Miami adds another blue chip player to the 2026 recruiting class
The Miami Hurricanes kept the good recruiting vibes going on Friday evening when Seffner (FL) Armwood 4-star CB Jaelen Waters announced his commitment to the Canes.
BREAKING: Four-Star CB Jaelen Waters has Committed to Miami, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’2 180 CB from Seffner, FL was previously Committed to Florida & Florida State
“It’s been a long process but I know where I’m supposed to be.”https://t.co/yqO6eDeb20 pic.twitter.com/5nTGLB4Kca
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) March 7, 2025
A long and lean 6’2” 170lbs, Waters — whose nickname is Seatbelt — has the prototypical build for an elite corner. He has room to grow into his body, but has height, speed, length (this means arms), and explosive athleticism. All of those things play well at the HSFB level, and Miami looks to develop those traits even more moving forward.
Like Congdon before him, Waters’ commitment comes after an unofficial visit to Coral Gables earlier in the day. Waters was on-hand for practice, and got to see Will Harris and Zac Etheridge work with the DBs, and just generally get a first hand view of the Canes’ program. That solidified the choice in his mind, and led to this commitment.
As noted in the tweet above, Waters’ recruitment has been a whirlwind. He was previously committed to BOTH Florida State and Florida (in that order), before committing to Miami today. Famously, Waters committed to Florida after being recruited by DB coach Will Harris before the coach elected to leave Gainesville in favor of Coral Gables. Waters waited about a week, then decommitted from UF. Miami had been surging in Waters’ recruitment before Harris left UF, but add in the fact that he left UF and now works at Miami, and it was all but a forgone conclusion that Waters would commit to Miami, which he did today.
On the field, Waters is a high level athlete who translates athleticism into performance. He had 20 tackles, 6 PBUs, and a forced fumble as a sophomore in 2023, and followed that up with 20 tackles, 3 PBUs and 2 INTs as a junior for an Armwood team that reached the regional finals.
This is a big recruiting win for Miami. When you consider both in-state rivals had him committed previously, and combine that with the fact that Auburn and Alabama are among the MANY other teams recruiting him, getting Waters to commit speaks to the quality of the player Miami is adding.
For a better look at what Miami is getting with Waters, check out his QwikCut highlights here.
Waters is the 5th commit in Miami’s 2026 recruiting class. He joins recently committed OT Ben Congdon, along with LB Jordan Campbell, QB Dereon Coleman, and CB Camdin Portis (yes, that’s the son of Clinton Portis) in this class for Miami. You can find more narrative about those players here.