Fueled by ‘Bustelo’ and ‘Pilon,’ Cristobal saves Miami recruiting class in just nine days
Mario Cristobal, universally considered an elite recruiter in the world of college football, made the most of his first University of Miami signing day in what little time he’s had as head coach.
“It’s a small class of high quality,’’ he said. “...Just a really good start to what’s going to be an ongoing process.’’
A bit later, after indicating how crucial it is to engage in that process as if you’re recruiting “your own son,” Cristobal, a former two-time Hurricanes national champion, put his hand over the orange-and-green U over his chest and said, “That thing right there, brother. It’s different. It will always be that way. It’s still settling in that I’m actually here.’’
Just nine days after replacing Manny Diaz, Cristobal signed every blue-chip recruit from Diaz’s class — even adding an elite local defensive end. After Wednesday’s first-day flurry of the three-day early signing period had all but ended, Miami had gained eight players, including seven four-star prospects. Six are on defense, two on offense.
Cristobal kept the gifted dual-threat quarterback Jacurri Brown securely with the U, got his Miami-Dade four-star linebacker Wesley Bissainthe and reveled in the addition of 6-4, 240-pound Fort Lauderdale Dillard consensus four-star defensive end Nyjalik Kelly.
The rest of the class, so far: four-star cornerback Khamauri Rogers, four-star athlete Chris Graves, four-star safety Markeith Williams, four-star wide receiver Isaiah Horton and three-star cornerback Jaden Harris, who also was a new addition to the class Wednesday.
“I’m ecstatic,’’ the 6-4, 204-pound Brown, out of Valdosta (Georgia) Lowndes High texted the Miami Herald after he became the first official signee for the UM Class of 2022. He added emojis of three mischievous, smirking purple devils.
“We’re going to be good for a very long time,’’ Kelly said from his signing day ceremony. “I’m going in with the mindset to beat everybody out so I can play right away and start right away so it can help my stock in the draft. Me, Wesley and [cornerback/athlete] Chris Graves, we are going to shock the world.”
And this from Bissainthe: “I always loved Miami. I’m dedicated to making the crib great again.”
Cristobal, Bissainthe said, “is trying to change the program around, get back to the old days, start winning games. Let’s make it happen.”
Still, Miami’s class finished the day outside the top 50, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings. If it finishes there, it’ll be by far the worst in the modern recruiting-rankings era — the Hurricanes’ Class of 2011 is their previous worst at No. 33.
However, the 247Sports average ranking for Miami’s commits was ninth best in the country as of early Wednesday evening. Teams are allowed to sign 25 players per class, but Miami always planned to take a smaller group this year because of players getting an extra year of eligibility for COVID-19.
“You hesitate a little bit when you don’t know everything about the person, the character, the competitor and everything else that goes with that, so we went quality over quantity to start off, but, just to be clear, this is ongoing,’’ Cristobal said. “Between the use of the [transfer] portal and some other guys that are still out there that are unsigned — I think we’ll land anywhere between 16 and 20 guys being part of this class.
“But we don’t put a cap on it. Whatever the max number is, that’s always going to be the goal.”
Cristobal, who indicated UM could end up with more signees by Friday, was asked what he learned from having such a tight window to get things done. He spoke of coffee — and the importance of sustaining longtime relationships.
“I learned you really don’t have to sleep until Day 8. I learned that Bustelo vs. Pilon is pretty evenly matched. ... I learned about relationship, for real, because now I realized I am 51. I’m not 27. I realized that those 24 years spent working and dealing with a lot of different coaches, different places, those relationships really come into play — relationships with former teammates, staying in touch with people, valuing people, making sure that they know and they understand that you value them and their friendship and just all the things that you may have gone through in the past.”
The class was small when Cristobal arrived Dec. 6 and he kept his strongest players committed. A three-star linebacker decommitted later in the day, a three-star wide receiver flipped to the LSU Tigers on Tuesday and a three-star tackle flipped to the Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday. The six blue-chip recruits all stayed in the fold, and Cristobal added to the group with Kelly and Harris.
He started working from nearly the moment he arrived in South Florida. Miami introduced him as its new coach Dec. 7 and he was at Miami Central later in the day to watch Bissainthe practice, then up in Fort Lauderdale for an in-home visit with Kelly. He traveled to Texas to meet with offensive linemen and across the Southeastern United States to meet with his other commits. Over the weekend, he hosted a major official visit weekend with Bissainthe, Kelly, Brown, Rogers, Graves, Horton and Williams all on campus.
Some of Cristobal’s next targets were there, too. Elite wide receiver Kevin Coleman traveled from St. Louis to South Florida to visit Miami for the first time, and elite edge rusher Cyrus Moss came down to South Florida from Las Vegas.
Moss is scheduled to sign Friday, while Coleman plans to sign in this early signing window, but is expected to wait to reveal his decision until the All-American Bowl next month.
Cristobal is still taking big swings. He hopes to flip elite tight end Jaleel Skinner away from the Alabama Crimson Tide before he signs Friday. He’s going after five-star Miami Gardens Monsignor Pace defensive lineman Shemar Stewart ahead of the traditional National Signing Day in February. His arrival even played a role in four-star Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas interior lineman Julian Armella deciding to wait until February to sign.
The coach knows it’s more important than ever to keep the entire recruiting process in perspective, especially with the transfer portal looming large these days.
“This puzzle is ever changing,’’ Cristobal said. “That’s the part that is really difficult now. I don’t think until four or five years go by will we truly be able to assess the impact and effects of the portal. Remember, the portal works both ways — in and out. What’s your current roster going to look like at the end of a certain time frame?
“It just doesn’t stop. You have to assess your roster every day when you walk in the building and when you walk out, because it could change that quickly… There are a lot of moving parts. You want to be deep enough where should you sustain some losses, in terms of personnel and from an injury standpoint, that you could put a player in there that is capable of helping you win a championship at the conference level and beyond.”
Hurricanes signees
DL Nyjalik Kelly, 6-4, 240, Fort Lauderdale Dillard; CB Khamauri Rogers, 6-0, 165 Holmes County (Lexington, Miss.); LB Wesley Bissainthe, 6-1, 205, Miami Central; ATH Chris Graves, 6-1, 175, Fort Myers Bishop Verot; QB Jacurri Brown, 6-4, 205, Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.); S Markeith Williams, 6-1, 170, Orlando Evans; WR Isaiah Horton, 6-3, 190, Oakland (Murfreesboro, Tenn.); CB Jaden Harris, 6-0, 180, Riverwood (Atlanta)
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 7:01 PM.
