Miami’s path to a Top 20 class for this 2022 cycle (and maybe higher)

At the end of November, the outlook for Miami’s 2022 recruiting class looked bleak.

UM held the No. 69 overall class in the country and the No. 12 class in the ACC as the Hurricanes were working their way through a disappointing 7-5 season in 2021.

Miami wasn’t positioned to close strong in the early signing period and the program was poised to lean heavily on the NCAA Transfer Portal under the leadership of Manny Diaz.

Then in early December, UM made a coaching change, hiring Mario Cristobal from Oregon, and the trajectory of Miami’s 2022 recruiting class changed.

Miami has since risen to No. 38 overall in the country with only ten commits—and the Hurricanes aren’t done rising yet.

The Hurricanes have a legitimate shot at making the leap into the Top 20 if they can land two key targets: five-star defensive lineman Shemar Stewart and four-star offensive lineman Dave Iuli. Landing those two would give UM a class score of 229.16, which would have ranked No. 19 overall in the country for the 2021 cycle.

Texas A&M is the team to beat on the 247Sports Crystal Ball for Stewart, who is set to take his final official visit to Miami this weekend.

Miami leads on the 247Sports Crystal Ball for Iuli, who ranks as the No. 187 overall player in the country.

UM could potentially climb even higher in the rankings if they added others to the class outside of Stewart and Iuli.

If UM was able to land a commitment from three-star Anez Cooper out of Alabama, the class score would jump to 234.77, which would have ranked No. 17 in the 2021 class. If the Hurricanes add Cooper and three-star R Mason Thomas, UM’s class score goes to 241.77, which ranked as the No. 16 class in the country in 2021.

The wildcard in Miami’s ability to potentially shoot up inside the Top 15 is the recruitment of five-star offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr.

Conerly is a five-star that ranks as the No. 15 overall player in the country in the 2022 class. The addition of Connerly along with the players listed above would give UM’s class score to a 256.06, which would would have ranked No. 15 nationally in the 2021 class.

When considering where Miami’s recruiting class was in late November, finishing the cycle inside the Top 20 would be an impressive feat by Mario Cristobal in a short amount of time.

Imagine what type of class he will sign in 2023 while recruiting for an entire cycle.