South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Coach on recruiting: ‘It’s awesome’
Miami has found itself a happy warrior when it comes to recruiting.
First-year coach Mario Cristobal took over a program whose 2022 recruiting class was languishing near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference recruiting rankings.
In less than two months, Cristobal pushed the Hurricanes to No. 15 in the nation and No. 3 in the ACC, showing how much he relishes bringing in new players.
“I enjoy it, I really do,” Cristobal said. “I enjoy it. I like getting out there. I like meeting families. I’ve had great moments and I’ve had my tail kicked in a couple of times. Just the appetite for it grows more and more and more over the years. I think it’s awesome, and the staff that we’ve put together has to love it.”
Cristobal has not yet filled out his staff, and two coaches — defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson and wide receivers coach/ co-offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon — departed in January, so recruiting this class fell on Cristobal, the assistants who have been hired and his team of recruiting staffers, like Director of Recruiting David Cooney and Assistant Director of Recruiting Ed Pata.
“If you just keep recruiting, you’ll probably be ok,” Cristobal said. “That’s the message to the staff or you probably can’t work here.”
Cristobal’s “transition” class — his first class after being named Miami’s head coach in January — surpasses all of the Hurricanes’ recent coaches’ inaugural classes. In addition to UM being No. 15 in the nation and No. 3 in the ACC, Cristobal’s class has an average player rating of .9154 by 247Sports.
Manny Diaz’s 2019 class was 27th in the nation, fourth in the
ACC and had an average rating of .8807. Mark Richt’s 2016 class was 22nd in the nation, third in the ACC and had an average rating of .8863. Al Golden’s 2011 class was 33rd in the nation, sixth in the ACC and had an average rating of .8442.
For comparison to other schools, first-year Florida coach Billy Napier’s 2022 class is 19th in the nation, ninth in the Southeastern Conference and has an average rating of .8860. Florida State coach Mike Norvell’s 2020 class was 22nd nationally, fourth in the ACC and had an average rating of .8796.
Cristobal displayed his recruiting prowess in his first few weeks on the job, securing top-100 linebacker/edge rusher Cyrus Moss and top-100 defensive lineman Nyjalik Kelly, as well as four-star tight end Jaleel Skinner — all three of whom have enrolled at UM. He followed that up on National Signing Day by getting commitments from four-star running back TreVonte’ Citizen, three-star defensive lineman Ahmad Moten and threestar offensive linemen Anez Cooper and Matthew McCoy.
“I enjoy it,” Cristobal said. “I always have enjoyed it. I remember being a (graduate assistant) and I remember coaches leaving for opportunities that might have seemed (like) brighter lights ... but I remember they’d all end up coming by here, swinging by here, and saying, ‘Don’t ever get it mistaken. This game is about people, and not only the people that you have on staff, but your players.’ Their talent, of course, is taken into account, but your relationships with them have got to be legit.”