A lot of good stuff…
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - If you’re a college football program out there looking to host a major recruiting event, you can’t ask for more than what Miami did on Saturday.
A plethora of five-star prospects made their way to Coral Gables, as did a legion of blue-chippers from all over the United States.
InsideTheU got the opportunity to catch up with many of them as they filtered out from the school over the course of the afternoon.
- The most high-profile name to walk through Miami on Saturday was 2023 Downey (Cali.) Warren five-star quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava, who made his way to Coral Gables after carving up defenses all morning at the Battle Miami tournament.
Iamaleava, every bit of 6-foot-5, met Mario Cristobal for the first time and also got his first look at UM. Cristobal and the signal-caller have had a relationship that dates back to Oregon days. Cristobal told Iamaleava that he was a top priority for him in the Class of 2023 and felt like he was “welcomed with open arms” at the school Saturday.
Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, and Tennessee are expected to get Iamaleava on campus and he’s eyeing an April or May commitment.
- Another five-star Miami would love to have protect Iamaleava is Bradenton IMG Academy’s Francis Mauigoa, who told InsideTheU that he could see himself playing there. He’s very high on Alex Mirabal saying he has a “small body” but he “can control big men.” The two have a relationship that goes back and Mirabal escorted Mauigoa all the way back to his car where they continued talking for some time.
Miami also reminded Mauigoa of the islands where he grew up with the palm trees and the climate, which is a positive for him. Mario Cristobal and Mauigoa met before while on a visit to Oregon. One thing that Mauigoa said was that his decision will come down more to people and the culture than facilities and things, and be is very high on Cristobal and Mirabal at this point of the process. USC will get him on campus next.
- Miami Gulliver Prep five-star wide receiver Jalen Brown time at UM on both Friday and Saturday and he got to meet Bryan McClendon for the first time and things seemed to have gone extremely well there. Brown is big on relationships and it’s become clear that McClendon is going to do what it takes to know that the hometown school wants him there. His biggest takeaway from his time on campus was that things are going to change at Miami.
“It’s going to be different. They’re going to bring back that UM that everyone is scared of. If everybody stays here that nobody is going to be able to stop the University of Miami,” Brown said.
Brown said the biggest difference he’s seen is how this current staff plans to take everything to the next level in terms of facilities, weight training, and other important areas of the program.
- Tacoma (Wash.) Lincoln five-star defensive lineman Jayden Wayne got another look at Miami on Saturday after spending time at the school on Friday. The new photoshoot set up stood out to Wayne, as did the new locker rooms that they’re in the process of building. On Friday, Wayne mentioned a brotherhood around the program. He saw more of that on Saturday, especially with defensive line coach Joe Salave’a and assistant defensive line coach Jake Swalley.
“They’re very family-oriented,” Wayne said.
His next stop will be to USC.
- Miami continues to put their best foot forward with Lakeland Lake Gibson five-star cornerback Cormani McClain, who said on Saturday that Miami continues to be one of his top two schools. McClain spent most of the day with Demarcus Van Dyke who continued to priotirize the rising senior.
“It’s a great environment. I think it’s home. It feels home to be in Miami,” McClain said.
It sounds like Oregon could be next to get McClain on campus after they swung by his school last week.
- Orlando Jones five-star EDGE Malik Bryant is another big-time prospect who enjoyed his time at Miami on Saturday. Cristobal made an immediate impression on Bryant and his family.
“He definitely made me and my family feel at home. He welcomed us with open arms. Just doing what Coach Cristobal do. Just being himself - that’s what my family really enjoyed about him,” Bryant said.
Bryant said he spent more time with Cristobal than any other Miami coach. He will be in Tuscaloosa next weekend to check out Alabama for the first time.
- Portland (Ore.) Central Catholic Top247 tight end Riley Williams certainly checks a lot of the boxes for a tight end. He sounded extremely high on what Miami showed him on Saturday. Mario Cristobal has been a big part of Williams’ families lives. His older brother was a walk-on wide receiver at Oregon. =
Williams was able to learn plenty about the program.
“It’s great. Great family, great atmosphere. They got a family atmosphere like back at Oregon and I love it,” Williams said.
Stephen Field and Williams just started building up their relationship, and Williams says he’s “loving it” and that Field is a “cool guy.”
Williams said Miami is “one of the top” schools on his list right now.
- - Five-star American Heritage Plantation wide receiver Brandon Inniss is building a strong bond with wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon. “Coach B-Mac made a strong case to me that he can develop me the best, which I think he can,” Inniss said. “He can help me get to the next level.” Inniss got to meet head coach Mario Cristobal for the first time in person. “He seems like a great guy,” Inniss said. “I know he is going to change the culture around here and get Miami back to where they need to be.” Inniss says he and coach Cristobal recently texted with each other for 30 minutes straight. “There is only a few head coaches that I text like that and it is a good thing,” Inniss said.
- Four-star Stranahan High School wide receiver Hykeem Williams enjoyed talking with coach Mario Cristobal one-on-one just before he was about to leave the Elite Prospect Day. “He said I am number one on his list,” Williams said. “He made it clear that they want me and they need me. He says we can change the program together.” Miami is in a strong standing for Williams. “I always got love for Miami. It is a great environment."
