Five-star DB Donte Wright flips to Miami, ‘end of the day, it was where he felt most comfortable’
· Yahoo Sports
Long Beach Poly (Calif.) defensive back Donte Wright flipped his commitment from Georgia to Miami in a move that timing wise, even surprised his family.
Wright is one of the top defensive backs in the country and checks in as a five-star prospect and the No. 12 player nationally in the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.
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We had been hearing more and more buzz for Miami over the last month but heard the plan was for Wright to take all his official visits first before making a final decision.
“This all happened today,” Wright’s father Donte Sr. said moments ago. “I mean in last two hours, he came to me and said, ‘dad, I’m doing this now.’
“Miami had been trending already for him. Not a lot of people knew that but Miami was leading and it was more a matter of when not if but I didn’t even know it would be this soon. For Donte, he said the process was getting tiresome and he wanted to shut it down and that’s what he did.”
Wright said there were a lot of reasons why Donte chose the Canes.
“Out of the schools we visited, that felt like home for him,” Donte Sr. said. “He visited twice and they were his favorite visits. He loves the culture out there and how they play.
“Growing up, Miami had that swagger and they’re getting it back and that fits Donte. He loves Mario Cristobal and believes in his vision. I know some were concerned about not having a full time corner coach hired yet but we know Will Harris really well, that’s who we mess with there and were super confident in the plan in place they have for him.”
That plan involves competing for playing time right away.
“They see him playing a lot right away,” Donte Sr. said. “They’re all about competition there and the best players will play, no matter the grade. They think Donte is an NFL guy and they’re going to do all they can to maximize his talent there.
“They develop really well and the talent on the team right now is crazy. So it was everything- the team, the staff, the culture. the city of Miami and really just how comfortable he was and how well he fit in when it came to every aspect of his life.”
Oregon looked like the team to beat in terms of a potential flip but Wright said it was actually UCLA.
“UCLA made a strong push,” Donte Sr. said. “They got in there and Donte was really feeling them and thinking hard about UCLA. We had some serious talks and then hm and Juju (Johnson) talks about staying together and being hometown heroes. In the end, it was close but he just fell in love with Miami.
“I think that’s part of the reason he committed so soon right now. Things were starting to get too complicated and I think he just wanted to commit now and then focus on Poly football. He’s off now with uncle fishing somewhere, not taking any calls. He called Georgia and everyone else but he feels great about his decision. It was stressful but he’s excited to be a Cane and I support him 100%.”