UM’s Cristobal makes another signing splash, flips elite TE Jaleel Skinner from Alabama
Mario Cristobal promised the first day of the early signing period was only the start for the Miami Hurricanes.
He was right.
Miami delivered a true signing stunner Friday, getting elite tight end Jaleel Skinner to flip his commitment from the Alabama Crimson Tide to the Hurricanes on the final day of the December signing period. Skinner had been orally committed to Alabama in October, but the Hurricanes made a final, late run at the Bradenton IMG Academy prospect by getting him on campus for a second official visit last weekend and managed to land his signature Friday.
Skinner, who’s originally from South Carolina, announced his flip on Twitter after signing his national letter of intent with the Hurricanes. Miami announced his signing a few minutes later.
“First and foremost I want to say thank you to the coaches at the University of Alabama for accepting me when I committed earlier this fall I really appreciate you guys for everything you did for me and my family,” Skinner wrote in his tweet, “but as time went on I was able to fall back in love with the University of Miami and with the new addition of coach Cristobal that really helped me make the decision to flip my commitment from Alabama to Miami.”
Skinner’s flip came a short time after UM began Friday afternoon with good news from Southern Cal defensive lineman Jacob Lichtenstein, who announced on social media that he was transferring to Miami.
Before this week, the Hurricanes didn’t have any top-100 prospects in their Class of 2022, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings. Now Cristobal has helped Miami land two in three days.
Cristobal, who replaced Manny Diaz as coach Dec. 6, spent his first week with the Hurricanes bouncing around the country, trying to flesh out a small-but-strong recruiting class. On Wednesday, he landed a commitment from Fort Lauderdale Dillard’s Nyjalik Kelly and the four-star defensive lineman became the highest-ranked player in Miami’s 2022 class. On Friday, Skinner became the second highest-ranked player in the class.
Cristobal’s hire is already paying dividends on the recruiting trail. Cristobal has landed three commitments now in less than a week and has the Hurricanes as a finalist for elite edge rusher Cyrus Moss and elite wide receiver Kevin Coleman. Those two top-10 prospects were slated to sign by the end of the day Friday and publicly reveal their commitments at the All-American Bowl next month.
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound senior is the No. 3 tight end in the nation and the No. 98 prospect overall. He primarily played as a wide receiver at IMG Academy and will play in the All-American Bowl next month. The Hurricanes envision him as a dynamic receiving threat for a school that calls itself “Tight End U.”
Skinner is the first tight end in Miami’s class and the second receiver, joining four-star wide receiver Isaiah Horton from Oakland in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. With tight end Will Mallory likely entering his final season in Coral Gables, Skinner gives the Hurricanes the much-needed, high-end depth they’ll need when he departs. Last season, Miami mostly stuck to two tight ends: Mallory and freshman Elijah Arroyo. Skinner and Arroyo are in position to compete for the starting job — and form the sort of 1-2 tight end punch the Hurricanes traditionally like — after Mallory leaves.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 1:39 PM.
