Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hurricanes use tech to succeed
Why the Hurricanes have been able to recruit successfully during coronavirus dead period
The NCAA recruiting dead period resulting from the coronavirus pandemic has not prevented the Miami Hurricanes from recruiting successfully over the past three-plus months.
UM has had seven of its 16 commitments in the 2021 recruiting class come since the middle of March, when COVID-19 first began to spike and recruiting in college athletics was restricted to electronic communication.
As Miami director of player personnel Andy Vaughn told 560-AM on Wednesday morning, the Hurricanes’ emphasis on using technology in recruiting ahead of the pandemic put them in a strong position.
“It’s been a little bit of a shift for us, but we were doing a lot of the same things — technology-wise and just background work-wise,” Vaughn said. “It’s just made us, I think, a lot more efficient with our time, relying on technology a little bit more than maybe some of the coaches have been used to in the past.
“This reliance on technology and all this virtual stuff has played into our staff ’s strengths a lot, especially with some of the new guys coming into the program.”
Vaughn lauds the approach of new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, wide receivers coach Rob Likens and offensive line coach Garin Justice for being able to make an immediate impact on the program’s recruiting efforts given the circumstances.
“Those guys have some great personalities,” Vaughn said. “They’re really genuine guys, and that shows when you spend some time with them. And, I think, that comes across very quickly with the recruits and some of the families we got to spend some time with because you’re forced to get a lot of one-on-one time with these Zoom calls and these phone calls.”
Miami coaches have had to adjust, not just in how they communicate with prospects, but in the evaluation process since the spread of COVID-19.
“We’ve had to rely a lot on film, which has been a big thing — obviously, a lot of film from last season,” Vaughn said. “You do miss out on the in-person [evaluations] that you’re not getting, as far as spring practice goes and summer camps, but it’s been really good.”
On May 27, the NCAA announced that the dead period was extended through the end of July, which likely means the Hurricanes won’t be able to host their annual marquee summer recruiting event, Paradise Camp.
In the span of a week in April, UM added Chaminade-Madonna defensive tackle Allan Haye, Fort Myers Bishop Verot cornerback Malik Curtis and Miami Columbus offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez. In May, Texas-based tight end Elijah Arroyo and Orlando Edgewater linebacker Deshawn Troutman committed. Thus far in June, wide receivers Jacolby George from Plantation and Romello Brinson from Miami Northwestern have recommitted to Miami after backing off of previous pledges. The Hurricanes also landed Stoneman Douglas offensive tackle Michael McLaughlin in early March.
Vaughn feels the current members of the class are doing their part in building momentum by extending their belief in UM to other recruits.
“I think the guys that we have on board right now want to be ‘Canes. They’re doing a great job of recruiting for us,” he said. “A lot of times your recruits are your biggest recruiters, and I think those guys are doing an awesome job selling the program and telling other kids why they want to be Hurricanes.”