Recruiting ranks grow leaner still
Hurricanes’ already-thin 2019 class loses verbal commitment from 2 offensive linemen
CORAL GABLES —With the start of the early signing period now a little more than two weeks away, the Miami Hurricanes are dealing with some significant challenges on the recruiting trail.
In the last 48 hours Miami has lost verbal commitments from a pair of offensive line pledges, dropping the number of recruits in the Hurricanes’ 2019 recruiting class to 14, including just two players on the offensive side of the ball.
With the recent defections of offensive linemen Michael Tarquin and Kingsley Eguakun, the Hurricanes have now lost verbal commitments from 12 players this recruiting cycle. No school in the ACC has fared worse on that front, though a trio of struggling programs – Florida State, Louisville and North Carolina – have each lost eight commitments.
During a radio appearance with WQAM-560’s Joe Rose on Tuesday, Miami coach Mark Richt touched on the topic of decommitments, saying it’s “something that happens all over America” and they’re “just part of recruiting.”
Richt stressed that he believes the Hurricanes will find ways to improve their current class, noting Miami expects to host several top prospects on official visits over the next two weekends. Impressing those recruits, and their families, could go a long way, Richt believes, in helping the Hurricanes add some late talent to a class that’s currently ranked 37th in the nation by recruiting website Rivals.com and 29th by 247Sports.com.
“One of the good things about the early signing date is you know where you stand with a lot of guys and you know where you have to go,” Richt said. “There’s a lot of really good players you look at throughout the process and offer X amount [of players], you get commitments and then you start slowing down on some other guys. Then you get a decommit, and all of a sudden you’re trying to get back in the game. There are still a lot of really good players that are out there and trying to decide what to do.”
While the coach may be optimistic about the future of Miami’s recruiting class, longtime recruiting analysts differ on whether this class can pull itself up in the rankings.
Larry Blustein, who has covered South Florida recruiting for nearly five decades, and CBS’ Tom Lemming said they believe if Richt
“All it takes is one good week, really, and you’re back in the game. I always say in recruiting the race always goes to the tortoise and not the hare. … There’s no reason to panic.” —CBS recruiting analyst Tom Lemming
can add a few more targeted pieces to this class, it can improve significantly.
If those pieces include the likes of five-star receiver Jadon Haselwood, five-star offensive tackle Evan Neal and four-star defensive end Khris Bogle of Cardinal Gibbons, who is set to announce his college decision in January after the early signing period, the boost would be almost immediate.
“I would say if they sign another five or six four-star players, which they’re very capable of since there’s so many good players out there, that’s all it takes,” Lemming said. “All it takes is one good week, really, and you’re back in the game. I always say in recruiting the race always goes to the tortoise and not the hare. … There’s no reason to panic.”
Added Blustein: “They desperately need to get a quarterback, a running back and three linemen before this class is out. … Even if they have to go the junior college route. But I don’t think [Richt] is panicking. He’s too smart for that. I’m sure they sat down plenty of times and probably figured out, ‘Maybe this kid may sway,’ and they know who their real guys are. I think Miami’s had contingencies all along and that’s where they are now. They’re all over the place [recruiting]. I think they have a plan, and if they have to get a graduate transfer or some junior college kids, so be it.”
But Mike Farrell, the national recruiting director at Rivals, isn’t so sure Miami has enough time to significantly improve its recruiting class. He believes — as many Hurricanes fans do — that Miami’s midseason four-game losing streak and its disappointing 7-5 regular-season record have taken a toll on the class.
“It’s been a rough recruiting year, especially compared to last year,” Farrell said. “There’s not a lot of star power in this class and I think that’s reflective of the season they had. A lot of kids are sort of disappointed that Miami took a step back. They’re in the Pinstripe Bowl and they were supposed to be ACC [Coastal] division champions. I’m not so sure if they can right the ship, so to speak.
“Right now they’re 37th in the country, which is way low for them, but they only have 14 commitments. It’s a small class and the way we rank classes is we rank the top 20 committed kids; if you’re comparing a class with only 14, they’ll have much fewer points than a class with 20. So part of that low recruiting ranking is because of the 14 commitments. But when I look at the top, top, top of the class, the Avery Huffs and the Te’Cory Couches and Anthony Solomons of the world, there just doesn’t seem to be the star power of last year. I’m not sure if they can change that. There’s not enough time to do it.”
A season ago the Hurricanes went into the early signing period as the new Coastal Division champions. They weren’t able to beat Clemson in the ACC championship game, but they secured a berth in the Orange Bowl and were enjoying their first 10-win season since 2003.
That had top-notch prospects such as running backs Lorenzo Lingard and Cam’Ron Davis, tight end Brevin Jordan, defensive tackle Nesta Silvera, receiver Mark Pope, quarterback Jarren Williams and cornerback Al Blades Jr. lining up to sign with the Hurricanes.
This year Miami dealt with quarterback questions and criticism of Richt and his play-calling. The offense sputtered in losses to LSU, Virginia, Boston College, Duke and Georgia Tech. And after notching a preseason top-10 ranking, the Hurricanes fell out of the AP Top 25, were never in the College Football Playoff rankings and couldn’t defend their division title.
All of that, Farrell says, likely scared away some top prospects, particularly with rival coaches not shying away from negative recruiting as they’ve attempted to poach Miami’s committed players.
“A lot of the offensive kids we’ve talked to have looked elsewhere,” Farrell said. “They want to go into a system that’s ready to roll. They don’t want to go into a clunky offensive system that needs a lot of work and isn’t going to let them use their skills immediately.
“That’s why this is a very defensive-minded class, plus they need more help on the defensive side of the ball. They’re going to be losing a lot of guys on that side of the football. I just know a lot of kids have been turned off by the season.” So does all this mean the Hurricanes are doomed to a cycle of mediocre recruiting? Not necessarily. While this year’s class will likely be the lowest-rated class in Richt’s three-year tenure at Miami, he’s been an able recruiter in the past.
Last season, the Hurricanes’ class was rated eighth in the nation by 247Sports. In 2017, Richt brought in a class that was ranked 12th, and looking to the future Miami’s 2020 class already has commitments from 10 players and is behind only powerhouse Alabama in the national rankings.
For the Hurricanes, keeping that class intact will become a priority the minute work on the 2019 class ends. There is one way all the analysts — and Richt himself — say Miami can regain its edge in recruiting.
“Winning always helps, there’s no doubt about that,” Richt said.
Added Farrell: “When you’re competing with the Alabamas and the Clemsons and the other programs that are successful and want to come into South Florida and steal your kids away, you have to win. Can they win any more football games? They have a bowl game. It would help if they won that, but in the offseason, there are no games. They’ve got to sell, somehow, a vision that this year was an aberration. Kids want results. I think this class of 2019 is going to be a mediocre class for Miami no matter what happens. But focusing on 2020 and really convincing those kids that this season was a fluke is going to be a key to their success, and they’re really off to a great start in 2020.”