Five-star WR Brandon Inniss is quick to eat up hot chicken and DBs, but hes in no hurry with USC,

LOS ANGELES His mouth is still on fire, but Brandon Inniss is not about to lose a challenge on a technicality. Theres also no way the nations No. 1-ranked high school receiver is going to give back the $100 he was promised after painfully chewing his way through a large, extra-spicy tender at Daves

LOS ANGELES — His mouth is still on fire, but Brandon Inniss is not about to lose a challenge on a technicality.

There’s also no way the nation’s No. 1-ranked high school receiver is going to give back the $100 he was promised after painfully chewing his way through a large, extra-spicy tender at Dave’s Hot Chicken — even after his mother gave away a family secret.

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“We have a violation,” claimed Brett Goetz, the 51-year-old founder of the South Florida Express, who has enjoyed spending the past five years traveling with Inniss and his parents across the country to play in seven-on-seven tournaments. “Mom said when he was little, instead of putting soap in his mouth when he had a bad mouth, she would put hot sauce in his mouth. That’s cheating!”

Without flinching, Inniss raised the ante, offering to digest an even hotter flavor: “Reaper for $200!”

Whether it’s burning his mouth eating extra-spicy chicken or picking up a few bruises fighting for a football in the air, Inniss isn’t one to back down from a challenge. That’s been his nature since he was an infant.

“We had a townhouse in Baltimore,” said his father, Dayne, a crane operator. “I would leave him upstairs to go down to the kitchen for something, and he’d climb out of the bed and crawl all the way up to the top of the steps. Next thing I’d hear is boom-boom-boom-boom-boom. I’d run over to the stairs and he’s there laughing.

“Before long, he’s back at the top of the stairs, rolling down headfirst. Not even a year old.”

Said Brandon’s mother, Amy Flinton, a preschool teacher at Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage: “If he wasn’t causing destruction and breaking things in the house, he was just all over the place, running into doorknobs. He got two separate stitches on his eyelids, stitches on his arm. I’d be a mess. He would just laugh at everything.”

Inniss’ fearless nature led him to follow his heart last August and commit to Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma. The commitment didn’t last long. The same day Riley disclosed he was leaving for USC, Inniss dropped his pledge to the Sooners.

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Inniss, who visited USC and met with Riley on March 11 while the Express was in Los Angeles for the Pylon seven-on-seven tournament, is in no rush to make a decision the second time around.

No matter how much he likes Riley or USC quarterback commitment Malachi Nelson, Inniss said recently his plan is to wait until national signing day to announce a final decision.

There’s still a lot more he and his parents want to see. Like how the University of Miami performs this season under Mario Cristobal, for instance. Or how USC and Ohio State split reps among their receivers. Will freshmen get a shot to play right away as Inniss has been told? And how might the coaching carousel change things again come December?

Whatever happens, the 6-foot, 190-pound senior-to-be at American Heritage will do his homework and keep his eyes wide open.

His parents will be there to back him up. They’ve invested a lot of time, money and effort into guiding him through the process since he picked up his first college offer the summer before his eighth-grade year from Lane Kiffin.

The next few weeks, though, will be interesting. Inniss is taking an unofficial visit to Ohio State at the beginning of April and is also going to stop by the University of Miami on Thursday to watch practice.

Here’s what Inniss shared with The Athletic about his recruiting process during his team’s trip to Los Angeles two weekends ago.

How was the unofficial visit to USC with your SFE teammates?

It felt like a home away from home. Weather was nice. Just not as humid as back home. The views were amazing. Coaches were good. So it was all good.

Definitely one of the best unofficials I’ve had so far. They showed not just me but my whole team love. They really showed their character.

What was Lincoln Riley’s message to you?

His thing was it’s the same people (from Oklahoma) but a different setting. The people I’m going to surround myself with if I come to L.A. and USC are going to be the best people I can put myself around. They’re going to put me in a better situation after football.

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How often was Ohio State in your ear during the USC trip?

They texted me every day, keeping in contact. Coach (Brian) Hartline is a great coach. He develops his receivers to the next level.

I had a amazing time at USC this past weekend!! #FightOn✌🏽. @LincolnRiley @CoachSimmonsSC pic.twitter.com/a7Tp5awADf

— Brandon”SHOWTIME” inniss (@brandon5star2) March 14, 2022

Is it an Ohio State-USC battle for you?

