Miami Hurricanes making strong impression on in-state LB early on: “I felt like I was home”
The University of Miami is making a strong impression early with Miami (Fla.) Columbus 2025 LB Hector Chavez, who recently visited campus. The rising sophomore earned an offer from the Hurricanes last winter and has had them high on his radar ever since.
“I felt good; I felt like I was home and comfortable,” Chavez told CaneSport. “I was excited to be there, and I actually enjoyed the practice and saw how much fun it was and how everybody was having a good time. It was a really good feeling.”
Chavez and a few of his Columbus teammates, including three-star defensive lineman Daylen Russell, spent the early hours of Tuesday morning watching the Hurricanes’ spring practice and spoke with Miami head coach Mario Cristobal.
“We all went and watched practice, and after we had the chance to talk with coach Mario Cristobal,” Chavez said. “I went with a couple of my teammates, and we talked about how the program is going and how everything at Columbus was going.”
Miami is “for sure” his favorite program right now, according to the 5-foot-10, 210-pounder, who is loving his recruitment process thus far. One major reason for this is his relationship with Cristobal.
“It’s always good vibes talking to coach Cristobal,” Chavez said. “Something that he told me that kind of stood out was that he said to always stay humble, work hard, and I’ll get far in life. I kind of took that and ran with it.”
Along with Cristobal, Chavez has begun to build a relationship with Hurricanes linebacker coach Derek Nicholson, with whom he conversed during the visit.
“We spoke for a little bit, and he’s a really good guy,” Chavez added. “Good vibes and good energy. I really like him.”
Chavez was also really impressed with what he witnessed while watching Nicholson work with his position group.
“The tone and the energy stood out,” Chavez said. “Everyone was moving at a high pace; every drill was coordinated and organized, and I felt like the energy that everybody had was top-tier. Going around, you don’t really see that too much, so that was one thing that really stood out to me.”
Chavez left the visit with a better understanding of what the Hurricanes program is all about and feels that Miami is a school where he can see himself in the future.
“Everybody out at Miami loves, appreciates, and trusts each other,” Chavez said. “They all care for each other, the team, the fans, and the players that are looking forward to being there in the future.”
CaneSport’s take
Despite being unranked thus far on any major recruiting site, including On3, Chavez is a high-level producer at one of the top programs in the country as only a sophomore. Miami saw something early with Chavez, as they were the first program to offer him, and they are establishing themselves as the team to beat thus far.
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