruiting focus

Damari Brown has begun to narrow his focus to certain schools in his recruiting process. The 2023 four-star defensive back out of American Heritage Plantation (Fla.) is coming off of a busy month of March, during which he visited Miami and Florida State, Meanwhile, he is also being pursued by LSU, Alabama and Clemson. Brown caught up with Rivals.com to discuss his recruiting process and which schools were separating themselves from the rest.

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MIAMI: After his visit to Miami, Brown said he is feeling very confident in the plans Mario Cristobal and his staff have in place.

What stood out to him most?

“The atmosphere down there, coach Cristobal has a plan and the vision and I’m feeling that he knows for sure he’s going to change this program around. (He is) adding all the pieces to the puzzle, coaching, players, to get this thing back to where it needs to be.”

Florida State: Brown believes this to be a spot for him to come in early and compete as a freshman. The Florida State staff also seems to be making a good impression on him.

“I’m close with (co-defensive coordinator) coach (Randy) Shannon, former teammates with my dad at Miami. Coach (Marcus) Woodson, the corners coach, is a cool coach, and Mike Norvell and their energy up there is nice. They know what they have to do to bring Florida State back, but the school atmosphere up there was nice. That’ll also be another spot I can come in early as a freshman.”

LSU: Brown mentioned he was pretty high on the Tigers, and he believes it to be a program where he can come in and compete to play early. His relationship with cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples is also a plus for the Tigers.

“I’m close with coach Steeples, and he’s been emphasizing the spots. They have two senior corners, so that’ll be a spot I can go in, go to work and compete to play early at. They got a new DC coming in, and I’ll go up there and see how I fit in the scheme. But LSU is a good school. They produce DBs, I like coach Steeples’ mindset and how he’s going to develop his guys.”

ALABAMA: It is no surprise that Alabama is pursuing yet another DB out of American Heritage Plantation (Fla.), after signing Brown’s former teammate, Earl Little Jr., in the 2022 class. The message from Alabama seems to be straight to the point.

“I hear from TRob (CB coach Tavaris Robinson) probably once a week, here and there. He recruited me at Miami, I know his resume and I know what he can do and develop guys to the league. He’s letting me know if I want to come win a national championship that’s the place to be.”

CLEMSON: Brown is very high on Clemson and his relationship with the coaches there. Despite losing its defensive coordinator this off-season, Clemson is still making quite the impression.

“ Clemson is very high up there. (Assistant head) coach (Mike) Reed, I know what he’s done in the past with his cornerbacks. He’s a good coach. Coach Wes Goodwin, he’s been there with the former DC and coach (Dabo) Swinney for a while, so he’s familiar with the defense. Clemson is another good school for my position.”

Though Brown is unsure of where he will take his official visits this upcoming year, he is sure of what he wants to see out of and hear from those schools.

“A school that’s genuine, and really wants me," he said. "Not a want, but a need. Somewhere I can fit in on and off the field. I’m a student-athlete, so the off the field part is important to me. Coaches that are going to push, develop and get the best out of me. Also, where I just fit in the scheme best.”

As he sits on a long list of offers, it seems that Brown is starting to slow down the recruiting process and really focus on a few schools. However, there seems to be one offer Brown would be very interested in: Ohio State.

“Yeah, after spring I should be pretty focused and narrowing down my schools," he said. "I might drop a top five, top six, top seven after spring or during spring time. I’m pretty narrowed down, but there’s a big school in Ohio that hasn’t offered yet.”

Interestingly, Ohio State recently picked up a commitment from 2023 RB Mark Fletcher, a high school teammate of Brown's.