Waden Charles was an important part of Miami’s 2025 class. From right down the street at Palm Beach Central High School, the in-state athlete was one of the crown jewels of what Mario Cristobal was building.
Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, his September 2023 commitment has failed to last the whole year.
Charles, ranked as the No. 12 athlete in the 2024 class by 247Sports and the No. 52 wideout, according to On3, announced his decommitment from Miami on Thursday.
God’s Plan🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/3nKeB77reQ
— Waden Charles🌴 (@takeemdeep9_) May 30, 2024
While the 30-plus schools that have offered Charles still technically have a chance, it does seem likely that the Florida product will stay in state. He recently told On3 that Florida and Florida State were staying on him recruiting-wise.
He also spoke extremely highly of UCF, where he will be taking an official visit to on June 14. For the record, he’s also officially visiting Arkansas on June 7.
“I like that school a lot, cause they have a great coaching staff, a lot of young players that come in and make an instant impact,” Charles said of UCF. “The stuff that they’ve done in the receiving room last year, the receivers they have in the draft, so I feel like if I ever go there I’ll be able to do the same thing, even better.”
The Knights also have a built-in recruiting advantage in the person of four-star safety commit Tony Williams, who is Charles’ teammate at Palm Beach Central.
“Tony, he talks to be every day about coming to UCF. He just tries to show me the same vision that he sees, and I’m starting to see it, definitely. Tony, he’s definitely on me hard about coming to play for UCF,” Charles explained.
Wherever he ends up, Charles projects to be an impact player sooner rather than later.
He caught 30 passes for 478 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior while also playing a role in the defensive secondary.
