South Florida’s top prep prospect picks Texas A&M over UM. And more Canes news
The Miami Hurricanes’ recent hot streak on the recruiting trail came to a temporary stop on Friday when two top UM targets picked other schools.
St. Thomas Aquinas standout Mark Matthews, widely rated as the top Class of 2027 prospect in South Florida and the top offensive tackle prospect in the country, picked Texas A&M over UM late Friday afternoon.
Georgia and LSU were the other finalists for Matthews, but this was widely considered a two-team race between the Aggies and Hurricanes.
Earlier in the day, Chicago-based four-star defensive lineman David Folorunsho opted for Notre Dame over Miami, Michigan and others. 247 Sports rates him the No. 3 defensive lineman and No. 43 overall prospect.
Matthews, widely rated a top six overall prospect in the country, had a histrionic announcement at Aquinas. He picked up a UM hat, put it down, put on a Texas A&M hat and then threw it aside and then removed his sweatshirt, revealing an A&M jersey.
UM reportedly will continue to pursue the 6-5, 300-pound Matthews before the early signing period in December.
Regardless, the Canes are in good shape at left tackle for the foreseeable future after landing Jackson Cantwell, the top left tackle in last year’s class. He impressed during spring football and is expected to be an opening day starter.
Matthew McCoy made a strong case for the starting right tackle job in the spring, but UM is bullish on the future of Ben Congdon, who turned heads in the spring and could be the Canes’ 2027 starter at right tackle.
UM’s 11-player 2027 class has two offensive linemen (four-star prospect Sean Tatum and three-star prospect Tyler Ford, who both play tackle in high school) and two defensive linemen: four-star Ezekiel Ayangbile and three-star Josh Johnson.
The Canes had been on a recruiting roll in the past week, snagging two blue-chip defenders — California-based cornerback Donte Wright (who flipped from Georgia) and Texas-based Ayangbile.
Miami’s 2027 class was rated fifth in the country by ESPN entering Friday.
Here’s an in-depth look at UM’s six commitments on offense and five commitments on defense.
This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 6:24 PM.
