UM, with No. 4 ‘27 class, welcomes more top prospects. And UT’s issue with UM
Fresh off of landing three top 60 prospects during the past three weeks, the Miami Hurricanes welcome several elite players to campus this weekend, aiming to make a superb 2027 recruiting class even better.
The most prominent national recruiting services - 247 and Rivals/On3.com — both rank UM’s 15-player class fourth in the country.
UM rose into the top five in May after snagging commitments from California-based cornerback Donte Wright (On3.com’s No. 13 prospect), Alabama-based cornerback Ai’King Hall (39th) and North Carolina-based linebacker AJ Randle Jr. (57th).
For the 2027 class, 247 Sports has the Canes behind only Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Notre Dame. On3 has Miami behind the Aggies, Sooners and Texas Tech. ESPN ranks the Canes eighth.
Of this weekend’s 16 visitors (and the number is always fluid), six are already committed to UM.
A look at the 10 other expected visitors:
▪ Tampa Jesuit’s Kaden Henderson, rated by On3 as the No. 1 linebacker and the No. 23 overall recruit. A week after landing On3’s No. 6 linebacker (AJ Randle), Miami will wine and dine Henderson, who already has visited the Canes twice this offseason.
247 Sports’ recruiting experts all predict he will choose UM. Rivals/On3 peg him as a Texas A&M lean, going as far as to give the Aggies 75% odds of landing him. Notre Dame and to as lesser extent, LSU, are on the periphery. He’s expected to announce a decision in July.
▪ South Carolina-based five-star edge player Jaiden Bryant, who’s rated by 247 Sports as the No. 4 edge player and No. 19 overall recruit.
Though he remains committed to LSU, Bryant visited UM last month and is said to be seriously considering the Hurricanes. Mario Cristobal and defensive line coach Jason Taylor will put on a full-court press this weekend.
“He’s always spoken highly of Miami,” Rivals recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong said. “They are certainly one of the programs giving him a lot to think about.”
At 6-3 and 260 pounds, Bryant is a prototypical physical specimen for the edge. And the production in high school has been elite, including 79 tackles last season (23 for loss) as well as 11 sacks, six forced fumbles and an interception.
▪ Temecula, California-based receiver Eli Woodard, who’s rated the No. 23 receiver and No. 178 prospect overall by 247.
He decommitted from Southern California last week and Miami has emerged as the heavy favorite in the eyes of the Rivals/On3 staff. UCLA and California are trying to keep him in his home state.
The speedy 6-1 receiver caught 51 passes for 1,070 yards (21.0 yards per catch) and scored 17 touchdowns last season. He also played defensive back
▪ Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas receiver Julius Jones, who’s rated the No. 12 receiver and No. 72 overall prospect by 247 Sports.
His father (Julius Jones Sr.) starred as a running back at Notre Dame, and the Fighting Irish are considered the favorite for the Aquinas senior. But the Hurricanes and Oregon are in hot pursuit.
The 5-10 slot receiver had 58 receptions for 876 yards (15.1 yards per catch) and 14 touchdowns last season while helping Aquinas win its seventh consecutive state championship.
▪ Virginia-based linebacker Noah Glover and North Carolina-based linebacker Jalaythan Mayfield.
Mayfield — who is rated by 247 as the No. 20 linebacker and the No. 219 overall prospect — also is considering Florida, Indiana, Oregon and Kentucky, among others.
He had a whopping 152 tackles last season, including 26 for loss, and six sacks.
Glover, rated the No. 18 linebacker and No. 207 overall prospect, is looking closely at UM, Texas A&M, Georgia and Notre Dame. Wiltfong said this week: “I’d probably give Georgia an inch going into his official visits, but Miami is right there with them.”
▪ Texas-based defensive lineman Demarco Jenkins and Alabama-based defensive lineman Marquise Evans.
Rated the No. 51 defensive lineman by 247 Sports, Jenkins plans to announce next Monday, according to 247. Rivals calls him an “SMU lean.” And TCU also is in the mix. But Miami gets the final visit to make a lasting impression.
He had 48 tackles, including 17 for loss, and seven sacks last season. At 6-3 and 265 pounds, Jenkins could develop into a defensive tackle.
Evans, rated the No. 48 defensive lineman by 247, projects more as an edge player at 6-3, 235 pounds. He visited Tennessee last weekend, with visits planned to Miami, South Carolina, Auburn and Florida. Auburn reportedly is the team to beat.
▪ Two South Florida defensive backs: St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Jaden Carey and three-star Boca Raton West Boca safety Loia Valade.
The 6-0 Carey is rated by 247 Sports as the No. 39 cornerback and 377th-best player overall in the class.
Miami and Ohio State are considered the early front-runners. He will visit the Buckeyes and Auburn in the coming weeks after visiting the Canes this weekend. He didn’t tip his hand in a conversation with On3 last week, but said “Miami still stands out. They like me as a multi-position player. The more versatile you can be, the better.”
Carey’s father Marcus played for UM from 1989 to 1991.
Valade, meanwhile, has generated serious interest among Power 4 schools despite his modest recruiting ranking. He’s rated the No. 48 safety and No. 505 prospect overall. Florida, Texas A&M and Auburn also are in the mix.
Six members of UM’s 2027 class also are visiting: four-star linebacker Randle, five-star Miami Carol City receiver Nick Lennear, five-star Long Beach (California) Poly cornerback Wright, four-star cornerback Ai’King Hall and two top 300 prospects — Fort Pierce John Carroll offensive lineman Sean Tatum and Houston Langham Creek defensive lineman Ezekiel Ayangbile.
With nonbinding commitments from Wright (10), quarterback Israel Abrams (14) and Lennear (16), UM’s 2027 class has 19% of the nation’s top 16 prospects.
Texas complaint
Months after Miami received a College Football Playoff invitation over Texas, the Longhorns are still griping.
In a recent interview with USA Today senior national college football writer Matt Hayes, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said: “Mario Cristobal is a friend of mine, and they had a tremendous season. Miami lost to two unranked teams last year. What would their record have been if they played our schedule? What would our record have been if we played theirs? But there’s a scheduling inequity.”
Texas went 9-3 in the regular season, beating three top-10 teams (Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt) but losing to Ohio State, Georgia and Florida.
Reached by USA Today for a response, Cristobal said: “We beat the three SEC teams we played, including the team Texas lost to” — Florida. UM also beat Texas A&M and Mississippi in the playoffs.
Sarkisian made clear that his issue is with the selection committee and not UM.
This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 11:30 AM.
