Recruiting in the age of COVID-19: How No. 9 Miami managed to succeed despite challenges
The first few weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic were a recruiting wasteland. Coaches weren’t sure when they would be able to get back on the road and high school football players had no idea when they would be able to take visits again. Should they wait out
Should they wait a few weeks and see if they can start visiting schools again in the summer or fall? Should they hold off on making any decisions in case camps started and new offers came pouring in? The Miami Hurricanes went more than a month without landing a single oral commitment once the coronavirus outbreak brought the United States to a halt in March.
Then they started to trickle in. Allan Haye, Malik Curtis and Ryan Rodriguez — a trio of three-star prospects — committed within six days in April, then Elijah Arroyo and Deshawn Troutman committed in May. Once the summer arrived, bombshells started dropping and Miami landed top-200 prospects such as Leonard Taylor, James Williams, Romello Brinson and Jacolby George. Recruits all across the country were committing at record rates as it became clear there would be no more visits in 2020 and few chances for coaches to see players in person.
“You can miss being out there. You miss getting to talk to all the people,” coach Manny Diaz said Monday. “I think there’ll be some volatility in this class when they get to college, but maybe, on the flip side, people will have made more decisions for the right reasons and not just something that looks good for a 40-hour weekend, but something that feels maybe more real than that.”
Ultimately, the Hurricanes (8-1, 7-1 Atlantic Coast) have been one of the biggest winners of this recruiting cycle, which has forced them to communicate through Zoom chats and FaceTimes, and now is asking them to juggle recruiting with preparing to face the No. 20 North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Hurricanes currently have 20 players committed in their 2021 recruiting class and there’s a decent chance all 20 sign national letters of intent next week. Miami is also firmly in the mix for three or four other players who are slated to make their decisions by the end of the early signing period next Friday. After finishing with the No. 27 Class of 2019 and No. 16 Class of 2020, the Hurricanes enter the weekend with the No. 12 Class of 2021, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, and could climb into the top 10 next week.
“It’s very unusual. This would be the week we’d be in the schools, we’d be in the living rooms of the recruits and official visits on the weekend,” Diaz said. “What I really like is that we’ve got a very solid class. The nucleus of guys in our class are bought in and they want to be here together.”
Recruiting the ‘State of Miami’
The heart of the class lies in the Miami metropolitan area. Fifteen of the Hurricanes’ 20 commitments currently live in South Florida, three others live elsewhere in Florida and one of the two out-of-state commitments grew up in Miami-Dade County before eventually setting in Texas.
Some commits, such as five-star defensive tackle Leonard Taylor from Miami Palmetto, have cited a desire to stay home strengthened by the COVID pandemic, while other local prospects admitted the Hurricanes had a leg up simply because they weren’t able to visit many other schools.
Miami prides itself on being early to offer prospects in the region, on knowing about players before they have even suited up for a high school game, and on hosting robust camps and junior days to get underclassmen on campus in Coral Gables before they start taking visits across the country. It’s no coincidence the Hurricanes are dominating recruiting in South Florida to such a degree — at least a few top prospects in the Hurricanes’ 2021 class only ever visited Miami.
If the Hurricanes land Jake Garcia next week, this infrastructure will be a big reason. The four-star quarterback visited Miami multiple times in 2019, which left an impression on Garcia as he went nine months without visits.
“Obviously, we can’t talk about recruits or anything like that,” offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said Monday. “We’re still trying to add pieces to that class. We’ll continue to do that both in this early signing period and in the late signing period.”
Miami Hurricanes’ remote recruiting success
It’s unfair to chalk everything up to proximity, though. The Hurricanes, for example, beat out the Texas A&M Aggies and Georgia Bulldogs to land Elijah Arroyo even though the four-star tight end never visited — although he is the out-of-state player from Miami-Dade County.
Most of these players committed before the 2020 season started, too, so they’re not just swayed by No. 9 Miami’s on-field success this year. Diaz said he believes consistency has been important without a flashy hammer like an official or in-home visit to lean on.
“You’ve had a chance to show consistency over time, which, ultimately, is what builds trust,” Diaz said. “It’s more really who you are and how your relationship comes through over the phone, or on a Zoom or on a FaceTime call and, again, that’s where I give the credit to our staff.”
It’s also possible there was some evening of the playing field.
While Miami has a great game-day atmosphere when facing high-profile opponents, it’s hard for the Hurricanes to compete with the thrill of a Miami area prospect getting a one-off look at game day for a top Southeastern Conference or Big Ten Conference team, especially when so many of those recruits have also been at Hard Rock Stadium for a lackluster noon kickoff against a nondescript opponent.
“Facilities and stadiums, and official visit weekends — those things are all extraordinarily important, but they’re not more important than just who you are as a person and the relationship,” Diaz said. “Maybe that’s coming through more this year.”
