Makiri Pugh of Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C. is a cornerback that
is building up an impressive list of credentials. Pugh transferred from Dematha
Catholic in Maryland to the Independence Patriots in North Carolina, and he has
now won state championships at both schools.
At a recent combine, Pugh measured 5-11.5 and 194 pounds, and he posted
impressive agility numbers with a 4.42 forty, 3.90 pro agility, and 33 inch
vertical leap. Duke had already offered Pugh a scholarship, and now an SEC Power
has thrown its hat into the ring.
"Yesterday I got an offer from the University of Georgia," said Pugh.
"I'm going down on May 12th to Athens. I've never been there before."
Several other schools are warm on Pugh, although they haven't offered him a
scholarship yet.
Georgia Tech has taken and interest. NC State, North Carolina, and Virginia are
on me too. Vanderbilt is another school that has picked it up recently, so
hopefully they'll offer too.
With the Georgia trip pending, it's reasonable to think that Pugh will see
several familiar faces with former Patriots Mohamed Massaquoi and Joe Cox on the
Bulldog roster. But it's from a former stop in his prep career that Pugh will
see a friendly face.
"I actually transferred to Independence, so I didn't but I didn't get
to meet Mohamed Massaquoi and Joe Cox, but I do know Akeem Hebron. He was at a
rival school when I was in Maryland. Every once in a while we swap emails, but
I'm not sure if he knows I'm coming down to Georgia yet."
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Joe Cox and Mohamed Massaquoi at Independence
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Pushing 6-0 and 195 pounds with 4.4 speed, Pugh has drawn the attention of
both the area recruiting coach for the Bulldogs (Mike Bobo) as well as the
position coach (Willie Martinez), both of whom happen to be coordinators on the
Georgia staff.
"Coach Martinez and Coach Bobo are the ones recruiting me for Georgia.
They've just been telling me that it's a great program with a proven track
record and that other guys from my school have had success there. They have a
lot of the same philosophies that we have at my school. They emphasize a lot of
individual study, and that they like kid that wants to learn on his own and then
come back and ask questions. They want a relationship where the coach can be his
mentor, and I really value that type of relationship with the coach."
Pugh's first offer was from Duke, and he has already visited the Blue Devil
campus.
The coaches at Duke are very honest, and they're very specific about who they
are going after. I went to their junior day there weren't as many people at
their junior as some others I've been to, because the only ones there were the
ones they felt they might actually offer scholarships to."
With offers from Duke and Georgia, and with schools like Georgia Tech, North
Carolina, NC State, Vanderbilt and Virginia showing interest, it was no surprise
to find out that Pugh has a 3.5 GPA and a 1580 SAT.
Pugh admitted to following the SEC/ACC schools growing up, even if he never had
a specific team to latch on to.
"I watched all of those teams in the SEC and ACC. I never really had a
favorite, but some stood out. Georgia was one of those schools. They were like a
dream school to me; Florida recently with Chris Leak, and Florida State too.
Georgia Tech and Clemson were teams I had interest in too."
Pugh has already played for two of the top Prep programs in the country, and
he's not eager to give up his winning ways.
"The teams I've been on have only lost one game in my career at Dematha and
Independence. We won a state championship at both places, and that's important
to me to be with a winning program."
Pugh has two offers to choose from already, and it's a safe that he'll have his
choice of several winning programs before all is said and done.
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