I’ve got five, six, seven schools, really: USC, Miami, Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Florida State.

You’ve been wearing USC gloves pretty much everywhere. Does that mean anything?

The gloves just fit well. I like those types of gloves. If other schools had gloves like this, I’d wear them, too.

How important is NIL in your decision?

The NFL is my main goal. That’s where I’ve wanted to get to since I was 6 years old. NIL is going to come with it. Along the way, it’s a blessing.

So, what is Inniss like off the field? In short, he’s not a guy you’ll catch watching a lot of television.

His mom says he likes to hang out with his friends, play cards and watch football.

“He’ll study football — the football players that he looks up to and likes their game,” Flinton said. “He’ll study their workout routines, study their film. He does a lot of that.”

Flinton says her son studies Calvin Ridley, Julio Jones and Tom Brady the most.

“Even though Tom’s a quarterback, Brandon likes his work ethic,” Iniss’ father said.

Flinton says her son has learned a lot from NFL players. She said he met Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb and Baltimore Ravens receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown — former Oklahoma stars — during an unofficial visit to Oklahoma last year and forged a friendship.

“They actually took him out — him and Mario Williams. They took them out for the night and had a blast,” Flinton said. “Hollywood actually told Brandon, ‘If you need anything, guidance, whatever, call me.’ They’re both from Hollywood, Fla. Brandon has reached out.”

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Inniss has practiced and worked out with NFL players in the past, including Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, his father said.

Sister Kaylee Inniss, Dayne Inniss and Amy Flinton traveled with five-star receiver Brandon Inniss and the South Florida Express to Los Angeles last weekend. (Manny Navarro / The Athletic)

Inniss’ parents say they signed up Brandon for football when he was 7, well after he’d already started playing on the street with older kids.

“He was always big for his age,” said Flinton, whose father and grandfather played college football for Division II programs. “My friends would always laugh because his calf muscles at the age of 1 and 2 were outrageous.”

Kiffin was coaching FAU when he offered Inniss his first scholarship at a camp for middle school students.

“We weren’t there,” Dayne Inniss said. “He came home and was like, ‘Dad, I got an offer.’ I’m like, ‘What? You’re only in the seventh grade.’”

Said Flinton: “He actually posted it on social media first. I started getting congratulation texts. I’m like, ‘What? I’m going to kill him. How do you not tell your parents first?’ Now he tells us first.”

Inniss’ parents didn’t expect offers to come in so early. They said it makes them humbled and proud but also nervous.

“Because you have so many people that try and tug on him,” Flinton said. “People that have ill will just because you are that five-star, the jealousy a little bit.”

College coaches, his mother said, more often speak directly with her son instead of her. But his parents speak to coaches at USC, Ohio State and Miami more than others.

“They have their ways of getting to Brandon more than us. Whether it be through his high school coaches or whatever or teammates,” Flinton said.

Brandon Inniss' statistics

Year

  

School

  

REC

  

YDS

  

TD

  

2018

University School

24

605

7

2019

University School

27

520

10

2020

TRU Prep

28

637

5

2021

American Heritage

17

341

2

Totals

96

2,103

24

USC receivers coach Dennis Simmons was the first coach they spoke to, Brandon’s father said. Miami recruiting director David Cooney is another school rep Inniss’ parents remember speaking with early in the process. “This is years ago we’re talking about,” Dayne Innis said.

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What’s it like talking to coaches and recruiting coordinators? How do Inniss’ parents handle those conversations and interpret the messages delivered to Brandon?

“I think everybody told him they’re going to tell you what you want to hear,” Flinton said. “So it’s a matter of just trying to decipher it, which is hard. Because you’re going to get a load of crap mixed in with the good. Honestly, we saw it with high school football. I don’t know, I think high school recruiting is more stressful than college, honestly.”

How do they decipher BS from fact?

“I mean, we listen to everyone, see what they are saying,” Dayne Innis said. “We fact-check people. Not to their face, but we do our own research.”

Said Flinton: “It also helps, since he’s been playing with older guys on SFE, (so) he’s been able to see them go through their process and how they’re doing where they are. He can kind of get feedback from them and what they’re experiencing.”

