One week from contact period, Miami recruiting to take center stage at awkward time
Amid the uncertainty surrounding University of Miami coach Manny Diaz and the team trying to finish the regular season strong with a win Saturday at Duke and the early signing period for recruits beginning in less than a month, you’d think it would be enough to give Diaz and his staff a perpetual migraine.
But Diaz, who called himself an “eternal optimist” Monday in a morning interview with WQAM, then later addressed beat writers in his weekly Zoom conference, said recruiting wise, it’s not difficult to envision “what’s coming with this team if we keep building it the way we’re building it and keep bringing in the talent we’re bringing in.’’
UM (6-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) now has only eight recruits committed to the program for a No. 61 national class ranking by Rivals and No. 57th by 247Sports. The early signing period begins Dec 15. The start of the second signing period, known as National Signing Day, is Feb. 3.
“We’re one week away from being able to get out on the road to get in the contact period,’’ Diaz said. “The next three or four weeks will be crucial for us obviously in recruiting during the first signing day, and I think there will be another push and another wave before signing day No. 2. ”
Diaz told WQAM that the most he could sign in the early period, “based on who walked on Senior Day, is like 17 or 18 anyway. So we couldn’t be above 20 commits now if we wanted. It’s about closing on some targets down the stretch that we’ve been on for a long time and then seeing where you’re at.”
Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee also spoke Monday, and acknowledged the tenuous situation. Athletic director Blake James was fired last week and Diaz’s job is in jeopardy.
“Look, we know what we signed up for,’’ Lashlee said. “You’re playing for your job every week pretty much. I’ve learned in this business if things are going well and you relax, it can switch in a hurry as we see around the country. You gotta do the best you can to focus on what you can control each day. Every week has been almost like our backs are against the wall this year. And for our guys to win four out of the last five games and be playing really good football down the stretch kind of shows you where everybody has been able to keep their head at.’’
Recruits concerned?
When asked by the Miami Herald if the high school players already committed, as well as recruits in general, express concern about the program’s uncertainty now — Diaz said, “Sure. Of course.’’
“Recruits understand it. Look around college football right now and the volatility, not just with jobs open, but jobs are going to change to fill the jobs that are open. It’s a very, very volatile time and there are a lot of things happening. One of the kind of really silly things about our schedule is that we stick a signing day two weeks right after jobs open, close, the whole type of deal. It puts recruiting in a terrible bind.
“But at the same time we’ve had great response. We’ve had players who committed to other schools, I’m talking like top, top schools, who have called us and said, ‘Coach, we’re not so sure. We kind of want to come back and see Miami again.’
“We had phenomenal recruits at the game Saturday. I mean big-big time guys, commits, guys not committed who we think are on the cusp of committing. So, again, I think they look at us the same way our players look at us. They want to make sure that we’re the same people every week. They want to understand. They see a team that is improving. They see the way we played in the second half of the season compared to the way we played in the first half of the season.
“But more than anything, they see themselves on the field. And they see Avantae Williams out there, and when they see Brashard Smith making big-time plays. And young guys and Tyler [Van Dyke]. They see themselves. They start to see how the change is coming at Miami and what these last two recruiting classes have done for us.”
Transfer portal
He said the transfer portal, which has been a great help for Miami with players such as quarterback D’Eriq King and this year’s newcomers that include 1,000-yard-plus receiver Charleston Rambo, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and defensive end Deandre Johnson, is beneficial to acquire a limited number of players.
“We basically took three guys out of the portal last year, so it’s not like that’s our Plan A by any stretch,’’ Diaz said. “But what we don’t know now is how are you going to replace the guys. You may have to replace the mid part of your roster that may want to leave for the portal on their own. And that’s the trick. How do you allocate your numbers?
“... Some guys it takes two to three years to really get it, for the light to turn on and for them to find their roles. Sometimes they’re just playing behind some older guys, and... those guys may not want to stay. This is not unique to Miami. This is what’s going on everywhere and why so many guys are ending up in the portal. You have to make sure you have your numbers correct because you may not be able to replace all those guys with high school guys because then your roster will get really out of balance — all of a sudden you have four true freshmen at the same spot and no sophomores and juniors.
“It is a tricky dance we all have to play with our numbers.”
