Miami Hurricanes early signing day recruits Jeremiah Smith
CORAL GABLES — Maybe Miami Hurricanes football coach Mario Cristobal already was aware that Jeremiah Smith, the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruit, was having second thoughts less than two hours after choosing Ohio State over Miami.
Maybe Cristobal was indirectly referencing five-star defensive lineman Armondo Blount’s pending announcement hours later that he was signing with Miami despite being committed to Florida State. Or four-star linebacker Adarius Hayes’ just declared news that he was flipping from another in-state rival, Florida, to Miami.
Regardless, “certainly today has been an awesome day so far, and it’s not over,” Cristobal said shortly after 2 p.m., as he began discussing a stellar 27-player signing class that would become spectacular should Smith ultimately be a part of it when the dust settles. “And we’re not done yet,” Cristobal said, adding, “The night is still young. There’s a battle or two out there that’s still going on.”
This much is clear about Cristobal’s reconstruction effort after continued recruiting success: “I can honestly say right now that the motivation is at an all-time high. It ain’t stopping.”
No matter what happens with Smith, the Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) wide receiver, Miami will finish with back-to-back signing classes that rank top 10 in the nation for the first time since 2004-05.
The ‘Canes stood third in the 247Sports Composite and fourth in the On3 Industry rankings after Blount’s signing after starting early national signing day on Wednesday sixth, according to both recruiting services. Oh, and this was despite losing commit Kevin Riley, a top-100 running back, to Alabama midafternoon. The ‘Canes’ 2023 class ranked seventh nationally according to 247 and eighth according to On3.
Cristobal says Miami’s 2024 class “has a chance to be what we strive it to be — the best in the (ACC) conference. And maybe the best in our history.”
Of course, Cristobal cautioned, “In the words of Jimmy Johnson, I care more about how they play than how they are ranked.”
The ‘Canes’ emphasis in recruiting the past two years has been clear.
“We felt like we had to address the line of scrimmage and we did that last year with the offensive line and this year with the defensive line,” Cristobal said.
Miami’s defensive line group is headlined by five-stars Justin Scott and Blount, ranked third and fourth at their position nationally and No. 15 and 22 overall, according to the 247Sports Composite.
UM signed several other top-100 prospects Wednesday, including wide receiver Ny Carr (No. 51), edge Marquise Lightfoot (No. 53) safety Zaquan Patterson (No. 58), on the first day of the three-day early signing period.
It was a busy opening hour for Miami Hurricanes football, which received national letters of intent from half of its 26 verbal commitments entering Wednesday between 7 and 8 a.m.
The Hurricanes announced each addition to their 2024 recruiting class with a hype video on social media, with Cristobal’s X account also posting them along with the message “WELCOME TO THE U.”
One of the biggest names of the 13 signees in the first hour was running back Jordan Lyle. The consensus four-star recruit from St. Thomas Aquinas flipped his nonbinding verbal commitment from Ohio State to Miami after a visit to Coral Gables this past weekend.
“It starts with your roster,” Cristobal said of the effort to stack successful signing classes since taking over his alma mater two Decembers ago. “It’s been a complete commitment and utter attack on making sure we’re recruiting the best personnel and the best character and work ethic to match.”
