Miami signees bring energy to All-American Bowl

SAN ANTONIO – Miami has 247Sports’ No. 4 recruiting class and three of the program’s Sunshine State commits walked into the All-American Bowl on Monday fired up about their future in Coral Gables in Top247 linebacker Malik Bryant, Top247 running back Mark Fletcher and Top247 receiver Nathaniel Joseph.

They will later be joined in the Alamo City by five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola and Top247 edge rusher Jayden Wayne as these five begin preparing for the All-American Bowl which is set to be played on Jan. 7 (on NBC at 1pm EST).

“I feel like this class can take Miami to where they’ve been reaching the past few seasons,” Bryant said. The Orlando (Fla.) Jones standout chose the Hurricanes over Florida among several others back in July. “I think this recruiting class can accomplish a lot. With our heads down working we can can accomplish a lot at Miami.”

Out of Miami (Fla.) Edison, Joseph was one of the first big recruiting wins for Mario Cristobal and the first-year staff in the 2023 cycle, flipping his verbal from Clemson back in June.

“I just love the coaching staff,” Joseph stated. “The culture. Just being there. It was always the place I wanted to be. I just love everything about it. Being able to put on for my hometown. When Coach Cristobal came in and took over the job it really changed everything. He made me a priority when he landed there. I just wanted to stay home and put on for my hometown. When he came in he did a tremendous job recruiting me and getting a lot of guys to stay home.

“Having a top five recruiting class and bringing in all these new faces and guys we need to succeed and win it’s tremendous to me,” Joseph continued. “We’re coming in to take over. We want to run college football. We’re going to put in a lot of work and I’m glad to work with these guys.”

From Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage, Fletcher chose Miami over Florida late in the cycle as Miami closed the Early Signing Period in December with as much momentum as any program in the country.

“Just seeing how many recruits really want to bring Miami back,” Fletcher said. He was also at one point a verbal to Ohio State. “This 2023 class everybody seems to be taking it serious and I can’t wait to work with them.

“I love that we’re the underdog right now. Nobody expects us to do anything. We’re kids off the radar. All we can do is build and I want to be part of a building program. Especially Miami.”

Cristobal’s approach on the recruiting trail had a lot to do with Miami holding off Florida for both Bryant and Fletcher.

“I feel like he’s putting together the dream team as far as this recruiting class coming in,” Bryant said. “As far as the people within the program that you’ll deal with on a day to day basis is real genuine. Coach Cristobal recruited me at Oregon when he was the head coach there and keeping that genuine connection, he’s been the same with me and my family throughout the whole process.”

“Coach Cristobal’s first day he got in the office I think he text me every day since he got there,” Fletcher said. “Seeing how much of a priority that I am that really took it over the top.”

Now these three and their future teammates want to take Miami back to the top.