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The Miami Hurricanes signed 21 prospects yesterday during the first wave of the early signing period. Head coach Manny Diaz has previously stated that Miami has 24 spots this cycle, something Director of Player Personnel Andy Vaughn reiterated on Thursday.
“That’s the number (24) we’re working off right now,” Vaughn said. “We have some positions in mind. We would like to look into the cornerback market, missed a little bit. We got a good one in Malik Curtis, want more depth at that position. We’ll look for guys that make our roster better. If there’s a better player out there in the transfer market or hasn’t signed in this early period, we’ll look to make the roster the best we can be. Corner, we want more depth, we’re always looking to make the roster better.”
What traits are Vaughn and the rest of the staff looking for in a cornerback recruit?
“We have some guidelines, a range for height, speed,” he said. “We’re looking for guys that have that mentality, a dog mentality, a guy that’s not afraid, has a short-term memory. That’s a hard position to play. A guy that’s mentally tough, physical, a guy that can run and has some twitch to him.”
Vaughn was also asked what position group among the signees he was most excited about.
“There isn’t just one in particular, moreso we have a little bit of everything,” Vaughn said. “The wide receiver group is going to be exciting, defensive line we added a lot of size which is exciting, some athleticism with Thomas Davis. James Williams coming in the mix in the secondary, is really going to be a great player, and Kam Kinchens in the back end, a really physical, smart player. A little bit of everything, a lot of variety in this class, it’s pretty balanced. We filled a lot of needs.”
With the COVID-caused dead period, Miami is not allowed to host official visits or camp events, and recruits cannot interact with coaches or staff on unofficial visits either, something Vaughn sees as continuing to be an issue both in terms of building relationships and evaluating players.
“The dead period may drag on through the summer,” Vaughn said. “We’re trying to pore through as much film as we can from this season. There’ll be a lot of these camps whether it’s Nike, Under Armour, Rivals that will still happen in certain places around the country. We’ll have to pore into some of those camps and see what we can get, measurements, film we can pull.”
There has been some talk in recent months that the NCAA might be thinking of changing the 25 spot initial counter rule for this year, but there has still been no word officially from the NCAA on that subject.
“I think it’s something the NCAA has to address,” Vaughn said. “If they pass this one-time transfer rule, which it looks like they will do, they have to give us some relief from that, ways to adjust the roster and get back to the numbers. It’s over 200 kids in the portal the last few weeks, a lot of kids jumping in and not a lot of places to go because the 25 number is hampering schools.
“There are some easy solutions we proposed to our compliance office. If a guy were to get a medical (retirement), you get a one-for-one, for example. If a guy transfers and is eligible academically to return, that would be one we could get back. If a guy goes to the NFL early, that would be one we could get back. Some common sense solutions that make a lot of sense that would help rosters get back to where they need to be. This 2022 and 2023 class is where we’ll have to get creative if there’s no solution.”
While almost all of Miami’s signees were locked up before the season started, the Canes got one piece of big news last night when highly-touted QB Jake Garcia announced for UM.
“He was the QB we really pushed for the entire time,” Vaughn said of Garcia. “I don’t want to say every egg was in that basket, but a lot was in there. He was a guy we really wanted.”
How does Vaughn see Garcia fitting into Rhett Lashlee's offense?
"A lot is intangibles," Vaughn said. "You have to have a certain type of personality, be a leader... He's the kind of guy you want as a quarterback in your system. The guy can play. He can make all the throws, is athletic, he's not asked to do that a lot. Can make plays with his feet if he needs to. He fits really well."
“That’s the number (24) we’re working off right now,” Vaughn said. “We have some positions in mind. We would like to look into the cornerback market, missed a little bit. We got a good one in Malik Curtis, want more depth at that position. We’ll look for guys that make our roster better. If there’s a better player out there in the transfer market or hasn’t signed in this early period, we’ll look to make the roster the best we can be. Corner, we want more depth, we’re always looking to make the roster better.”
What traits are Vaughn and the rest of the staff looking for in a cornerback recruit?
“We have some guidelines, a range for height, speed,” he said. “We’re looking for guys that have that mentality, a dog mentality, a guy that’s not afraid, has a short-term memory. That’s a hard position to play. A guy that’s mentally tough, physical, a guy that can run and has some twitch to him.”
Vaughn was also asked what position group among the signees he was most excited about.
“There isn’t just one in particular, moreso we have a little bit of everything,” Vaughn said. “The wide receiver group is going to be exciting, defensive line we added a lot of size which is exciting, some athleticism with Thomas Davis. James Williams coming in the mix in the secondary, is really going to be a great player, and Kam Kinchens in the back end, a really physical, smart player. A little bit of everything, a lot of variety in this class, it’s pretty balanced. We filled a lot of needs.”
With the COVID-caused dead period, Miami is not allowed to host official visits or camp events, and recruits cannot interact with coaches or staff on unofficial visits either, something Vaughn sees as continuing to be an issue both in terms of building relationships and evaluating players.
“The dead period may drag on through the summer,” Vaughn said. “We’re trying to pore through as much film as we can from this season. There’ll be a lot of these camps whether it’s Nike, Under Armour, Rivals that will still happen in certain places around the country. We’ll have to pore into some of those camps and see what we can get, measurements, film we can pull.”
There has been some talk in recent months that the NCAA might be thinking of changing the 25 spot initial counter rule for this year, but there has still been no word officially from the NCAA on that subject.
“I think it’s something the NCAA has to address,” Vaughn said. “If they pass this one-time transfer rule, which it looks like they will do, they have to give us some relief from that, ways to adjust the roster and get back to the numbers. It’s over 200 kids in the portal the last few weeks, a lot of kids jumping in and not a lot of places to go because the 25 number is hampering schools.
“There are some easy solutions we proposed to our compliance office. If a guy were to get a medical (retirement), you get a one-for-one, for example. If a guy transfers and is eligible academically to return, that would be one we could get back. If a guy goes to the NFL early, that would be one we could get back. Some common sense solutions that make a lot of sense that would help rosters get back to where they need to be. This 2022 and 2023 class is where we’ll have to get creative if there’s no solution.”
While almost all of Miami’s signees were locked up before the season started, the Canes got one piece of big news last night when highly-touted QB Jake Garcia announced for UM.
“He was the QB we really pushed for the entire time,” Vaughn said of Garcia. “I don’t want to say every egg was in that basket, but a lot was in there. He was a guy we really wanted.”
How does Vaughn see Garcia fitting into Rhett Lashlee's offense?
"A lot is intangibles," Vaughn said. "You have to have a certain type of personality, be a leader... He's the kind of guy you want as a quarterback in your system. The guy can play. He can make all the throws, is athletic, he's not asked to do that a lot. Can make plays with his feet if he needs to. He fits really well."
