New Jersey native Kiy Hester has gotten his release from Miami to transfer to a school closer to ✨his ailing mother and Rutgers, where the former DePaul Catholic star had originally committed, is believed to b💜e a potential landing spot.
“He has a personal issue at home,’’ said Miami coach Al Golden. “He is a greaܫt kid. He has an issue at home and we have released him.’’
Golden had given He꧑ster a release to several schools (including Maryland and Penn State) but had reportedly been unwillingඣ to grant the safety a release to enroll at Rutgers — ostensibly since Rutgers faces the Hurricanes in 2018 when Hester would be a redshirt senior.
But faced with social media blowback — the hashtag 𝐆“FreeHester” on Twitter — Miami relented and he’s f🎃ree to transfer to Rutgers.
“My mom is my rock and motivation. … Would do anything for her,’’ Hester tweeted recently, followed by “Damn it feels good to be home and see momdukes.’’
The 6-foot, 200-pound safety was a four-star player at DePaul in Wayne, N.J., according to ESPN.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports. He had a host of high-profile offers and chose Rutgers over the likes oᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚf Ohio State, Michigan and༒ Michigan State.
But when Hester questioned why he was forbidden to visit others schools after committing to Rutgers — as another member of the Scarlet Knights highly ranked recruiting class did — he found himself in a dispute with Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood. That led to Hester de-committing ♏and sign𓃲ing with Miami.
With Hester incredibly popular among New Jersey’s top recruits that st🐼arted an avalanche of 13 de-commitments from Rutgers.
But in an ironic case of recruiting coming full circle,𝔍 if Hester enrolls within the next week, he would sit out this season and be eligible to play next year. And he would be able to recruit top New Jersey stars such as former DePaul Catholic teammate Kareem Walker, the No. 1 junior running back in the country, according to both ESPN.com and 247Sport.