Contact picking up between Miami Hurricanes, top-50 recruit Justice Fitzpatrick, with serious reciprocal interest
Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas four-star 2026 safety Justice Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of Pittsburgh Steelers star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, has known Miami head coach Mario Cristobal for the better part of a decade. But Cristobal has turned up the heat on Justice’s recruitment over the last month.
Cristobal has maintained his strong connections to the Fitzpatrick family since recruiting Minkah to Alabama in the 2010s and has recruited Justice hard since being hired at Miami in Dec. 2021. Justice, now the No. 49 overall prospect in the class, views the Hurricanes as a true contender along with programs like Alabama, Georgia and Florida State, although he doesn’t have a formal list of top schools this early into his recruitment. Ohio State and Texas have also caught his attention.
Justice has interacted with secondary coach Chevis Jackson and defensive coordinator Lance Guidry, although Cristobal has personally handled much of his recruitment due to his personal relationship with the Fitzpatricks. Justice and his parents returned to Miami’s campus this past weekend for the Hurricanes’ end-of-summer recruiting cookout and his first trip to Coral Gables since Miami’s spring game.
“They’re great coaches, and I’ve learned a lot of stuff from them,” Justice said of Miami’s staff. “It was a very good (visit) experience. (Cristobal) has been reaching out constantly because he’s really close to my family. He’s just trying to keep it close with me and my family — not just as a football connection but personal connections as well.”
Justice isn’t opposed to the idea of playing college football in South Florida, he said. He’s had opportunities to work out with Miami, Georgia and Alabama over the last several years and has been impressed with all three’s secondary staffs. He added he hasn’t visited as many schools he hoped to this summer but is now focusing on his junior football season.
“(The staffs) have great coaches,” Justice said. “I’ve worked with all of them before. They’ve shown me how they coach. They all coach different, but I love how all of them coach. They’ve shown me the ins and outs of their schools. I just love everything about them.”
Minkah has spoken particularly highly of Cristobal to Justice and was “one of his favorite coaches,” Justice said.
“He knows he’s a great man, and definitely would like the idea of me playing for him and (would be) comfortable knowing I’d be playing for him,” Justice said. “He definitely loves Cristobal and how he coaches and the type of man he is.”
Justice plans to return to Miami this fall for a game-day visit.
CaneSport’s Take
Fitzpatrick is one of the early recruiting priorities for Miami and could easily land in Coral Gables given his numerous ties to the program and close family relationship with Cristobal. We’ll keep a particularly close eye on his recruitment over the next 12 months.
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