CORAL GABLES, Fla. _ For Mike Rumph, being part of the coaching staff at Miami _ his alma mater _ has always been personal.
Rumph, a member of the Hurricanes' 2001 national championship team, is intent on helping shape the Miami defense into the kind of unit it was when he played there beside the likes of Sean Taylor, Ed Reed, Phillip Buchanon, Jonathan Vilma, D.J. Williams, Vince Wilfork and Al Blades.
And so, when tasked with helping recruit a Broward County cornerback he knew all too well, Rumph was all in. Wednesday, that young prospect _ Al Blades Jr. out of St. Thomas Aquinas _ signed with Miami where now, he'll be coached by one of the players that once shared a championship locker room with his late father.
"I saw this kid as a baby in the locker room, a little kid throwing up the 'U,' " Rumph said this week. "It was a little more personal. At the same time, his stats and what he did as a player is what really stood out to us. If he wasn't the person he is on the field, the personal part wouldn't have a chance."
Blades has been a longtime Miami commit, pledging to the Hurricanes as a freshman. But after the Hurricanes fired former coach Al Golden, he opted to open his recruitment again. Ultimately, though, he re-affirmed his desire to play at Miami _ where his father and uncles Brian and Bennie played _ last Father's Day weekend.
Rated a consensus four-star prospect by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals, Blades is an Under-Armour All-American who totaled more than 140 tackles during his high school career. A state championship winner at St. Thomas, he was selected to participate in Nike's prestigious The Opening event and proved, more than once, he was worthy of a scholarship. Alabama, Auburn, Florida State and LSU all tried to sway him, but ultimately, it was Miami where he signed.
And it's not just his skill set on the field or his name that impressed Rumph.
"Al does a good job of just being that vocal leader. He's a good tackler. He comes from a winning tradition. His family is a long line of great players who played for the Miami Hurricanes," Rumph said. "It was a no-brainer with him. A good student. All those intangibles, to me, are exactly what we needed in our locker room. We have other players who are similar to how he is. We figure it's a great fit."
And when asked if he sees some of Al Blades in his son, well, Rumph was adamant.
"Without a doubt. The best leader when I was here, besides Ed Reed, was Al Blades, his dad," Rumph said. "To see the same kind of person in his son, and now I get to coach him, it's amazing. ...
"There are so many stories I can tell him about his dad. He probably doesn't know. That was always there. He just likes to talk about working hard and being competitive and wants to know what the University of Miami is really like. I had a chance to explain that to him through the recruiting process."
But Blades wasn't the only highly touted defensive back Miami inked during the Early Signing Period. The Hurricanes also locked in local standouts Gilbert Frierson of Coral Gables, Gurvan Hall of Palm Beach Lakes and DJ Ivey of South Dade High.
Both Banda and safeties coach Ephraim Banda said on Wednesday none of the four are locked into positions, each one versatile enough to be used in multiple ways.
"The four kids we've got, none of them are locked into a position. Some of them want to do different things ... that's great," Banda said. "Gilbert's going to start off at corner, if he can play corner, great. Gurvan will play safety. We recruit the best four kids we can at DB. Whoever the best kids are will play. Like Mike (Jackson), he went to safety and did really well. (Sheldrick) Redwine went to safety full-time and did really well."
