The Miami Hurricanes just landed one of the top linebackers in the Class of 2025…
In the midst of putting the finishing touches on a top-ranked Class of 2024, the Hurricanes closed on one of their top targets in the Class of 2025.
Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola four-star linebacker Elijah Melendez announced his commitment to Miami on Friday evening after spending the day in Coral Gables. Miami was the second Power 5 program to offer the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder back in March. Since, Melendez has picked up offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Florida, Auburn, USC, Tennessee, Georgia, Oklahoma and many others.
The industry-generated 247Sports Composite considers Melendez the No. 146 overall player and No. 17 linebacker in the country.
This fall, Melendez attended a pair of Miami home games against Texas A&M and Georgia Tech. He also watched games at Michigan, USC, Penn State, and Colorado.
Miami now owns three Class of 2025 commitments with Melendez joining Palm Beach Central four-star wide receiver Waden Charles and Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton quarterback Luke Nickel, who just won a 5A state title in the Peach State. The group now ranks No. 16 nationally.
Another key targets of note at linebacker for the Hurricanes next cycle include Vero Beach (Fla.) Top247 linebacker Tarvos Alford, Bradenton IMG Academy Top247 linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, La Verne (Cali.) Bonita Top247 linebacker Noah Mikhail, Bradenton, Baltimore (MD) St. Frances four-star Carlton Smith, and Miami Central three-star Ezekiel Marcelin.
The junior class is more than a year away from signing a national letter of intent but Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes are always in talent acquisition mode and found a way to come out on top for a prospect who’s been ar0und and seen multiple places over the course of his recruitment.
With both starting safeties off to the NFL, the Hurricanes were in the market for some talent in the secondary. They added a potential starter on Saturday when Vanderbilt transfer safety Savion Riley announced his commitment to Miami. LSU and Georgia were a few schools in contact, according to Riley.
Miami impressed the 6-foot-2, 202-pounder during a Thursday official visit and both parties walked away from the day’s events excited about the fit.
With three years of eligibility left, the 6-foot-2, 202-pound Georgia native redshirted as a freshman in 2022 and then started two games in the middle of this past season while totaling 343 snaps across seven games for the Commodores.
On the season, Riley totaled 48 tackles, which was fifth most on the team despite missing four games due to a concussion. In SEC play, Riley had some strong tackling performances, earning a season-high 81.8 grade in the regular season finale against Tennessee, while recording a 77.7 tackling grade against Missouri, and a 74.3 tackling grade against Florida.
When targeted, Riley allowed 14 catches on 19 targets for 150 yards and two scores with an average 10.7 yards per catch.
A member of the Class of 2022, Riley held an ‘85’ grade from 247Sports out of Acworth (Ga.) Kennesaw Mountain. He was at one point committed to Duke and held offers from Wake Forest, Maryland, and Tulane.
Miami now owns two transfer commitments in the Class of 2024 with Riley joining NC State transfer defensive lineman C.J. Clark, who announced his pledge to the program on Friday night.