Podcast: Miami is on a roll in recruiting. And why we like the ACC’s new schedule format
The promise of Mario Cristobal is starting to come into fruition for the Miami Hurricanes this week.
Already, Miami has added three blue-chip recruits to its Class of 2023, including quarterback Jaden Rashada, and a few more could be coming this weekend.
It’s a good time to root for the Hurricanes, and not just because of what they’re doing on the recruiting trail. The Atlantic Coast Conference’s new schedule format is exciting, too.
On a new episode of the Eye on the U podcast, David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Miami Herald’s Hurricanes beat writer, break it all down, starting with the ACC’s so-called “3-5-5” schedule format.
Even though it’s a shame it will lose its annual meeting with the Virginia Tech Hokies, Miami will get more shots at teams like the Clemson Tigers and get to play teams across the conference more frequently. The Coastal division is also dead, which probably isn’t the worst thing in the world.
The bulk of this episode, however, centers upon recruiting, and the news came so fast and furious this week this episode doesn’t even cover the commitment of Melbourne Eau Gallie’s Robert Stafford — or the latest round of realignment news.
On Thursday, the four-star athlete became the third blue-chip prospect, according to the 247Sports composite rankings for the 2023 recruiting class, to commit to the Hurricanes in five days. It started Sunday with Rashada, an elite quarterback from Pittsburg in California, and continued Tuesday with Miami Edison wide receiver Nathaniel Joseph.
In less than a week, Miami’s 2023 class jumped from outside the top 40 in the national rankings into the top 25.
Momentum was starting to build in recent weeks with some smaller additions, but this avalanche of four-star additions is what Cristobal promised was coming when he got to Coral Gables late last year.
The good news might not be done, either: Four-star tight end Riley Williams, and four-star edge rushers Jaxon Howard and Collins Acheampong are both set to make commitments Friday, and five-star tackle Francis Mauigoa will make his Monday. The Hurricanes are finalists for all four.
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