Miami adds Michigan transfer to recruiting class

Miami completed its 2018 football recruiting class on Wednesday with the addition of quarterback Alex Malzone and tight end Maleak Bryant, the program announced.

The 6-foot-2 Malzone is a graduate transfer from the University of Michigan, where he played in two games over two seasons for the Wolverines. He was Michigan’s Mr. Football runner-up as a senior at Bloomfield Hills (Mich.) Brother Rice High School, where he threw for 5,762 yards and 16 touchdowns in two seasons a starter. Scout.com ranked Malzone as the No. 13 quarterback prospect in the nation and No. 1 in Michigan while listing him as Michigan’s No. 4 overall prospect.

Malzone, who will have two seasons of eligibility, will help make up for the transfer of last season’s backup quarterback, Billy Bahl, to Division II Ashland.

“He had an NFL arm coming out of high school,” Miami coach Chuck Martin said of Malzone. “He got his degree in 3-1/2 years from Michigan, and you have to be crazy impressed that he can graduate that soon. He’s really competitive, and he has leadership skills based on his high school career. We had a void.

“He’s kind of the whole package. We were on him early before the big boys got on him. He was attracted to Miami three years ago. He ended up being a guy we couldn’t get, but because of the work we did three years ago, he knew about us.

The 6-foot-6 Bryant led Atlanta (Ga.) Benjamin E. Hays to an 11-2 record and a regional championship as a senior. The team captain also was named first-team all-region. He was ranked by 247sports as the nation’s 53rd-best tight end.

Bryant decommitted from Maryland before signing with the RedHawks.

“He’s a giant tight end who was committed to Maryland for 10 months,” said Martin. “He had a ton of Power Five offers. He’s sold on what we’re about as a school, and he’s sold on how we use tight ends. He’s a diamond in the rough. Miami is going to do great things for Maleak, and Maleak is going to do great things for Miami.”

The two additions bring to 15 the number of Miami recruits in this class.

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