BREAKING: Five-star Safety Zaquan Patterson Commits to Miami

Keeping the best in South Florida prospects home has been the focus for Miami since the return home of head coach Mario Cristobal less than two years ago.

This staff was able to do just that on Saturday afternoon when five-star safety Zaquan Patterson decided to stay home over Florida State, Michigan, and Auburn.

"Being from Miami, you wanna see Miami be great," said Patterson ahead of his commitment. "I love what coach Cristobal is doing with the program. I love the direction he's taking it in. I just want to be part of that."

Patterson's recruitment took twists and turns along the way. In the last year and a half, his rumored leaders have changed from Georgia to Michigan to Miami to Florida State, but ultimately, home ended up being where the heart is for the second-highest-ranked safety prospect in the country.

"[Mario] Cristobal, the way he's building up the program Coach [Jahmil] Addae they're doing a great job. D-Train [Dennis Smith] is doing a good job. To me, it's not only football. That's family right there."

Relationships and the chance to get on the field early ended up being the main reasons Patterson chose the Hurricanes, despite still being so early in the Cristobal era. Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry paired with the efforts of Cristobal and Smith, were overwhelmingly better than the contenders that missed out.

"The first day he got there, he Facetimed me, and we got a chance to chop it up," said Patterson during the spring. "When I went to the school for a visit pretty recently, I talked to him for the first time in person. He's a cool guy, I love his energy. He brings passion to the defense; you can see it in practice. He's taking the steps that are needed to turn the program around."

The 6'1" 195-pound safety was always the top target on the board for this staff, especially as the depth chart has the potential to deplete if starters Kamren Kinchens and James Williams live up to expectations this season for Miami. His versatility and ability to impact both the run and passing game projects to potential true freshmen starting opportunities, similar to the likes of offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, defensive end Rueben Bain, and running back Mark Fletcher.

If you track the visits, Miami was always the school to watch for Patterson. He's been on campus countless times, and back in June, the staff made a significant impression on the elite defensive back and his mother.

"I feel like around this time, everyone is going to give me the best they have, and Miami gave a really good push on that last visit, especially with them being one of the first visits my mom had been on," said Patterson. "The energy and enthusiasm that they brought to that visit really gave her a good eye opener to what the recruiting process is really like. I really appreciate that from them."

In the past two state championship winning seasons, Patterson has racked up 138 tackles, four sacks, five interceptions, several forced fumbles, and double-digit blocked kicks for nationally ranked Chaminade-Madonna, earning All-American honors and rising into the five-star ranks as a top fifteen prospect in the class.

After building a solid core of in-person evaluations, Miami ramped up their 'whale hunting.' Since the beginning of the summer, there have been six blue-chip commitments, including teammate and fellow five-star wide receiver Joshisa Trader.

Just on the defensive side of the ball, Miami has stacked talent with four stars in defensive ends Elias Rudolph, Marquise Lightfoot, linebacker Vincent Shavers, defensive tackle Artavius Jones and safety Isaiah Thomas.

With Patterson in tow as the 22nd commit in the class, Miami jumps up to the 12th-ranked team in the 2024 class, passing Clemson, Penn State, Oklahoma, and Auburn.

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