Frenzied sprint for Richt and ’Canes
Experts say coach will get UM in solid position
A savvy college football veteran, Mark Richt undoubtedly understood the immediate challenge he faced.
And so, mere hours after being introduced as the Hurricanes new coach in early December, he met with a handful of Miami recruits, urging them — while still wearing the shirt and tie from his press conference that morning— to consider signing with the program he was now charged with leading.
For Richt and dozens of other coaches nationwide quickly thrust into new jobs, the push to National Signing Day hasn’t been a marathon involving months of scouting, recruiting and it’s been a high pressured, frenzied sprint of meetings and traveling that will culminate Wednesday when they, hopefully, sign a class of prospects that will fill their teams’ needs and give them something to build on at each of their new programs.
At Miami, most recruiting experts don’t expect the Hurricanes to land a top-10 recruiting class this year. But the consensus is that Richt’s experience, work ethic and amiable personality have helped Miami secure a solid group that will give the new coach enough playmakers to work with as he continues putting his stamp on the Hurricanes program, the program that once, recruited him to Coral Gables.
“Miami had a huge class at the beginning of the season. They loaded up on guys strategically and took a lot of early commits … theywere ranked No.1 at one point, but they lost a lot of guys in the staff transition,” said
lost a lot of guys in the staff transition,” said Mike Farrell, the national recruiting director at Rivals. “They’re going to have a smaller class than we anticipated, but Richt kept some of the key guys in the class. … He’s done as good a job as he can, but it’s a transitionary class. It’s pretty top heavy.”
Though the Hurricanes have seen nearly two dozen players that were at one point committed break their verbal pledges, Richt and Miami have held on to several of their top targets including St. Thomas Aquinas receiver Sam Bruce, Oxbridge Academy running back Travis Homer and a trio of players from Gulliver Prep: defensive end Joseph Jackson, receiver Dionte Mullins and safety Cedrick Wright.
And the group of early enrollees Richt prioritized shortly after arriving on campus— quarterback Jack Allison, defensive end Patrick Bethel and linebackers Shaquille Quarterman, Zach McCloud and Michael Pinckney — all joined the program in January, as expected.
That was a help as Richt continued putting together his staff and dispatching them across the country to continue building relationships with the rest of Miami’s recruiting class and other targeted players.
“Coach Richt and his staff, since they’ve been in Miami, have done a phenomenal job,” said Bruce, a longtime Miami commit who noted that he first heard from Richt about a week after the coach was hired. “He’s brought some exceptional coaches with him and they’ve been grinding the past few weeks to put this puzzle together. They’ve committed so much of their time to recruiting. I’ve talked to players on the team now and they say the coaches have been really getting out there. That showed me a lot.”
Bruce’s coach at St. Thomas, Roger Harriott added: “He did a great job of reaching out to us in an appropriate manner. He had to get his family situated, give attention to the current staff and he’s meticulous. I think he put things in the proper sequence and that’s a reflection of what he values and his spiritual foundation. Hewas very genuine whenhe met with us and he has an authentic reputation that preceded him.”
For now, the meetings, conversations, and recruiting of 2016 prospects is finished.
By mid-afternoon, Richt — and Miami fans — will know where their recruiting class stands. And the recruiting focus will shift to the players Richt wants to bring to campus in 2017 and beyond.
It’s then, after he has a full recruiting cycle under his belt, that analysts say Miami will get its first real taste of what Richt can do on the recruiting trail.
But the expectation is that the coach will find ways to continue driving top talent to Coral Gables.
“As we’ve all said many times, recruiting comes down to relationships and [Richt] is great at building relationships,” said longtime recruiting analyst JC Shurburtt of Saturday Down South. “He was at Georgia for 15 years and some coaches in that situation put it on autopilot and let their assistants get it done. Richt’s not like that. He’s going to be on the road, doing the work … Parents like him. Players like him. Other coaches like him. Those types of guys are good at building relationships and because that’s what facilitates recruits’ decisions, he’s set up nicely.”