By early July, even the casual college football fan would have noticed Miami picking up a notable prospect commitment.
Perhaps it was winning out for arguably the nation’s top offensive lineman, Francis Mauigoa, over Alabama, USC, Tennessee and others. Before that, it could have been quarterback Jaden Rashada, the California native who appeared to be down to Texas A&M and Florida ahead of pushing his decision back a week to see Miami one more time before the final call was to be made. Closer to South Florida, Nathaniel “Ray Ray” Joseph was as big as it gets, as UM flipped the dynamic wide receiver from the Clemson Tigers.
Any one of those feats would place the Hurricanes among the nation’s hottest recruiting programs, but Mario Cristobal’s program accomplished those needle-moving moments in an eight-day span. It’s early in the 2023 cycle, but the program already holds a consensus top-10 recruiting class.
It didn't finish in the SI All-American top 10 in either of the last two classes. In the industry, per 247Sports, Miami has failed to finish in that range in every cycle since February 2018. Reversing the trend feels like all but a certainty five months ahead of the first signing period in December.
“Insane right now!” a source close to the program told Sports Illustrated after the run of commitments.
Two more battles, edging Oregon, LSU and Alabama for Washington native Jayden Wayne as well as overtaking the same Crimson Tide for linebacker Raul Aguirre, were wrapped up over the last four days. In all, Miami has added 10 new verbal commitments since the month of June began. It’s a run the head Hurricane all but predicted at the first “Legends Camp” Cristobal hosted while at the helm at The U.
No matter the metric used to quantify the Hurricanes’ run in the class of 2023, it feels unprecedented in the modern era and a far cry from what the last few regimes in town appeared to be capable of accomplishing in the talent acquisition department.
Take the most recent staff, led by Manny Diaz, for example. In the final class he led, the class of 2022 before Cristobal took over ahead of national signing day in December, there was one local prospect verbally committed. In the nine days Cristobal was at the helm at his alma mater before recruits could kick in final decisions, he not only held on to the pledge (Wesley Bissainthe), but he also added former Florida State pass-rusher commitment Nyjalik Kelly on signing day. Another local defensive lineman was added for the February signing period, not to mention five transfer portal additions from college players with local ties.
“Guys play football down here not only because they want to but because they have to,” Cristobal said at his introductory press conference in December. “It’s a way of life down here. It’s in their DNA.”
The current class of 2023 has a national feel, but local balance is also present with five local prospects currently committed. A handful of additional targets from South Florida, the area Howard Schnellenberger famously called the “state of Miami” (Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County) ahead of the programs’ dominant run in the late 1980s, are still being courted by the new coaching staff. The assembled group features several South Florida natives on the roster itself.
Looking past the current class and momentum, there is a tangible and general buzz for the program beyond those currently employed by the university. Miami football alumni, many with long runs at the NFL level at their back, have returned to campus on routine. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a teammate of Cristobal during his playing days at Miami, saluted the Mauigoa commitment publicly. Former national-championship-winning coach Jimmy Johnson even welcomed Wayne to the program after Saturday’s pledge went public.
Back to the tangible, recruiting booms in Coral Gables have not been relegated to those from the traditional Miami footprint. Cristobal's time at Oregon, where he had the Ducks on top of the Pac-12 team recruiting rankings in every class since 2019 per 247Sports, created comfort in recruiting prospects from the Pacific time zone and beyond. Mauigoa (American Samoa), Rashada (Pittsburg, Calif.), Wayne (Tacoma, Wash.) and top tight end Riley Williams (Portland, Ore.) all had strong contenders in the Pac-12 footprint before picking Miami of late.
From the class of 2018 through the final class without a Cristobal imprint, in ’21, Miami signed just two from the western footprint. One of the first major dominoes Miami landed after the new coaching hire was also in the region when Las Vegas native and pass rusher Cyrus Moss picked the program. The four currently committed to Miami from the region have each jumped on board since June 26.
Near or far, the level of talent acquisition is hitting its apex at Miami. The coaching staff, which also features former college head coaches like Charlie Strong and Kevin Steele and reigning Broyles Award winner Josh Gattis, has a diverse recruiting and on-field background. NFL Hall of Famers Ed Reed and Jason Taylor are also among those with roles on the expanded staff.
The borderline instant success at UM profiles as a combination of name recognition, relative youth and considerable experience recruiting all over the country that has come together under the urgency Cristobal demands on the trail. There has also been strong investment from the university administration, a counter to the common criticism to rationalize the football program’s lack of national success since the early 2000s.
New athletic director and UM graduate Dan Radakovich was also brought in, from Clemson, to pair with Cristobal just days after the head coaching hire was finalized. He was in charge when the Tigers went from a top-25 program to a perennial national championship contender over the last decade while working in Miami’s conference. Radakovich was at Georgia Tech before CU, so an understanding of the ACC goes without saying. He shouted out the administration’s new approach when he took the gig.
“Their commitment to Miami Athletics’ comprehensive pursuit of excellence and championships is what brought me back to Miami," Radakovich said in a statement when hired. "As a unified Hurricane family—students, alumni, donors, and fans—there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. We are going to set the bar high and jump over it.”
Each hire made national news back in December, and Miami has remained at the forefront of the national college football conversation since. It’s tied to recruiting, mostly, but it has also seen injection based on its assimilation in the sport’s name, image and likeness department. Miami billionaire booster John Ruiz has been active in confirming some of the college’s biggest football and basketball deals via social media. It’s drawn attention and even an NCAA inquiry, though Ruiz told SI’s Ross Dellenger he has “nothing to hide” in his willingness to work through the legalities of deals with current Miami college athletes.
All combined, Miami has moved the sport’s needle this offseason.
The UM turnaround hasn’t even officially begun where it counts most, on the football field, but it’s hard to imagine the first seven months or so going much better than it has appeared to under Cristobal’s watch.
Some around the sport say it’s not recruiting, but the in-game decision-making that limits the new Cane coach, but at Oregon the recruiting titles were paired with 35 wins in four years. The highs included two Pac-12 titles and a Rose Bowl crown in 2019 over the 48 games he was at the helm in Eugene.
Considering Miami hasn’t hoisted the ACC title trophy since joining the conference in 2003, the benefit of the doubt is the floor when it comes to fan feel in Coral Gables.
It won’t take long to get the first impression of the initial Hurricane team under Cristobal’s watch, as the program travels to Texas A&M for a marquee matchup of recruiting powers Sept. 17.
