Miami Trending in Right Direction with DL Deyvid Palepale

With Miami’s 2023 recruiting class having signed their letters of intent, the attention of UM’s coaching and recruiting staff will now shift to the 2024 cycle.

Associate head coach and defensive line coach Joe Salave’a has been relentless in the pursuit of defensive lineman Deyvid Palepale, who received an offer from the Hurricanes this past November.

Palepale has taken a liking to Salave’a’s persistence and likes that the two share similar values.

“One guy that I’ve been keeping in touch with is Coach Salave’a,” Palepale told LifeWallet Sports on The Croot on The U YouTube show. “You could tell he’s a big family guy, and that’s one of the biggest things to me. Me being Polynesian, him being Polynesian, love and family is what really brings us together. I think that’s a big role.”

Added Palepale regarding Salave’a, “I think one thing that’s really overlooked is getting really to know the person more than as a player, and I think that’s what Coach Salave’a is doing better than a lot of the other coaches I’m talking to. He calls me, just asks how my day’s going, how school is going and then just checking up on the family.”

The 2024 defender also mentioned Penn State and Rutgers as two schools that have been pursuing Palepale, but still, he feels that Salavea’s recruitment of him has stood out from other coaches.

“[Rutgers and Penn State have] been showing a lot of consistency of inviting me to junior days, checking in like Coach Salave’a does, but I think Coach Salave’a is No. 1 right there in calling, calling, calling.”

Aside from Miami, Penn State and Rutgers, the 6-foot-2.5, 304-pound rising senior has also received offers from Maryland, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Southern California, among other Power Five programs.