Miami keeps offseason momentum rolling. Broward’s top RB re-joins 2021 recruiting class
The Miami Hurricanes offseason momentum has finally carried into the Class of 2021 and a familiar face is rejoining the recruiting class. Thad Franklin, a four-star running back from Chaminade-Madonna, is back in the 2021 class after orally committing to Miami on Tuesday.
The four-star running back from Chaminade-Madonna announced his commitment with a short video he posted on Twitter.
“Let’s Make The Crib Great,” he wrote in an accompanying message.
Franklin was an early member of the Hurricanes’ next recruiting class, originally committing to Miami back in 2018, but he backed off his pledge in the fall following the Hurricanes’ late-season collapse. A group of traditional powerhouses emerged as suitors and Franklin even attended a South Carolina Gamecocks junior day last month. Still, the blue-chip tailback is opting to stay in South Florida and continue the Lions’ pipeline to Coral Gables.
The No. 11 running back in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for his class, Franklin was one of the top players in the entire Miami metropolitan area last season. The junior ran for 2,282 yards and 28 touchdowns on 288 carries, added another four catches for 50 yards and even went 5 of 9 with 123 yards, one touchdown and one interception in some action as a Wildcat quarterback. He capped his impressive season by helping Chaminade-Madonna win the Class 3A championship and Franklin set a then-record for the state championship by running for 333 yards against Florida State University.
Franklin, however, decommitted from the Hurricanes just a few days after his record-setting effort in Tallahassee, one of four 2021 decommitments Miami suffered throughout the fall.
Franklin’s recommitment now gives the Hurricanes nine commitments in the 2021 class, all of whom are from the Miami metro area. The halfback is the second Lion to commit to the Hurricanes this cycle, joining three-star kicker Jose Borregales. Miami previously signed three players from Chaminade-Madonna in the Class of 2019 and still holds an oral commitment from three-star defensive tackle Willie Moise, who played for the Lions last season, in the Class of 2020, although it is unclear whether he will sign a national letter of intent.
This also marks another recruiting victory for Eric Hickson. In the 2019 recruiting class, the running backs coach signed Belen Jesuit’s Donald Chaney Jr. and Deerfield Beach’s Jaylan Knighton, the top-ranked running back in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, respectively. Now he has Broward County’s top running back in the fold for the second straight year in an addition which should help the Hurricanes alleviate the loss of running back Lorenzo Lingard, who transferred to the Florida Gators in January.
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 7:24 PM.
