Miami signed one of the best recruiting classes in the country, backed by the talent and upside of South Florida.
ADAM LICHTENSTEIN
at the South Florida Sun Guardian Updated December 21, 2023 at 5:10 p.m CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The late round of the Miami Hurricanes continued on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.
Miami poached four-star running back Adarius Hayes from Florida and five-star defensive lineman Armondo Blount from rival Florida State on Wednesday, cherry picking its top pick in the class of 2024. As of Wednesday night, 247Sports had the Hurricanes ranked No. 1 in the ACC and number 3 nationally. “So far, the ’24 class has one more chance to be what we’re aiming for,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said.
“The best in the conference and maybe the best in our history, maybe topping last year’s class.” Hayes and Blount were Miami’s latest turnovers in recent weeks. The Hurricanes traded five-star defensive lineman Justin Scott from Ohio State in late November and added Buckeyes linebacker Jordan Lyle on Monday, a sign of coaching tenacity and tenacity in recruiting.
“I feel like Miami has always been in my heart,” Blount said. “It never went away, even when I turned it.” “It’s very important, very important,” Cristobal said. “The way you recruit has to reflect the DNA of your program and what you prepare with the players.
I think it’s a great way to show parents, hey, this is our effort to guarantee your son because we believe in this partnership that we’re starting.
” The Hurricanes’ 2024 recruiting class ended early this morning as signees submitted their National Letters of Intent, leaving little to be excited about for most of the expected signees. But some waited a little longer.
Chaminade-Madonna four-star wide receiver Joshisa “JoJo” Trader accompanied his school after his signing ceremony. Hayes also held a ceremony to announce his translation in the early afternoon.
The Chaminade-Madonna signing ceremony produced some of the most dramatic moments of the day.
Five-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the No. 1 prospect in his class, committed to Ohio State in December 2022 but never ruled out Miami, Florida State or Florida. Dressed in neutral colors, the star receiver carried a black bag on stage to announce the school.
In the end, he kept his Ohio State commitment, but said after the ceremony that he also brought a Hurricanes hat to the stage. Miami also lost star guard Kevin Riley.
The four-star quarterback moved to his hometown of Alabama. But the Hurricanes softened Riley’s wavering, causing Lyle to change his mind and choose Miami over Ohio State. St. Aquinas Thomas wide receiver Chance Robinson, one of the Hurricanes’ first commitments in this year’s class, said he helped influence Lyle. “I talked to him a lot, like every day,” Robinson said.
“He’s my friend. We’ve been doing this since we were 4.” Lyle and Trader were two of nine players who signed with Miami from Broward or Miami-Dade County schools. UM signed four players from Fort Lauderdale powerhouse St. of Thomas Aquinas (Lyle, wide receiver Robinson and defensive ends Romanas Frederique and Ryan Mack) and two players from Chaminade-Madonna (businessman and safety Zaquan Patterson).
They also signed Blount from Miami Central, defensive lineman Daylen Russell from Miami Columbus and South Broward running back Chris Wheatley-Humphrey.
“When someone from your high school goes to college with you, we have that comfort and connection early on, we have someone to lean on,” Patterson said.
The early signing period is far from the end of Miami’s talent acquisition efforts.
The Hurricanes have already secured three transfer commitments and are still searching for the biggest domino: a starting quarterback. Cristobal did not say much about those efforts except that they are ongoing. “We continue to stay active to fill a couple of different needs,” Cristobal said.
©2023 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This story was originally published on 12/21/2023 at 5:00 p.m.
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