■ Late push helps Hurricanes improve their roster — and their recruiting ranking,
CORAL GABLES — Given how quickly new Miami coach Manny Diaz had to hire a staff in order to begin the January push ahead of National Signing Day, it seemed almost fitting that the Hurricanes got their first bit of good news even before the sun came up Wednesday in Coral Gables.
Late Tuesday night — when it was Wednesday afternoon on the other side of the world — Miami secured the first new addition to its roster when Australian punter Louis Hedley, a junior college transfer, signed with the Hurricanes.
His signing came hours before Miami added a three-star quarterback who put up eye-popping numbers in Texas, a four-star cornerback who had previously committed to Alabama and an athletic defensive tackle who on Wednesday drew nearly as many rave reviews for his skills on the basketball court as his ability to bring down opposing quarterbacks.
And before Diaz could even begin discussing the Hurricanes’ new additions during the traditional National Signing Day news conference, he smiled and acknowledged the Hurricanes had, just minutes before he was scheduled to speak, added another player to its roster: former Virginia Tech defensive end Trevon Hill, a graduate transfer who is expected to be eligible as soon as he arrives in Coral Gables later this year.
“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our staff, who really came together — the guys that were here, [the] guys working in our recruiting office, everybody in this building,” Diaz said. “We had to hit the ground running. We had to make quick evaluations in some standpoints and find a way to make the best out of what we had during this January time period, and I think we’ve done that.
“I think we have addressed our issues and I think we have improved our football team at every position in the locker room.”
Diaz, who was the defensive coordinator during the Hurricanes’ disappointing 7-6 season last fall, knew improvements were needed.
While his defense was one of the nation’s best, Miami’s offense struggled as it dealt with quarterback questions and lackluster offensive line play.
To address that matter, Diaz and newly hired offensive coordinator Dan Enos went out and recruited Peyton Matocha, a quarterback from Houston’s St. Thomas High who last season threw for more than 3,000 yards and 27 touchdowns and ran for another 900 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Matocha signed with the Hurricanes on Wednesday, joining a quarterbacks room that includes redshirt sophomores N’Kosi Perry and Cade Weldon, redshirt freshman Jarren Williams and former Ohio State quarterback Tate Martell. Martell transferred to Miami in January and is petitioning the NCAA for a waiver that would allow him to play immediately.
Not long after Miami got the biggest surprise of its day when Christian Williams, an All-America cornerback who had 52 tackles and eight interceptions last season, spurned the Crimson Tide to become a Hurricane.
Miami went on to add three-star defensive tackle Jared Harrison Hunte to its 2019 recruiting class, which rose as much as 11 positions from its previous spot in the national class rankings put together by the recruiting website Rivals.com.
After December’s early signing period, the site rated Miami’s class No. 42 in the nation — the lowest ranking ever held by a Hurricanes class since Rivals began ranking classes in 2002. By the end of National Signing Day, the Hurricanes were ranked 34th by Rivals, 28th by 247Sports.com and 30th by ESPN.
More importantly, this year’s group no longer held the distinction of being the lowest-rated class in program history.
Not factored into those rankings? The additions of transfers Martell, Hill, safety Bubba Bolden of USC, offensive lineman Tommy Kennedy of Butler, running back Asa Martin of Auburn, receiver K.J. Osborn of Buffalo and defensive tackle Chigozie Nnoruka of UCLA.
That group will, Diaz said, make a difference in a Hurricanes locker room that not long ago featured just seven rising seniors.
But merely adding highprofile recruits and transfers won’t make a difference Aug. 31 when the Hurricanes open the season against Florida.
“I’m not going to sit here and try to beat our chest and say, ‘Hey, our class should be ranked here,’ because to be honest, when we kick off in August nobody will care,” Diaz said. “It really doesn’t matter.”
Now, Diaz acknowledged, he has to find ways to make sure all of Miami’s new additions produce and help strengthen a team that left New York last December humbled after an ugly 35-3 season-ending loss to Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl.
That, he stressed, is the key.
“We like what we have,” Diaz said. “Compared to where we were as a football team kind of limping off the field at Yankee Stadium, I know this: We’re a much better football team today than we were in December in the Bronx.
“That’s our main thing. Now we got to get these guys on campus and get them developed.”