Miami hopes to ride ‘strong wave of momentum’ of Legends Camp and rack up commitments from elite recruits

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami’s 2023 recruiting class has some pretty good players in it — like 6-5, 190-pound three-star quarterback Emory Williams, who could see his No. 919 overall ranking in the 247Sports Composite jump up if he performs well at the Elite 11 finals later this month.

The Hurricanes, though, haven’t exactly loaded up on stars yet. Four-star receiver Robby Washington is the only four-star commitment among the seven in a class ranked 43rd entering the weekend. That, though, appears to be on the verge of changing.

“Recruiting, we feel like a strong wave of momentum is coming hopefully here soon,” coach Mario Cristobal said before Saturday morning’s Legends Camp.

The first big domino to fall for Miami could be Jaden Rashada. The 6-4, 185-pound four-star quarterback from Pittsburgh, Calif., is set to make his televised college announcement at 4 p.m. EST Sunday at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, and indications are he’s going to pick the Hurricanes over Florida, LSU, Texas A&M and Ole Miss.

Rashada, ranked 45th regardless of position in the 2023 cycle, put off making a scheduled commitment on June 18 so he could visit Miami again with his father earlier this week. If he picks the Canes and signs with them in December, he’ll be the highest-ranked quarterback recruit in the 247Sports Composite to play for the Hurricanes since Kyle Wright.

Other commitment watches for Miami coming off June visits to campus:

• Four-star receiver Nathaniel “Ray-Ray” Joseph, the No. 105 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite out of Miami Edison High School. The ex-Clemson commitment visited Louisville last week but was in Coral Gables this weekend to visit the hometown Hurricanes. Joseph (5-8, 170) was seen spending time at the camp speaking with Alonzo Highsmith, general manager of football operation, and the buzz was that a commitment from Joseph could come soon.

• Five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola, the 20th overall recruit in the country out of Thayer Academy in Brockton, Mass. He has taken official visits to Michigan State and Alabama the past two weeks, but the 6-5, 305-pound lineman really enjoyed his time in south Florida and the Hurricanes could be the team to beat.

• Four-star edge rusher Jayden Wayne, ranked 41st out of Tacoma (Wash.) Lincoln, visited Miami last week and spent this weekend at Oregon. Wayne, though, received his first scholarship offer from Cristobal when he was coach at Oregon and has a longstanding relationship with him. Georgia, LSU and Oregon are the 6-5, 245-pounder’s other finalists.

⭐️FSP Fun Fact
..@coach_cristobal was the first to offer @JaydenWayne8 when he was in 8th when Mario was at Oregon! #RelationshipsMatter and believing & not needing anyone else’s confirmation! 👀

— Tracy Ford (@TFordFSP) June 19, 2022

• Four-star athlete Jaxon Howard, ranked 96th overall in the 247Sports Composite out of Minneapolis, Minn., took his last official visit to Coral Gables this weekend and is set to announce July 1. Howard (6-4, 245) told The Athletic on Saturday he has no problem playing as an edge rusher instead of tight end, where the Hurricanes appear to be on the verge of taking three recruits. Howard will pick between Miami, Michigan, Minnesota and LSU.

• Four-star tight end Riley Williams, ranked 77th overall out of Portland, Ore., visited Miami on July 17 after making stops at Alabama and Ohio State earlier this month. He has since transferred to Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and is set to announce his college choice on July 1.

If Miami adds all six of those players to their 2023 recruiting class, the Hurricanes would score 232.23 points in the 247Sports Composite rankings, good for No. 3 nationally behind Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Legends Camp

Cristobal noted Miami had 12 official visitors this weekend, and another 18 to 24 unofficial visitors on campus. That didn’t include the 250 to 300 camp participants — made up largely of high-end 2024 and 2025 recruits.

Among the notable participants: 2023 three-star running back Christopher Johnson and 2024 cornerback and Georgia commitment Antione Jackson of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard; 2023 three-star safety Kenton Kirkland of Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines; 2025 receiver and Texas A&M commitment Winston Watkins of Fort Myers, Fla.; 2024 five-star receiver Joshisa Trader of Miami (Fla.) Central; 2024 four-star quarterback Adrian Posse of Miami Columbus; 2024 four-star ATH Jarvis Boatwright of Clearwater, Fla.; and 2025 quarterback Colin Hurley of Jacksonville Trinity Christian.

Among the large group of former Hurricanes to coach and speak to players at the camp, according to a school spokesman: NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, 2021 first-round picks Jaelan Phillips and Gregory Rousseau, Reggie Wayne, Antrel Rolle, Brett Romberg, Jon Beason, Rohan Marley, Bennie Blades, Greg Mark, Allen Hurns, Duke Johnson, Bryant McKinnie, Travis Benjamin, Jeremy Shockey, Kenny Phillips, Randal Hill, Jonathan Feliciano, Deon Bush, Lamar Thomas, Hurlie Brown, Martin Bibla, Brandon Merriweather, Sean Spence, Michael Jackson, Tolbert Bain, Duane Starks and Roscoe Parrish.

Former LSU national championship-winning coach Ed Orgeron, whose son is on Miami’s staff, also participated, along with former longtime Miami assistant Don Soldinger.

Cristobal wants to make former players feel more welcome than in the past. McKinnie said Saturday he felt like coaches were afraid he was trying to take their job whenever he asked for player access. That’s not the case anymore, McKinnie said.

“Look back at the days when Miami was doing what Miami does. Look at the sideline, you had an extra 40 assistant coaches in the form of Pro Bowlers and Hall of Famers,” Cristobal said. “Those are some of the things that we are encouraging and working on to make sure that alumni bond, that brotherhood, is there for the world to see and that it’s real. It’s no BS.”

It’s 9:06 a.m. and Michael Irvin is ready for some #LegendsCamp pic.twitter.com/cV8lcsnGaa

— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) June 25, 2022

During his pre-camp speech, Irvin drove home the point players wouldn’t be posing for photos with Ferraris and Lamborghinis. It was an indirect jab at other programs Miami is competing against for recruits — including Florida and Louisville — who have been using expensive cars as props for player photo shoots during official visits. Cristobal took Irvin’s cue and ran with it.

“When we went to dinner last night with our recruits, there were 14 Ferraris parked in the parking lot,” Cristobal said. “I don’t think we need to take photos beside those to emphasize what we’re trying to do at the University of Miami.”

“Our pool of energy is the passion for the University of Miami. That’s not a shallow pool, that’s a deep, strong and real pool. To see them here, it just further reaffirms and confirms that the University of Miami is on the right track. Because we are working. Our approach is a very blue-collar mentality. To make sure every day we’re just making progress and getting better. But the momentum is strong.”

(Top photo of former Hurricanes players at Saturday’s Legends Camp: Courtesy of Alonzo Highsmith)