Miami 2023 Recruiting Tracker: Canes ‘Hitting Up’ WR Jalen Brown Weekly
Ahead of the 2022 college football season, recruiting is taking center stage from coast to coast. For Mario Cristobal and his new staff at Miami, things are expected to be quite busy in Coral Gables relative to the top talent expected to travel to campus.
In the class of 2023 and beyond, UM’s recruiting momentum is hitting full force, and as a result, the Hurricanes are in the mix for some of the top names around the country. As the talent descends upon south Florida, drops top schools, commitment dates and more, this recruiting tracker will serve as a one-stop-shop for Canes fans looking for the very latest.
Stick with All Hurricanes for all of the latest updates in recruiting below:
AUGUST 20, 9:00 A.M. UPDATE
There is room for more talent in Miami’s haul of 2023 wide receivers, which has led the Hurricanes to check in on several pass-catchers from across the country committed elsewhere in recent weeks.
The latest to generate waves is LSU commit and local Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep receiver Jalen Brown, who told CanesCounty.com that he continues to hear from Miami’s coaching staff despite his pledge to the Tigers in July.
“Pretty much, even though I’m committed there’s a lot of schools including Miami saying that they’re not gonna stop until signing day,” Brown said on Friday. “So, they’ve been texting me, hitting me up weekly. Right now it’s just talking, just checking in, yelling me [to] have a good season, just let it come to me, just play hard. And then, hopefully, I become a Miami Hurricane, but I don’t know.”
At this point, Brown doesn’t appear interested or at least ready to commit to visiting Miami again during the 2022 season, stating “I don’t think so, I don’t know” when asked specifically. But should the Canes become more aggressive with their pitch as the year creeps toward its end, perhaps Brown would consider the short trek to Coral Gables and contemplate a flipping of his services.
AUGUST 18, 10:00 PM UPDATE
When the Miami Hurricanes landed talented twin brothers Robby and Bobby Washington, that did not mean that other programs were not going to continue to recruit the talented prospects.
Quite the contrary.
The Miami (Fla.) Palmetto prospects have been targeted by multiple programs, with Louisville being the program that was reportedly trending with them. During Thursday night’s high school action at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons, though, both brothers put that information to rest.
“Got to stick with The Crib,” linebacker Bobby Washington answered when asked. His brother Robby was also pretty blunt about the situation, too.
“No, done,” Robby said of his college decision. He also added “yes sir” when asked if he and Bobby were headed to play football for Miami.
There was a sense that that decision had been made because Robby was rocking Miami gloves and orange cleats during the game.
Further, Robby was in a great mood from the time he stepped on the field, talking up Miami and flashing “The U” to several different people.
AUGUST 11, 7:00 PM UPDATE
Miami Central (Fla.) 2023 linebacker Stanquan Clark will make his college decision Sunday, August 14, he shared on Thursday.
The four-star linebacker has a final list of eight teams consisting of Miami, Kentucky, FAU, Auburn, Louisville, Rutgers, NC State and Michigan. Clark visited Miami in mid-April, but has since visited Kentucky, Louisville and NC State, all of which are in a good spot to land his services.
Formerly at Miami Killian, Clark elected to transfer to Miami Central during the summer and joined a defense that is debatably one of the nation’s best high school defenses. Clark is more athletic than the average linebacker, clocking an 11.24 second 100-meter dash in his final year at Killian. His versatility benefits any staff receiving his commitment as he can shift around roles, but is more suited for the mike linebacker spot.
Miami was an early favorite for Clark, but the read on the situation is that it’s becoming a Louisville and NC State battle. Miami holds commitments from three linebackers in the class of 2023: Bobby Washington, Raul Aguirre and Malik Bryant.
AUGUST 10, 7:30 PM UPDATE
Hurricanes class of 2023 target and Sports Illustrated‘s No. 1 running back Cedric Baxter Jr. has committed to Texas over Miami and other programs.
