The word “momentum” only barely begins to cover how the Hurricanes are rolling on the recruiting trail right now.
Over the last month, Mario Cristobal and the UM staff have secured eight high school players’ commitments, including five from blue-chip four- and five-star prospects. The Hurricanes’ 2023 recruiting class has vaulted up to 10th in the nation in 247Sports’ rankings.
“Kids are allured by Miami once again, and it’s not just the kids in Florida. It’s the national kids,” 247Sports National Recruiting Editor Brandon Huffman said. “Guys that ... Miami wouldn’t even register or be on the radar for are now not only visiting Miami, but they’re picking Miami.”
Miami’s recruiting run began early in June when three-star tight ends Jackson Carver and Reid Mikeska picked UM, followed shortly by three-star quarterback Emory Williams. But the Hurricanes hit hyperspeed with the commitment of four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada on June 26. He was soon followed by four-star wide receiver Nathaniel Joseph, four-star tight end Riley Williams, four-star cornerback Robert Stafford and five-star offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa.
The Hurricanes could receive additional good news later this week when Miami Gulliver Prep five-star wide receiver Jalen Brown, Bradenton IMG Academy defensive lineman Jayden Wayne and California four-star athlete Collins Acheampong make their college choices. All three are considering Miami.
Commitments from Rashada, a northern California native, as well as Mauigoa and Williams, who are from American Samoa and Oregon but will play for Bradenton’s IMG Academy, show that Cristobal is able to bring in high-level recruits from around the nation. Acheampong and Wayne would also fit that bill, as the former plays in California and the latter is transferring from Tacoma, Washington, to IMG.
“This is what other SEC schools and other schools feared,” Huffman said. “Mario going back to his alma mater and having that time in West footprint. Maimi is going to recruit nationally.”
If the Hurricanes become a recruiting power in Florida and around the nation, it could spell trouble for the state’s other traditional powerhouses, Florida and Florida State. When Florida’s “Big Three” teams were consistently among the nation’s top teams, they frequently recruited the majority of the state’s most talented high school players.
Other powerhouse programs like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State have encroached on the Florida schools’ territory. In 1991, the Big Three signed 13 of Tampa Tribune’s top 15 players in the state, but in 2021, they signed only four of Florida’s top 13 in 247Sports’ composite rankings, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Currently, Miami has secured commitments from five of the top 50 players in the state (two of which are out-of-state players playing at IMG Academy). FSU and UF each have two. The Hurricanes currently have the nation’s 10th-best recruiting class; the Seminoles’ class is ranked 40th, and the Gators’ class is ranked 43rd.
“This guy is Miami. This guy is South Florida,” Huffman said. “This guy is not going anywhere. He left a great situation for this job, so what are they going to say? ‘OK, well Justin Herbert was under-utilized at Oregon’? That’s kind of the only argument that a lot of these schools are going to be able to have. And you still can say he won a Rose Bowl with Justin Herbert.
“So the things that Florida State and Florida are going to be able to use to pick him apart — I mean, he won a Power 5 conference, he won a New Years Six bowl game, he had his school in contention for the playoffs. The only thing he didn’t win was a national championship. So it’s going to be very difficult to recruit against him because there’s not a lot of things he doesn’t already have a box checked.”
Cristobal showed off his recruiting prowess before he arrived in Miami. He helped Florida International punch above its weight on the recruiting trail, earned awards for his recruiting ability while an assistant coach at Alabama and helped Oregon sign some of the best players in the nation.
“The thing with Mario is he didn’t benefit because of happenstance and luck,” Huffman said. “He outworked schools when he was out west. Now I think that’s the thing. He’s not just a competent coach, but now you have a coach who has name cache outside of just South Florida. This is a guy who was the national recruiter of the year when he was at Alabama when they won a national championship.”
Cristobal has picked up some big recruiting wins in his first eight months with the Hurricanes. The next step will be picking up wins on the field, starting with Miami’s season-opener against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 3. If UM starts reeling off victories on the field, Cristobal’s successes off it will likely continue.
“Here’s a guy that if he starts winning, now he’s cooking with oil,” Huffman said.
