Read this as THE highest not THEIR highest. Yawn lol
Mario Cristobal has a chance to sign the best defensive line class for the University of Miami during the 247Sports era (the 2011 cycle).
If local five-star defensive lineman
Shemar Stewart signs with Miami less than one week from now it will be the best defensive line class for the Hurricanes in a long time.
And it is not even close.
Cristobal has already secured the signature of two Top 100 defensive linemen in Ft. Lauderdale Dillard’s
Nyjalik Kelly and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman’s
Cyrus Moss.
Kelly (6-4, 240) ranks as the No. 88 overall player in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. Kelly was likely going to sign with Oregon if Cristobal had not made the move to Miami.
Moss (6-6, 220) ranks as the No. 69 overall player in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. Moss would have also signed with Oregon to play for Cristobal had he not made the move to Miami.
The ability to land Stewart would be a different situation than Kelly and Moss.
Stewart has been a significant Miami target for this 2022 cycle for nearly three years now. He always had a high interest in UM, but needed to feel confident about the direction of the program. That confidence waned during the final year of the
Manny Diaz era.
With Cristobal now leading the UM program, that confidence is back.
Stewart ranks as the No. 10 overall player in the country for the 2022 cycle.
The last time the Hurricanes have signed three Top 100 defensive linemen in a single class? Never (during the 247Sports era). The last time Miami signed two Top 100 defensive linemen in a single class during the 247Sports era? Also never.
College football will always be a line of scrimmage game. Just look at the juggernauts in the sport, Alabama and Georgia, as proof of the talent stacking that is required on the defensive line…
Alabama currently has four Top 100 defensive linemen signed in the 2022 cycle.
Georgia currently has three Top 100 defensive linemen signed or committed in the 2022 cycle.
It should be noted that Texas A&M has five Top 100 defensive linemen signed or committed in the 2022 cycle.
If Stewart ends up signing with Miami, it would represent another significant win for Cristobal on the defensive line. Before UM made the coaching change, Stewart was likely going to sign with Texas A&M. Since taking over as head coach at UM, Cristobal has made it clear he wants to stack elite talent at the line of scrimmage positions. If Miami signs Stewart, it wouldn’t have taken Cristobal long to put together an elite haul on the defensive line.
This 2022 defensive line class can be a good sign of things to come for the Miami Hurricanes.