Miami offers California teammates
Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick knows the history of Miami's tight ends well and so when the Hurricanes offered on Thursday it was huge for the Rocklin (Calif.) Whitney tight end and now he wants to learn more about the school to see if it's a fit.
"It's definitely pretty big," Cope-Fitzpatrick said. "It's the first one on the East Coast so that's pretty cool.
Advertisement
"Besides Nebraska and Iowa State, they're the only ones outside the Pac-10 to offer so that's pretty exciting for sure. I can't wait to learn more about them and see how the new coaches handle the program and what the offense is going to look like next year."
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound prospect who looked good this past weekend at the Stanford NIKE Camp now has offers from Miami, Nebraska, Iowa State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA, Utah, Washington and Washington State.
Since Cope-Fitzpatrick wants to make his decision in July, he's going to do lots of research about the Hurricanes to see if it's a possible fit. Their tight end tradition is important and it's something the Northern California recruit will consider while he makes his decision.
"I've always been familiar with the tight ends there that have come up and out of Miami," Cope-Fitzpatrick said. "I started liking them and really started getting interested in them and wondering about their style recently.
"I have to do my homework and see what they're going to have to offer at the university and from the football aspect. It's getting closer and I want to make my decision in early July so I'm still very open and more schools are going to visit so hopefully I'll get more offers so I'll have more options."
Florida, Tennessee and USC continue to show interest and could stop by Cope-Fitzpatrick's school soon. Notre Dame has recently gotten involved as well. Rivals.com rates him No. 180 in the 2012 class.
Cope-Fitzpatrick isn't the only Whitney standout to get an offer on Thursday.
Quarterback Jake Rodrigues, who shined at the Stanford Elite 11 last weekend, is also on the board and Miami joins Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, San Diego State, Utah and Washington on his list.
Rodrigues said the Miami offer is big.
"Miami is Miami, one of the biggest football schools of all time," Rodrigues said. "This is crazy."