Mario Cristobal provides update on development of Jaleel Skinner

When he first took the head coaching job for the Miami Hurricanes, one of the first orders of business for Mario Cristobal was to pursue the services of highly coveted tight end Jaleel Skinner, who was originally committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Cristobal ultimately got his wish and flipped Skinner from Alabama to join him in Coral Gables to be the Hurricanes’ tight end of the future. Ranked as the No. 4 tight end in America for the 2022 On3 Consensus Rankings, bringing the tight end with tantalizing skills to Miami was no doubt one of the biggest lands of the cycle for Cristobal and company.

The Hurricanes’ head coach recently updated everyone on the development of one of the biggest crown jewels of their 2022 recruiting class.

“He’s certainly developing at a high level. He showed up in the first couple of games and played a bit. He didn’t play much the last game but it’s not in any way an indication of him or his progress. He’s a guy that we have intentions for playing more. He has proven himself. He’s certainly a guy that can help us in a lot of different ways. He has grown enough and gotten enough gains in the strength and conditioning department to play in-line, to play off the ball, and he has the skill set to play outside as well. So, we’ll be using him in the best way possible to help our offense,” Cristobal said.

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Teammates are already describing Skinner as “freakishly” talented

Skinner saw action in the Hurricanes 70-13 blowout victory against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, hauling in one catch for 30 receiving yards. That was the first catch of what figures to be many more for the gifted 6-foot-5, 210-pounder. His teammates have already begun describing him as “freakishly talented”. His talent is undeniable watching his high school highlight tape, that is for certain. Skinner noted that the biggest reason he flipped his commitment from Alabama to Miami was ‘Canes tight ends coach Stephen Field. He’s going to be an exciting prospect to watch develop over the next few years.