Baxter, hailing from Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater, is widely regarded as one of the top backs in the class and clinched SI’s No. 1 spot at his position on Tuesday. His power-speed combo led to big numbers during his junior season, posting over 1,700 yards and 26 touchdowns.
The senior ball carrier had narrowed down his college choices to four, but ultimately chose the Longhorns over Florida, Miami, and Texas A&M, although he interestingly had a UCF hat at his commitment table. He’ll join an already star-studded Texas class alongside elite quarterback prospect Arch Manning.
Baxter was a major target for Miami, but they’ll now likely shift their full focus to Christopher Johnson, another highly ranked ball carrier in the cycle. Johnson may not be quite as sought after according to recruiting rankings, but the local Dillard High back could be an ideal fit and another solid get for the Hurricanes.
AUGUST 8, 9:30 PM UPDATE
We had a timeframe and likely finalists, now we have confirmation.
Hykeem Williams will come off the board on September 23, he announced via social media on Monday evening. The south Florida wide receiver standout from Stranahan High School will pick between Miami, Florida State, Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia and Pitt.
“[The Hurricanes] just do everything differently. The school is so different now,” Williams told All Hurricanes last week. “The whole new staff is damn near Hall of Famers. From Miami, they all did something to impact another school or another team, and they probably got more staff than players.
“They got a lot of people over there that’ll help you out and get you to where you need to be. I think they’re going in the right direction.”
Williams took official visits to Georgia and Pitt in June.
AUGUST 5, 9:00 AM UPDATE
It’s decision day for Connor Lew.
The Kennesaw (Ga.) Mountain offensive line recruit is set to come off the board Friday night, to be streamed on Instagram as well by a local Fox television affiliate, the rising-senior recruit announced Friday morning.
On August 1, Lew announced a final four of Miami, Auburn, Georgia and Clemson ahead of his expected verbal commitment. The 6’3″, 280-pound interior offensive lineman, who projects as a center at the next level, took official visits to each finalist in what was a busy month of June.
“I like Miami because of what Coach (Mario) Cristobal and (Alex) Mirabal are building there,” Lew told 247Sports in June. “The opportunity to be a part of ‘OL Paradise’ is something that is intriguing to me. Miami has a top OL coach in Coach Mirabal and is one of the only schools in the nation with an offensive-minded head coach.
“On my official visit, you could tell that everyone looks out for each other and genuinely wants the best for you. Miami is an exciting place to be for an offensive lineman and the recent hype surrounding the program is for good reason.”
JULY 31, 12:15 PM UPDATE
One of Miami’s top secondary targets has confirmed a verbal commitment date.
After pushing back on a July announcement, Jayden Bonsu announced he will come off the board on August 14, via social media over the weekend.
Bonsu, who officially visited Miami in June, will pick from The U, Ohio State, Alabama, Penn State and Michigan State.
Before pushing back the July pledge, there was considerable momentum for the Hurricanes to land Bonsu as the first safety commitment of Mario Cristobal’s class of 2023.
May it still be the case?
All Hurricanes’ Alex Donno broke it down Sunday on Locked on Canes:
JULY 30, 4:05 PM UPDATE
Local Northwestern (Fla.) High School 2023 wide receiver Andy Jean announced his pledge to Florida on Saturday, opting for the Gators over Miami, Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M.
Jean’s commitment came as somewhat of a surprise, as the talented rising senior announced his intentions to make a decision a little over two hours before doing so.
The Hurricanes have two wide receivers committed to their 2023 recruiting class in Robby Washington and Nathaniel Joseph.
The next UM target at wideout that is set to pledge to a school is Miami native William Fowles, who is expected to declare on August 3.
JULY 26, 9:00 PM UPDATE
Three days after postponing his announcement, Orlando (Fla.) Jones linebacker Malik Bryant has rescheduled his commitment for Saturday, July 27 at noon ET.
