Milton (GA) quarterback Luke Nickel is fully locked in with the University of Miami.

He just led his high school to a Georgia state championship. His 7 on 7 team was victorious last weekend at Battle 7v7 Miami. Nickel has been verbally committed to the Miami Hurricanes since August of 2023.

I sat down with Nickel on Thursday morning to discuss his recruitment on my Locked On Canes podcast.

-We discussed why he chose Miami. Nickel explained his comfort level with head coach Mario Cristobal and OC Shannon Dawson. Nickel explained why he feels Dawson’s system is a perfect fit for him.

-You’ll notice that Nickel refers to Miami as “we” throughout the interview. He is completely locked in on the Hurricanes despite not being able to sign his letter of intent for another 10 months. Nickel tells me he still hears from other schools, but everyone understands that he is a future Hurricane. He told me he wants to help lead the Canes to a championship.

Nickel has bonded with other recruits throughout his process, including some who are yet to verbally commit to a school. He mentions 5-Star WR Jaime Ffrench(Jacksonville Mandarin) and 4-Star WR Cortez Mills (Homestead) as players he is bonding with. Ffrench and Mills are uncommitted at this time but Miami is recruiting them both.

-Nickel talked about his relationship with Heisman trophy winner and former NFL star Cam Newton, who coaches him in 7 on 7.

The University of Miami football coaching staff is visiting recruits across the country.

Recently, Miami visited the Lonestar State looking for top talent. The Hurricanes have not signed a player from the state of Texas since current UM tight end Elijah Arroyo was a Rivals 4-star from Frisco (Texas) Independence. Mario Cristobaland his staff are aiming to change that trend.

Cristobal and his staff already offered over 30 players from the state of Texas. Plus, that list includes a recently offered defensive end Smith Orogbo. His recruitment is starting to pick up with four new offers in the last 48 hours including the Canes.

Coming from Alief (Texas) Hastings on the edge of Houston, Orogbo holds offers from several in-state schools including Texas, Texas Tech, TCU, and Houston. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound edge defender spoke with us about his offer from Miami and broke down his college decision timeline.

“Coach (Joe) Salave’a offered me a scholarship. He told me that he had watched my film and loved it. Coach talked about how I was a baller on the film.”

Orogbo did mention a visit to Miami could happen soon.

“I plan on visiting Miami shortly. Don’t have a date yet, but do plan on visiting Miami.”

That said, the Hurricanes are facing stiff competition to sign Orogbo.

“I plan on visiting California, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech,” said Orogbo.

Some of the schools he plans to visit are a few that are recruiting him the hardest as well.