Miami signs one of nation’s top recruiting classes, buoyed by South Florida talent and flips…
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes’ late run of flips continued into Wednesday, the first day of the Early Signing Period.
Miami flipped four-star linebacker Adarius Hayes from Florida and five-star defensive lineman Armondo Blount from rival Florida State on Wednesday, putting a cherry on top of the 2024 class. As of Wednesday evening, 247Sports ranked the Hurricanes’ class first in the ACC and third nationally.
“So far, the class of ’24 has a chance, again, to be what we strive it to be,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “The best in the conference and maybe the best in our history, maybe surpassing last year’s class.”
Hayes and Blount were the latest in a line of several flips Miami had pulled off in recent weeks. The Hurricanes flipped five-star defensive lineman Justin Scott from Ohio State at the end of November and added running back Jordan Lyle from the Buckeyes on Monday, showing the coaching staff’s tenacity and persistence on the recruiting trail.
“I feel like Miami has always been in my heart,” Blount said. “It never left, even when I flipped.”
“It’s super important, critically important,” Cristobal said. “The way you recruit has to be a reflection of the DNA of your program and what you do with your players in terms of their preparation. I think it’s a great way to show parents, hey, this is our diligence in the pursuit of your son because we believe in this partnership that we’re about to embark on.”
The Hurricanes had much of their 2024 recruiting class wrapped up in the early morning hours as their signees sent in their National Letters of Intent, leaving little suspense among most of the expected signees. But some waited a little bit longer. Chaminade-Madonna four-star wide receiver Joshisa “JoJo” Trader sent his in after a signing ceremony at his school. Hayes had his ceremony where he announced his flip in the early afternoon, as well.
The Chaminade-Madonna signing ceremony brought some of the day’s most dramatic moments. Five-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the No. 1 player in the class, committed to Ohio State in December 2022 but never ruled out Miami, Florida State and Florida.
The star receiver, dressed in neutral colors, carried a black bag with him to the stage to announce his school. He ultimately stuck with his Ohio State commitment but said after the ceremony that he also carried a Hurricanes hat with him to the stage.
Miami also lost a star running back commit, Kevin Riley. The four-star halfback flipped to his hometown team Alabama. But the Hurricanes mitigated Riley’s flip by getting Lyle to change his mind and pick Miami over Ohio State.
St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Chance Robinson, who was one of the Hurricanes’ first commits in this year’s class, said he helped sway Lyle.
“I talked to him a whole lot, like every single day,” Robinson said. “He’s my guy. We have done this from 4 years of age and up.”
Lyle and Trader were two of the nine players who signed with Miami from Broward or Miami-Dade County schools. UM signed four players from Fort Lauderdale powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas (Lyle, wide receiver Robinson and defensive backs Romanas Frederique and Ryan Mack) and two from Chaminade-Madonna (Trader and safety Zaquan Patterson). They also signed Blount from Miami Central, Miami Columbus defensive lineman Daylen Russell and South Broward running back Chris Wheatley-Humphrey.
“Just having somebody from your high school going to college with you, having that comfortability, that relationship early on, we’re going to have somebody 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 portal commitments and are still looking 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.