With key visit set, here’s why Shemar Stewart is so important for Miami’s Mario Cristobal
On the third day of Mario Cristobal’s whirlwind first week with the Miami Hurricanes, he had, seemingly, not yet slept and made sure to check off another local recruit to meet with in person.
This one was maybe the most important: Shemar Stewart.
The defensive lineman from Monsignor Pace is the only five-star prospect in Miami-Dade County and, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, all of South Florida. He’s the No. 1 player in the state and one of the 10 best in the country. With less than a month until he signs his national letter of intent on National Signing Day, he has the Hurricanes as one of the three teams he’s narrowed his choices down to, alongside the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas A&M Aggies, and he insists he’s not leaning in any one direction as he gets ready for a whirlwind month of his own.
“It’s all open,” Stewart said Sunday after suiting up in the Under Armour All-America Game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. In January, he’ll officially visit all three.
Why Stewart matters for Cristobal
For Cristobal, Stewart ticks all the boxes for what a priority recruit looks like.
A 6-foot-6, 272-pound specimen at one of the most important positions on the field? Check. A bevvy of Southeastern Conference and high-profile suitors all deeming him a priority of their own? Check. A hometown kid, who grew up in Broward County and goes to high school in Miami Gardens? Check.
The Hurricanes are going toe to toe against Georgia and Texas A&M — who both have top-five Classes of 2022 — to try to keep the nation’s No. 3 defensive lineman from leaving Miami. If Cristobal can win this battle, it’ll be the perfect example of why the Hurricanes decided to pry him away from the Oregon Ducks to replace former coach Manny Diaz last month.
“You always have to elevate the caliber of athletes you have on a roster,” the new coach said last month. “There’s a reason the entire country comes here to try to get talent. It’s time to make sure the talent stays home.”
Stewart is the type of player who, throughout most of Diaz’s tenure, would’ve gone to play for some SEC school. In the previous three recruiting cycles, Miami landed just two of the region’s five five-star recruits and two of its 15 top-100 prospects. The other three five-star players all went to SEC schools, as did 11 of the 15 total top-100 recruits — and both of the Hurricanes’ five-star additions came in the Class of 2021, when players mostly couldn’t make on-campus visits because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Miami fired Diaz last month, the Hurricanes didn’t hold a commitment from a single top-100 recruit. In his first two weeks on the job, Cristobal landed two — four-star Dillard defensive lineman Nyjalik Kelly and four-star Bradenton IMG Academy tight end Jaleel Skinner — and has Miami well positioned to land two more Saturday when four-star wide receiver Kevin Coleman and four-star edge rusher Cyrus Moss are both set to announce their commitments at the All-American Bowl.
Stewart, however, remains the No. 1 priority and the opportunity for Cristobal to make his biggest splash yet as a local recruiter.
How Cristobal is recruiting Stewart
A day after the Hurricanes officially hired Cristobal, the coach came to Coral Gables for his introductory press conference, then immediately headed on the road to recruit, making in-home stops with Kelly, four-star Miami Central linebacker Wesley Bissainthe and four-star Plantation American Heritage cornerback Earl Little Jr. — Kelly and Bissainthe both signed with the Hurricanes during the early signing period. The next morning, Cristobal got up and went to meet in person with Stewart.
“He told me his vision,” Stewart said. “He wants to bring the U back. He knows how from when he played there.”
Texas A&M remains the perceived frontrunner, with all five predictions in the 247Sports Crystall Ball pointing toward the Aggies, and he’ll take the first of his three January visits to College Station the weekend of Jan. 15. He’ll follow up his trip to Texas with a pair of official visits to Georgia and Miami, and the Hurricanes will get the chance to make the final pitch: Stewart will be in Coral Gables the last weekend of January, just days ahead of Signing Day. It’ll be at least his 10th time visiting with Miami, including a trip to Atlanta to watch the Hurricanes’ season-opening loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Diaz and his staff did a good job building an initial bond with Stewart, and now Cristobal and Co. will try to close the deal.
Cristobal is trying to sell a big-picture vision to Stewart, but he also needs to finish putting together his defensive staff. The new defensive coordinator and defensive line coach, reported by 247 to be former Oregon assistant coach Joe Salve’a, will be instrumental in selling Stewart on the specific plan Miami has for him.
Said Stewart: “Those are the three schools I feel can develop me best.”