- Four-star tight end Jaxon Howard, who ranks No. 80 overall in the country traveled all the way from Minneapolis, Minnesota and enjoyed the experience. “The hospitality was great,” Howard said. “I’m definitely going to try and get back down here.” Howard visited Oregon this past summer, so he wanted to look at Miami because of the coaching change with Mario Cristobal. “That is my guy,” Howard said of Cristobal. Howard admits he was impressed by the experience of being in Miami. “Back home I see mostly trucks and jeeps. Just being down here, I saw two Ferraris and Porches everywhere. There is a lot of money down here with NIL stuff, which can come if you are a great player.” Howard also notes that he has taken Spanish classes since he was in first grade and he liked being able to use it when ordering a dinner.
- Four-star cornerback Christian Gray from DeSmet High School in St. Louis, Missouri spent time at UM on Friday and Saturday. Gray was impressed by the small UM campus. “It is an easy walk to class,” Gray said. “It is a beautiful campus. Gray says his relationship with coach Cristobal and this UM staff is very fresh. Gray was impressed by Mario Cristobal’s message to the recruits over the weekend. “The one message I got from him is that their development is important to them and their mindset with how they approach the game is important too. They want to be a mentally strong team.” Gray also mentioned that Coral Gables is a nicer area than he expected.
- Four-star IMG Academy offensive lineman Knijeah Harris is excited by Miami because of the emphasis Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal put on building the offensive line. “They really prioritize the offensive line and that is huge for me,” Harris said. “One of my concerns with Miami in the past was the offensive line play. Now that they have those two guys, there is no reason to worry anymore.”
- Four-star American Heritage Plantation cornerback Damari Brown notices a different energy around the Miami program right now. “Coach Cristobal is very energetic,” Brown said. “You can tell he has a passion to push UM to the top and I believe they can do it.” Brown says his 7-on-7 team, the South Florida Express will stop by UCF next week after a tournament and he plans to get to Florida State in the future. Brown says Miami, Clemson, and Auburn are standing out.”
- Four-star IMG Academy linebacker Jordan Hall recently picked up a Miami offer and is still learning about the UM program. He admits that visiting the campus for Elite Prospect Day helped the Hurricanes in his recruitment. “It definitely helped,” Hall said. “I can see the vision for how they are going to change the program. It is going to be all about the work you put in.” Hall originally hails from Virginia.
- Plantation American Heritage Top247 running back Mark Fletcher got a chance to talk at length with Kevin Smith, who he’s a lot of good things about since he took over at Miami, including from his high school running backs coach. Miami continues to be one of the top schools for Fletcher, who claims to be 6-foot-2, 230-pounds and feeling great with that weight. Mario Cristobal did a good job selling his vision to the the tailback, but he wants to see what Miami does in 2022. A decision isn’t expected to come until Signing Day, and he credits that to all the coaching moves made this past carousel.
- Corona (Cali.) Centennial Top247 cornerback Aaron Williams not only showed up to Miami Friday, but he also came back early Saturday morning and then again Saturday late afternoon after his games at Battle Miami. The Hurricanes have catapulted in his recruitment since he got a chance to look around. He was already joking with the staff by the time he was walking out of UM for the third time in two days. He could be a guy to keep an eye on the next few days.
- Four-star Jacksonville Bartram Trail High School cornerback Sharif Denson enjoyed his first trip to Miami on Saturday. The highlight for Denson was a speech delivered from former UM great Ed Reed. “He told us about the importance of surrounding ourselves with the right people,” Denson said. “There is a lot of distractions out there, but the people who do the right things and stay on the right track will have the ability to make a career out of football.” Denson says FSU, Ohio State, South Carolina, and Penn State are schools showing him the most attention now. He plans to get to Florida State on March 5th.
- Cocoa Top247 athlete and Ohio State commit Cedric Hawkins was at Miami on Saturday but sounds pretty sold on what Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are doing at this point.
- Palm Beach Dwyer EDGE Kerrington Lee, who has offers from Boston College, Pittsburgh, Indiana, USF, Charlotte, and FAU, enjoyed his experience at UM on Saturday. “I got treated extremely well by all the coaches. Coach Joe Salave’a and coach Mario Cristobal had some good speeches. I just enjoyed all of it.” Lee says he would love to get offers from programs like Miami, Stanford, UF, and North Carolina. Lee finished his junior season with 50 tackles and 13 sacks.
- 2024 Chaminade-Madonna wide receiver Jeremiah Smith says the UM coaching staff broke down some film with him and told him what he could use in his game for his upcoming season. Smith says he feels like this new UM coaching staff is going to build a stronger connection with him. “As far as connection-wise, this staff is going to reach out to me more and text me every day. I like that. I like Miami a lot more now.” Smith says he hears a lot from Ohio State, Georgia, and West Virginia too.
- 2024 Tampa Wharton Top100 EDGE Booker Pickett Jr. spent as much time at Miami on Saturday as any prospect. He was one of the first through the doors and one of the last to leave. His father, Booker Sr., played at Miami and the idea of being a legacy is one that’s crossed the sophomores mind. He certainly looks the part for being so young and should be a name to know moving forward.
- I caught up with St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet Top247 tight end Mac Markway and he said that Cristobal is different from any other coach that he's met and he loves his commitment to work. He called Miami a dream school growing up and this trip validated why he felt like UM could be a good option. He said this trip was a couple of years in the making because he planned on coming in March 2020 but then there was a global pandemic. It sounds like UM made a major move in this recruitment. Stephen Field and Cristobal did a good job selling Markway on the vision of the tight end position and the history behind it at the school.