Originally set to make his decision on July 23, Bryant chose to push things back on Saturday. At the time, AllHurricanes reported that Bryant was seemingly down to two schools — Miami and Florida — and that he was expected to quickly reschedule his commitment.
That he did, and we’ll find out in 15 hours where Bryant intends to play his college ball.
JULY 15, 3:45 PM UPDATE
Cormani McClain doesn’t have an official group of top schools, but Miami is among those in the mix the most, he confirmed Friday at Under Armour Future 50 check-in.
“‘Bama, Florida, Miami…” he said. “Those are really the schools right now.”
Of The U, the Lakeland (Fla.) High School star looked back on his June official visit.
“It was a great visit,” McClain said. “Being around a lot of Florida dudes, it’s home. Miami is a great school, too.
“I’m watching everyone commit and they’re waiting on me. Miami is up there now.”
McClain, who singled out assistant coach Jahmile Addae after his title run with Georgia last year, says he could visit Florida next, though his next trip isn’t quite locked in. Georgia, LSU and other programs are in the mix as well.
Arguably the top uncommitted recruit in America, McClain says he is in no rush to make a decision. The commitment could extend all the way to Early Signing Day on December 14.
JULY 11, 11:30 AM UPDATE
One of Miami’s early verbal commitments in the class of 2023 just came off the board elsewhere in the ACC.
Lamar Seymore, Miami (Fla.) Central wide receiver and younger brother of Hurricane offensive lineman Laurence Seymore, announced a verbal commitment to the Pitt Panthers on Monday.
Seymore was committed to UM from April of 2020 through June of 2022 and he included the program within a top five announced earlier in July. In addition to UM and Pitt, Penn State, Auburn and UCF were also named finalists by the rising-senior recruit.
As a junior, Seymore helped Central make another state championship with 550 yards and seven touchdowns to his name.
JULY 8, 4:40 PM UPDATE
The Miami Hurricanes are building a strong recruiting class and it could take another step forward with the following elite prospect including them in his final seven:
Sam M’Pemba is a naturally gifted edge rusher with the ability to bull over an opponent or go right by him with a speed rush move. Even a tackle like Miami commitment Francis Mauigoa, one of the best players in the country, sometimes loses reps to M’Pemba when he comes after the quarterback during an IMG Academy practice.
The three programs that have been considered the most likely landing spots (no order) have been Georgia, Miami and Notre Dame, but there’s a long way to go with this young pass rusher’s recruitment. He still has official visits to take. In fact, he has only one official visit set for the upcoming season, and that’s to Notre Dame on Nov. 5 when Clemson goes to South Bend, Ind.
Miami needs pass rushers so M’Pemba is going to continue to be a priority for the Miami coaching staff.
JULY 1, 4:15 PM UPDATE
The Canes have found themselves in the top seven for elite Katy (Texas) Paetow 2023 defensive lineman David Hicks Jr., he announced on Friday afternoon.
Hicks, the No. 2 defensive lineman in the country per the On3 Sports consensus, recently took an official visit to Miami in early June and also paid Coral Gables an unofficial visit during spring ball.
UM will be a team to watch down the stretch given Hicks’ recent spike in interest, and it’s worth noting that his ties to head coach Mario Cristobal date back to Hicks’ offer from Oregon in July 2021.
JUNE 19, 6:20 PM UPDATE:
The Hurricanes remain in the hunt for one of the best prospects from the state of Florida. From the Panhandle of Florida, Daquayvious Sorey announced his final four schools:
Sorey originally made a pledge to the Georgia Bulldogs, but decided to reopen his recruitment on Feb. 10. Since that time, Sorey has been coveted by several programs, Miami included, which offered Sorey on Jan. 25.
Beyond his top four programs listed above, Sorey’s offer list includes programs such as Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Kentucky and Colorado among others.
His overall skills make him a potential offensive or defensive college player. While playing for 24K 7v7 earlier this year, he was a standout as a middle linebacker and as a receiver. He has a chiseled frame and still plenty of room to grow at 6’2” and 195 pounds.
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