4-star cornerback Earl Little Jr. reacts to Miami firing Manny Diaz

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage cornerback Earl Little Jr. has been considered an Alabama lean for quite some time now. But the four-star had an interesting reaction to the news that Miami, his father’s alma mater, had fired head coach Manny Diaz.

Little posted the eyeballs emoji just minutes after Diaz’s firing was first reported by On3’s Matt Zenitz.

He is the No. 87 prospect in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3’s own rankings peg him significantly higher as the No. 38 overall prospect and No. 6 cornerback in the country.

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— Earl Little Jr (@EarlLittleJr1) December 6, 2021

Miami was a contender for Earl Little Jr.

In May, Little posted a list of his top seven schools, and the Hurricanes were among them. Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, and USC joined Miami on the list at that time. He later visited the Hurricanes unofficially in June, but never took an official visit there.

Instead, he used those on Alabama, Florida State, Oregon, LSU and USC. The Ducks were the most recent school to host him, and head coach Mario Cristobal has been reported as Miami’s top target to replace Diaz.

Last month, Little named Oregon, Florida State and Alabama as his top three schools.

With his connection to Cristobal already established, as well as his family ties to the Miami program, Earl Little Jr. could be a name to watch as we barrel toward the early signing period Dec. 15.

On3 Scouting Summary

“Thinly built defensive back with the technical savvy to play multiple spots in the secondary. High-end quickness is supplemented by his ability to process the game quickly. Has the cover skills to play at corner, nickel or safety. Plays with an edgy confidence and physicality. Doesn’t back down from a challenge and throws his body around as a tackler. Tested against top competition in South Florida. Will need to continue adding mass to his frame at the next level and lacks verified speed and athleticism.” — Charles Power, On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings