The 2023 cycle will be an opportunity for Miami to (finally) keep an elite receiver home
The Miami Hurricanes should have no problem attracting the top wide receiver talent from South Florida, right?
Nearly every recruiting cycle, the tri-county area of Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach produces at least one Top 50 level receiver in the country.
Miami, however, has struggled to keep those talents home.
Here is a reminder of the local Top 50 receivers during the 247Sports era (since 2011) in each cycle and where they signed:
– 2011: None.
– 2012: Amari Cooper (4-star, No. 45 overall) Alabama
– 2013: None
– 2014: Ermon Lane (5-star, No. 24 overall), FSU & Travis Rudolph (4-star, No. 43 overall) FSU
– 2015: Calvin Ridley (5-star, No. 12 overall), Alabama
– 2016: None
– 2017: Jerry Jeudy (5-star, No. 21 overall), Alabama & Trevon Grimes (4-star, No. 41 overall), Ohio State
– 2018: None
– 2019: Frank Ladson (4-star, No. 39 overall), Clemson
– 2020: None
– 2021: Ja’Corey Brooks (5-star, No. 27 overall), Alabama
– 2022: None
That is a lot of elite receiver talent leaving the area to go make plays for other programs.
This 2023 cycle is an opportunity for Miami and Mario Cristobal to change all that.
South Florida is loaded with Top 50 caliber wide receivers in this 2023 cycle.
The local receiver landscape is led by five-star Brandon Inniss out of American Heritage Plantation. Inniss ranks as the No. 9 overall player in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Inniss told Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports that he is most interested in four programs right now: Alabama, Miami, Ohio State, and USC.
Jalen Brown from Gulliver Prep ranks as the No. 34 overall player in the country at the moment.
Miami is a significant player in Brown’s recruitment and at this stage he is also planning to give Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Oregon a strong look.
Hykeem Williams, from Stranahan High School in Broward County, isn’t ranked inside the Top 50 at this point, but he certainly has the talent to rise up the rankings because of his impressive size and speed combination at 6-feet-3 and 195 pounds.
Williams currently ranks 60th in the country and Miami is a significant player in his recruitment.
Keeping the top talent home will be one of the top objectives for coach Mario Cristobal. He isn’t going to keep all of South Florida’s elite talent home, but he needs to land his fair share of talent.
