AROUND THE STATE RECRUITING

IMG Academy OL Tyree St. Louis verbally commits to Miami Hurricanes

MEDIA RELEASE

IMG Academy offensive tackle Tyree St. Louis made his verbal commitment today, choosing the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Miami Hurricanes over a host of Southeastern Conference suitors including the Florida Gators, Tennessee Volunteers and Mississippi State Bulldogs. St. Louis will sign in February with the class of 2015.

“The main reason I committed to Miami was [offensive line] Coach [Art] Kehoe – he’s the best in the business, and I know playing under him will give me a great shot at getting to the next level,” St. Louis said of his commitment to the Hurricanes. “It’s been a great process and I’ve been to some great places, seen great facilities and met some great people, but my recruitment has come to a close with the University of Miami.”

St. Louis will join head coach Al Golden and a Hurricanes team coming off of a 9-4 overall record and a berth in the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Fla. The Hurricanes began the 2013 season with seven consecutive wins, reaching as high as #7 in the AP poll behind a balanced offensive attack. Miami averaged 425.8 total yards per game, finishing fifth in the ACC in total offense, only four yards shy of third-place Georgia Tech (429.7 ypg).

“Tyree is a long athletic tackle with great feet, and he has developed into one of the premier tackles in the class of 2015,” remarked IMG Academy Head Coach Chris Weinke. “He is a natural pass setter with a huge wingspan. Miami is getting a great player and exceptional young man.”

Prior to making his verbal commitment, St. Louis fielded earned more than 20 Division-I offers. With his decision behind him, St. Louis is focused on preparation for the 2014 season and helping the IMG Academy Ascenders improve on an 8-2 inaugural record. The Ascenders will face state power Godby High School out of Tallahassee, Fla. in the Kickoff Classic on Aug. 23, and will tackle one of the nation’s toughest schedules that includes MaxPreps Preseason top-25 teams Trinity Christian High School from Jacksonville, Fla. and St. Peter’s Prep from Jersey City, N.J. Fall practices get underway in August.

St. Louis committed alongside offensive line teammate Evan Mallory, a Brownsburg, Ind. native who verbaled to the Cincinnati Bearcats. Mallory and St. Louis were the fourth and fifth members of the IMG Academy Football program to make a verbal commitment over the summer. They were preceded by fellow offensive lineman Mirko Jurkovic and Miki Fifita, who verbaled to Nebraska and Oregon State, respectively, on July 21, and linebacker Nick Thomas, who committed to Wisconsin in June.