Canes, Cristobal Secure Another Top 10 Recruiting Class
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – When it comes to recruiting, the goal every year is simple.
Head coach Mario Cristobal and his staff want to make sure they find the best players to fill Miami’s roster, all while addressing positions of need to help move the program forward.
And for the past three years, the Hurricanes have done exactly that, notching highly rated recruiting classes that have brought impact players to Coral Gables and helped Miami put together back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since 2002 and 2003.
That trend continued Wednesday during the first day of the early signing period.
Miami added 30 new Hurricanes to the program from all across the country, at a variety of positions and once again, the group was rated among the nation’s best.
According to the 247 Sports recruiting website, Miami’s class ranked 10th nationally and was rated the top class in the ACC.
It’s the fourth straight year the Hurricanes have had the conference’s best class and the fourth year under Cristobal that the Hurricanes have had a class ranked among the nation’s top 15.
That, the coach said, is an indication that Miami continues to make progress.
“We’re getting to where Miami needs to be,” Cristobal said. “You always want to land somewhere in the top 10. … If you go by the ratings, by player, it’s a top six class, as good as six or between six and nine or eight, whatever it may be. But that’s not what’s important to us. On our board, you want to always land within a range of guys you feel can help you win a conference championship and a national championship and everybody we signed was above that line.
“We’re not going to sign a guy to provide just depth. There’s no value in that. This day and age of the transfer portal, [if a] guy sits behind somebody for too long and [is] not contributing, you’re not going to keep them. And with the way NIL works, all you’re doing is burning cash. So, we always want to mitigate those expenses by taking guys and bringing in guys that understand they have to work and earn a position, but also guys that have the ability and mentality to be able to get on the field.”
Miami’s class features 30 signees, with 16 of those playing on the defensive side of the ball and 14 on the offensive side. The Hurricanes added seven defensive linemen, six offensive linemen, six defensive backs, four wide receivers, three linebackers, two tight ends, a quarterback and a running back.
It’s a geographically diverse group, with players hailing from 12 states. Florida, of course, leads the way with 14 signees, but two of the newest Hurricanes come from as far away as California, with North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Delaware, Kentucky, Kansas, Alabama and New Jersey all being represented too.
The group features six players all rated among the top 10 nationally at their respective positions including five-star offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell of Nixa, Missouri, who is rated the No. 7 overall player and No. 2 offensive lineman in the nation by 247 Sports.
Also in that group are four-star wide receiver Somourian Wingo (No. 7), four-star wide receiver Milan Parris (No. 9), four-star defensive lineman Keshawn Stancil (No. 5), four-star safety JJ Dunnigan Jr. (No. 10), and four-star tight end Gavin Mueller (No. 7).
Given some of the roster turnover the Hurricanes are expected to undergo in the coming months, all of those players could make an impact sooner rather than later, particularly Cantwell, who Cristobal noted already owns some NFL-like numbers.
“[He’s] 6-7.75, just under 6-8, 328 pounds, shattered the country’s record for the shotput, 76-plus feet, shattered his dad’s record – both parents are Olympians, by the way – and I think he had 400 pancakes in his high school career and they’re not gentle pancakes either. They’re the ones where guys get put through the ground and beyond,” Cristobal said of Cantwell. “But beyond that, beyond his years in terms of football IQ, regular IQ. Exceptional student. Relentless competitor. Work ethic through the roof. When you look at big guys, you look for balance and body control, and he has that and then some. His wingspan, I believe, is in the neighborhood of 83, 84 inches, which is elite.
“I could rattle off so many numbers, but his numbers now are that of an NFL-combine lineman at a very young age. His best football’s ahead of him. He is very eager to get right to it. He’s playing for a state title. He is a Gatorade Player of the Year and also the Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year in the state of Missouri and he’s a guy that’s just getting started.”
Cristobal, a two-time national champion offensive lineman during his playing days at his alma mater, had high praise for the rest of the Hurricanes’ new offensive linemen, including Joel Ervin, Rhys Woodrow, JJ Sparks, Ben Congdon and Canon Pickett, all of whom were rated among the nation’s top 100 linemen.
“It’s not just Jackson; it’s the entire offensive line class. This is as excited as I’ve ever been about a group of offensive linemen as I’ve ever been and the reason being, they’re all of the same type of DNA. They’re all made of the right stuff,” Cristobal said. “They’re all legitimate workers, grinders, tough guys. They understand ball. They understand the intangibles that come with being a great football player, a great teammate, a champion and a lot of them are playing for or have played for titles before. So how do they rank? You never know until the end, but coming in, [they’re] as talented or more talented than any class than we’ve had.”
At quarterback, Miami added a signal caller – three-star prospect Dereon Coleman – that Cristobal said has a skill set similar to former Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward, who rewrote the Miami record book last season and this year, was the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.
“We had him in camp, we had him in seven-on-sevens, and he reminded us a lot actually of Cam Ward in so many ways because of the different arm angles he could get the ball out and [his] exceptional football IQ. Great human being, competitor, just always wins,” Cristbal said. “You never find him getting trapped or sacked. … He can improvise; he can extend [plays]. The off-script stuff is excellent, and he has all the intangibles of what you want for a quarterback and so, another guy whose best football is ahead of him.”
The Hurricanes also addressed their needs at defensive line, defensive back and receiver with players Cristobal said he’d like to see develop into top-notch playmakers who make a difference for Miami.
He noted that freshmen have been a crucial part of Miami’s success this season, with receiver Malachi Toney helping lead the offense and on Wednesday, earning ACC Rookie of the Year honors. Fellow freshman Girard Pringle, Jr. has been a contributor as well, as has safety Bryce Fitzgerald.
Their success, Cristobal said, is proof that even young players can make a difference at Miami.
“We don’t discriminate when it comes to playing time and contributing to the team here. If you can play and you’re doing the right things on and off the field, we’re going to find a spot for you and we do want to play as many guys as we can,” Cristobal said. “And I think it’s very clear and evident. I’m sure you’ve seen some of the posts in terms of how many reps our freshmen have had. We play guys, and we don’t just hand out playing time. I don’t want to ever get that confused or misinterpreted. We just really push and we grind on development so when a guy does earn it, we just find a way to get him on the field.”
And while Cristobal’s main focus on Wednesday was obviously the addition of Miami’s new signees, there was more for the coach to celebrate, including the Hurricanes’ back-to-back 10-win seasons and the individual awards won by several Miami standouts in recent days.
There was Toney’s ACC Rookie of the Year recognition. Defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. being named the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year. Offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa becoming the first Hurricane to win the ACC’s Jacob Blocking Trophy as the conference’s top blocker. Nineteen Hurricanes were named All-ACC selections, too.
“It was really neat watching these guys over the course of the last year or so get to know each other, show up to games, come to practice and really connect with our players,” Cristobal said of the newest Hurricanes. “I mean, it’s really, really neat the way this roster has come around. The more we’ve won, the more this team and program have progressed … There’s some unbelievable times coming for the University of Miami, so proud to be a part of it [and] fired up for these guys.”
