The Miami heat is becoming a hotbed for Hawaii football recruiting.
On Wednesday morning, the Warriors received their second signed commitment from a Miami high school player in as many days.
Marrell Jackson, a safety from Miramar High, became the 23rd member of the Warriors’ 2012 recruiting class. On Tuesday, the Warriors received a faxed copy of a letter of intent from cornerback Ne’Quan Phillips of Southridge High.
"We really like his athleticism," UH head coach Norm Chow said of Jackson. "We’re not sure where we sit with safeties. We have a lot of safeties who don’t have a lot of (game) experience. We wanted to make that spot secure for us."
Jackson is 6 feet 1 and 180 pounds. He led Miramar with 10 interceptions in 2011. Wake Forest and UCLA were recruiting Jackson.
"On film, he’s a really impressive ball-hawking type of player," Chow said. "We really like him."
Chow said UH assistant coach Chris Demarest and defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer were the point recruiters.
"Chris Demarest has good connections in Florida," Chow said. "We’ll find these guys."
Chow said the Warriors will not be limited to specific area codes.
"I think we’ll continue to look anywhere we can for players," Chow said.
Chow said his coaches adhere to strict evaluation and screening processes.
"We spent a lot of time studying," Chow said of the recruiting efforts in Miami. "We didn’t just go out and find any two guys. We studied and talked with them. Chris used his connections. We work hard at recruiting."
Chow said construction of his first UH recruiting class is not complete.
"We’re still looking," he said. "We need to get some depth on the offensive line."
As for the current grade of this class, Chow said: "I’ll tell you in three years."
