2/22/2008 football Edit

Miami Northwestern DB picks up first offer

Barton Simmons

Recruiting Analyst

Miami head coach Randy Shannon seems to have no misconceptions about where the strength of his highly-touted 2008 recruiting class was: south Florida talent. More specifically, Miami's class was strengthened with the talent of Miami (Fla.) Northwestern high school. Now Shannon has wasted no time in getting right back to the talent factory.

Miami (Fla.) Northwestern safety Tevin McCaskill has picked up his first offer from The U and he feels great about it.

"It felt good knowing that UM gave me an offer," McCaskill said. "I never thought UM would offer. It came out of the blue, they pulled me out of class and told me about it. It was the most exciting feeling ever. I didn't get no letters from them, it just came out of the blue."

Though Miami will be high on his list, McCaskill is still hoping to look around a bit. He knows what he is looking for too.

"I'm looking for a college that's really gonna stick by me and really gonna be there for me," he explained. "I'm looking for a coach that's really gonna be a father figure and father material cause my father wasn't really around."

There will be more offers to come for the talented defensive back and as of right now, McCaskill is hearing from schools such as Boston College, Auburn, NC State and Houston.

However, before McCaskill moves on to the next level, he has some big shoes to fill after starting on a team that was widely considered the best team in the nation as a junior. McCaskill still has high hopes for the team that is returning. He also understands the new role he will have to fill.

"I like the guys we have here," he said. "We've been all working hard in the weight room, off the field and in the classroom. I really didn't have to do that much last year but this year I have to step up and be the superstar. I gotta make plays more than I did last year and I gotta keep everybody else up."

With the vote of confidence he recently received from Randy Shannon, McCaskill should have all the faith he needs to keep the Bulls on top in Florida.