The latest intel out of Miami’s Elite Prospect Day

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami’s true ‘Junior Day’ this cycle won’t come until early March but with Battle Miami in town, the Hurricanes made it so that some of the nation’s top prospects had a place to spend time on Saturday night while down in South Florida.

Miami had a chance to make an impression on many of them. InsideTheU was on hand over the course of the day Saturday tracking all of the action.

– The biggest visitor during the morning session was Tampa (Fla.) Wharton Top247 EDGE Booker Pickett Jr. The junior, who totaled 30 sacks this past fall, is a Miami legacy and spoke with Mario Cristobal, Rod Wright, and Jason Taylor in-depth while at his father’s alma mater. Pickett said that he knows Wright, a college All-American at Texas, and Taylor, an NFL Hall of Famer, can develop him into an NFL pass rusher. Georgia, Ohio State, South Carolina, and USC are some of the others involved. Pickett doesn’t have any other visits lined up.

– Miami also got another top defensive lineman on campus in Lake Cormorant (Miss.) five-star Kamarion Franklin, who checked in at over 6-foot-5, 265-pounds, with an 81-inch wingspan and ten inch hands on Saturday. I can’t imagine there are many juniors in high school put together the way Franklin is at this stage of the process and after getting eyes on him in person, Franklin will continue to trend as a top target for the Hurricanes. Franklin was spending some time in the evening with Miami signees Samson Okunlola and Collins Acheampong as teams from the tournament were still rolling through campus. Franklin will be at Tennessee next weekend and was at nearby Ole Miss last weekend.

– The RAW Miami team featured some of the more elite talents that South Florida drew this weekend and three spent time in Mario Cristobal’s office on Saturday night. Those were Alabama five-star quarterback commit Julian Sayin, five-star cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, and Top247 wide receiver Mazeo Bennett.

One thing that stood out to Sayin, one of the nation’s top signal-callers, was how Cristobal spoke highly of the Alabama program that he is committed to. Sayin believes that says a lot about the confidence that Cristobal has in Miami. The Hurricanes are working in that recruitment but Sayin continues to say all the right things about Alabama. One thing he noted was that Miami’s new locker room was really nice.

Cristobal and the staff made it abundantly clear that Robinson is a top priority for the program. Georgia is doing a good job in that recruitment but it does seem like the top-ranked cornerback likes Miami and understands that he’s needed and wanted.

– LSU commit and Top247 tight end Tayvion Galloway got his first look at Miami on Saturday and does feel like the trip moved the needle for the Hurricanes in terms of his overall feel for the program now that he’s seen it for himself. Galloway spent a ton of time with Stephen Field and got to meet with Cristobal in his office.

– Linebacker continues to be a point of emphasis for this staff and Miami got one of the nation’s best in Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy Top247 linebacker Edwin Spillman. The 6-foot-1, 216-pounder checked a lot of boxes on Saturday, and got to meet with Charlie Strong and Cristobal. One thing that stood out to Spillman was the genuine nature of the staff and the connections being formed. Now that there’s reciprocated interest, Spillman said he’s been hearing from the staff a lot more. Getting a look for himself certainly helps Miami take the next step in that recruitment. Spillman will be at Tennessee next weekend.

– Bradenton IMG Academy Top247 safety Jordon Johnson-Rubell made it to Miami on both Friday and Saturday. Friday was with his family where he got a more intimate look at the program, while he joined his teammates on campus Saturday evening. Miami offered Johnson-Rubell earlier in the week and he’s high on the program considering a bunch of his former teammates at the national powerhouse made the decision to play there. The Lone Star State native got to meet with Cristobal Friday and that was a highlight.

– A cornerback who visited on his own was Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin’s Jon Mitchell. The 6-foot, 160-pounder, who was offered last week by Miami, was able to sit down with Jahmile Addae and spent a lot of time with defensive analyst Terry Jefferson too. Now that Mitchell has been on campus, Mitchell says Miami is “very high” in his recruitment. Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, and Michigan are a few others doing a good job recruiting him.

– A couple more defensive backs with offers who we were able to catch up with were Orlando (Fla.) Evans four-star safety Brandon Jacob and Palm Beach (Fla.) Benjamin athlete Ricky Knight III. Jacob is close with Miami safety Markeith Williams and spent time around Williams when he was going through the process and eventually chose the Hurricanes. The opportunity to reconnect with his former teammate and close friend is a unique one and Jacob now seriously considers that a possibility now that he has an offer.

Knight is emerging as one of Palm Beach’s top prospects and was able to talk with Addae, Demarcus Van Dyke, and Jefferson on Saturday. He acknowledged the ‘home’ factor when comparing back-to-back visit to Florida State on Friday and then Miami on Saturday. “You can just feel the energy being at home and that’s something I really want to see and really want to be a part of.” Knight said the Florida State visit was also amazing.

– Miami dished out some notable offers on Saturday, with one going out to Keller (Texas) Timber Creek wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma, who is the younger brother of Miami Dolphins receiver Erik Ezukanma.

– 2024 Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee defensive lineman Tyreek’e Robinson earned a Miami offer on Saturday after passing the eye test for the Hurricanes staff.

– Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day Top247 running back Anthony Carrie and EDGE Solomon Williams both visited Miami on their own on Saturday. Carrie is considered a top running back target, while Williams is one of the hottest prospects in the Sunshine State.

– Miami also offered 2025 Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage running back Byron Louis, who is set to take over for signee Mark Fletcher, who was also on campus Saturday. Louis is going to keep a close eye on how his mentor is developed over the next few years.

– 2025 Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy Top247 interior offensive lineman Chauncey Gooden was also offered by Miami. He sat in on an Alex Mirabal meeting with freshmen Samson Okunlola and Antonio Tripp and that was a good experience.

– 2026 Miami Northwestern athlete Calvin Russell picked up an offer from Miami too. He has a long family history at UM with his mom a school Hall of Famer as a women’s basketball player.