Demontre Hurst, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound three-star cornerback from Lancaster, Texas, has a new favorite school - Miami.
He says the 'Canes now lead slightly over North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Arizona, Oklahoma State (no offer), Michigan and No. 19 Missouri (no offer).
"Miami was a later offer, but I've always liked them," Hurst said. "I like (secondary) coach Wesley McGriff and was really excited when they offered me. They are a program that is known for football. They get guys into the league and that's a great sign for me.
"I'd love to be part of that kind of tradition," he said of Miami. "I've watched them forever."
Hurst will be taking his official visit to Miami on Jan. 23. "I really like what they are telling me," he said. "Coach McGriff said he wants me to come in and be ready to play. I like that he has that kind of confidence in me.
"I also like that the program is rebuilding and playing tough and that I could be part of that," he said. "Coach Randy Shannon has them heading in the right direction and is recruiting a great class."
The only visit that he's taken thus far was to Arizona on Oct. 18. "I still talk with them a lot," he said. "They are recruiting me hard."
Another thing the Wildcats have going for them is that his teammate, Cordarius Golston (three-star, ranked as the No. 43 strongside linebacker in the country by Scout.com), is already committed to Mike Stoops.
"We went on our trip to Arizona together and he loved it," he said. "He committed to them right after our last game a couple weeks ago. He hasn't stopped talking about them since then. He's kind of like a coach for them because he's recruiting me so much."
So will his friends' presence be a factor in Hurst's decision? "We've talked about playing together and it would be fun, but I have to make the decision for me."
Hurst, Scout.com's No. 40 cornerback, says that the school that is recruiting him the hardest is North Carolina. "They've been talking to me regularly," he said. "They just check in all the time and seem real interested in me. We talk about school and football and just regular things."
Although it wasn't an official visit, Hurst attended the Oklahoma/Oklahoma State game in Stillwater on Nov. 29. "It was a great game," he said. "I really like it there.
"I'm from Oklahoma originally and have always had my eye on Oklahoma State," he said. "They've done a good job rebuilding and had a pretty good year. They lost some tough close games and have a good team, so I expect them to do well next year too."
Despite being a native Oklahoman, Hurst hasn't received an offer from the Cowboys. "They said they were still evaluating things and trying to see if I'm the kind of defensive back they need in their system," he said.
Hurst was originally scheduled to visit Wake Forest on Nov. 8, but now the Demon Deacons aren't even on his favorites list. "I was supposed to go on a trip there, but I hurt my back during a game and couldn't," he said.
"I think the coaches got mad or something because they never called me after that," he said. "I haven't talked to them since then, but that's okay because I don't think that was the place for me. They never really talked with me about being a student or about school or anything. They would only talk about football and how I could help their team and I didn’t really like that."
Although Hurst has a list of eight schools, he says he only plans on taking three more official visits (including his already scheduled trip to Miami). "Right now I'm probably leaning towards visiting North Carolina, Tennessee, maybe West Virginia."
The Vols have been one of Hurst's favorites for quite some time, but he admits he reconsidered things when coach Philip Fulmer
So what does Hurst think now that the Vols have named a new head coach (Lane Kiffin). "I'm still looking at them," he said. "I have my eye on them for sure.
"I talked to (assistant coach/tight ends) coach Jason Michael on Tuesday (Dec. 2) and he was at my school today (Dec. 5)," Hurst said. "He says that coach Kiffin is a great coach and that they still want me there. We didn't really get to talk in-depth but I plan to later."
The other school that Hurst says he's seriously considering visiting officially is West Virginia. "I know they are a pretty good team," he said. "They always do well in the Big East and are a very competitive team. They always play hard.
"I really like the speed they play with," he said. "It looks like they play a lot of man defense and that's a corners dream."
The school that is on the outside looking in right now is Michigan. "They are another school that offered me late," he said. "Michigan is Michigan. I can see they started slow this year and didn't do too well, but I don’t look at it as a failure.
"Coach Rich Rodriguez is a new coach there and he's gonna rebuild the program back," he said. "I don't see them going down or getting worse."
The Wolverines have also told Hurst that he'd be able to see some early playing time. "They said I'm a perfect Big 10 lockdown corner and that there's a good chance that I could start as a freshman."
While Hurst says he has around 20 scholarship offers, he admits schools like TCU and Kansas State have cooled down recruiting him, which is why they are no longer in his top five.
"I'm pretty much looking for a community atmosphere," he said. "I want to go where the coaches and players interact well with each other and where it's a stable program.
"I'd also really like to get some good early playing time," Hurst said. "I'll probably take three more visits and decide. I should be able to make a decision by then."
Hurst finished his senior season (7-5) with 75 tackles, three fumbles recovered and one fumble caused. He had five interceptions with one going back for a touchdown. He also had two scores off kick returns and one blocked kick for a two-point conversion.
He reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 1290 SAT.