What does Inniss ask those ex-SFE teammates?

“‘When you went to college, were the coaches still the same as when they were trying to get you or do they change?’” his father replied.

Said Flinton: “Brandon’s biggest thing is: ‘Do these coaches really give you a shot?’ Because a lot of coaches, they’ll tell you, ‘You’re gonna play; we’re going to give you this and this and this.’ And then there are some coaches that automatically redshirt them and do not give them that opportunity. Brandon’s been playing with older kids forever. He just wants that opportunity to compete and wants the opportunity to improve himself and prove it and work for it. That’s a big factor, a huge factor, in his recruitment: the opportunity to play early.”

Another big concern is whether the position coach who recruited him will be around when their son finally steps on campus.

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“Brandon committed very early to Oklahoma, but he loved it,” his mother said. “He loves Lincoln Riley, Coach Simmons. Mario (Williams), the environment they had there, the program, the organization. They told him: ‘Look, we’re not going to promise you anything except an opportunity. What you do with it is what you do with it.’ And they showed us their charts for practice, and whoever’s best at practice is who starts and who plays. I don’t care if you’re a freshman, senior, whatever. And then Mario Williams went there and that was proof. He did what they said they’re doing.”

Inniss’ parents do not deny that their son’s best relationships in terms of position coaches are with USC and Ohio State. But that doesn’t mean the hometown Hurricanes don’t have a shot.

“Brandon has always been interested in Miami, but I think the interest once Mario Cristobal came in, now he’s really interested,” Flinton said. “It’s more legit. He wants to see what they can do this season.”

Brandon’s father said “it would be nice” for his son to stay in South Florida but it’s really about wherever he feels most comfortable.

“And long term — life after football,” Flinton said. “What are your opportunities? What’s the networking?”

What was the biggest takeaway for the Inniss family from their time at USC?

“I didn’t realize that the NIL laws in each state were different,” Flinton said. “I thought the NCAA had the same laws across the board no matter where you were. So that’s interesting to know. How the laws differ and the opportunities here and in other big cities. Miami is a big city, but I would probably have to do more research on it. I don’t know how much backing they have from the city and from their alumni as far as NIL deals.

“Brandon is different.  Like, I think if it came to a bigger NIL deal or having an opportunity to play early, he’s going to go after the opportunity to play. He’s about the game. But also, who is going to best prepare him for the NFL? The NIL deal is kind of a secondary or third thing.”

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Will reaching a final decision be hard for the Inniss family?

“This is going to be hard for him because he’s a people pleaser,” his mother said. “He doesn’t like contention. He doesn’t like drama. That’s why he committed to Oklahoma, because he’s like, ‘This is great; I’m done with it.’ So when Lincoln left, he was bummed. He was like, ‘I had everything planned, and now I’ve got to do this all over again.’ I was like: ‘Take your time now. You don’t have to rush it.’ Now we realize the coaches, they’re moving all the time. So just take your time.”

Of course, the transfer portal is always there.

“Yes, but we’re loyal people,” his father said. “I try to preach loyalty forever.”

Said Flinton: “Once he goes somewhere, he doesn’t want to leave. … It would have to be drastic — something like a coach leaving or all the coaches leaving.”

Dayne Inniss said his son’s relationship with his position coach is what matters most.

“If the head coach leaves and the position coach stays, he’s there,” he said. “Because his position coach is more than likely the one who he makes the decision on. The head coach is nice, but the position coach is the guy.”

As far as Miami is concerned, new offensive coordinator and receivers coach Josh Gattis wasn’t recruiting Inniss to Michigan. Their relationship is new. Same with Cristobal.

“He started having a connection with B-Mac (Bryan McClendon), who left for Georgia,” Flinton said. “We really liked him. But now he’s gone.

“Cristobal has been texting us the last couple of weeks. They have been trying to get us down there a lot. But I told them, most likely, if they’re having practice when we’re on spring break, we’d like to go down to Miami and watch practice and get to know Gattis and them during our spring break because we’re traveling with SFE so much.”

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That will finally happen Thursday.

In the meantime, Inniss will keep diving headfirst into the challenges in front of him, whether it’s spicy chicken or a trash-talking defensive back who says he can stop him.

(Top photo: Manny Navarro / The Athletic)

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