Miami leaps Clemson for No.1 recruiting class in the ACC

Miami picked up commitment No. 17 on Friday evening when Acworth (Ga.) four-star interior lineman Connor Lew committed to Miami over opportunities at Georgia, Clemson, and Auburn.

With his pledge, Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes jumped Clemson in the 247Sports Team Rankings and now hold the No. 1 ranked class in the ACC despite having one less pledge. 

They’re also sitting at No. 7 nationally ahead of top programs such as Penn State, LSU, Florida, Tennessee, and USC amongst others.

Lew also becomes the 11th blue-chip prospect to pick Miami this cycle, which is a promising ratio. The roster is currently at a 55 percent “blue-chip ratio” according to 247Sports’ Bud Elliot and Cristobal & Co. continue to stack elite talent to the roster as they work towards building Miami into a national contender.

Inking the conferences top class would be a first for Miami or any other program in quite some time. Dabo Swinney and the Tigers have sat atop the conference rankings in five straight cycles. Miami was just one spot behind them back in 2018.

Florida State (2017) was the last school not named Clemson to land the conferences top class. Miami finished second that cycle (No. 12), but it should be noted that the Tigers only penned 14 commits that cycle and their average ranking per commit was higher than both the Hurricanes and Seminoles.

It’s also been rare for a school that signs the top class in the conference to not repeat that title for a few years. Prior to that run for Clemson beginning in 2018, Florida State led the conference every other year dating back to the 2010 cycle. In that span, Florida State signed multiple top ten classes. 

Florida State won a national title during their conference-leading recruiting run, as did Clemson during their five year stretch. If Miami is capable of leaping Clemson on top of the 247Sports Team Rankings when National Signing Day rolls around, that could be an indication that the Hurricanes are on track to playing in some very meaningful post-season games in the near future if past trends hold.

Miami as a football program has taken the next step when it comes down to the investment from the university. Hiring Cristobal away from Oregon was proof of that. Since his arrival, there have been talks of football facility upgrades, the Hurricanes are leaders in the NIL landscape, and Miami opened up the check books for a high-level staff.

What comes next is getting it done on Saturdays and if Miami can string together enough wins to get them into the ACC title game, that would help the Hurricanes in their race to end Clemson’s streak as the conferences heavyweight recruiting champion.