UM gears up for another set of recruit visits: Details. And Mensah, AD search
A week after snagging commitments from two coveted defensive prospects and hosting several other sought-after recruits, the Miami Hurricanes football program will host a second official visit weekend that will have a different feel than the first.
This weekend will mostly be about further strengthening the relationship with nine players already committed for the 2027 class: Illinois-based quarterback Israel Abrams (UM’s most ballyhooed prep quarterback commitment in two decades); Mississippi-based running back Ty Keys; Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons tight end DeMarcus ReRoche; Alabama-based guard Jatori Williams; Georgia-based offensive tackle Tyler Ford; Hollywood McArthur safety Jaylyn Jones and cornerback Sherrod Gourdine; Lantana Santaluces edge player Jayvon Dawson and Key West defensive tackle Josh Johnson.
Though everything is fluid, only one player who isn’t committed to UM is expected to visit this weekend: Detroit Country Day tight end Anthony Cartwright, who is rated by 247 Sports as the No. 21 tight end and No. 395 prospect overall in the 2027 class.
Cartwright, who’s 6-5 and 235 pounds, has visited UM several times during the past three years. He took an official visit to Michigan last week and also is considering Michigan State and Oregon, among others.
UM capped off last week’s first official visit weekend by landing nonbinding pledges from Virginia-based linebacker Noah Glover (who chose UM over Notre Dame and Georgia) and 315-pound Texas-based defensive tackle DeMarco Jenkins, who picked UM over SMU and TCU.
Those commitments raised UM’s 2027 class ranking from fourth to third on both On3 and 247 Sports.
The Canes also emerged from those weekend visits still firmly in the mix for three top prospects who visited:
1). South Carolina-based edge Jaiden Bryant, who’s an LSU commitment.
“I love the relationship that I’m building with Miami,” he told InsideTheU after his visit. “I learned that they can turn me into a better man, a great man on and off the field... I love the relationship that I keep building with them.”
On3’s EJ Holland noted that “Bryant said the chances of him flipping from LSU to Miami are ’30%.’ But I would definitely go higher than that.”
2). Tampa Jesuit linebacker Kaden Henderson’s visit to UM last weekend “boosts them up a lot,” he told On3.com. “Being here, knowing how I can make an impact for my home state, I don’t have to leave the state to play... ball. This past year they went to the natty. I feel the upward trajectory” of the program.
Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Ohio State remain formidable competition. He will visit the Aggies next weekend and then the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish on the following two weekends.
3). Four-star California-based receiver Eli Woodard, who recently decommitted from Southern Cal, raved about his visit to Miami and how he would fit into UM’s offense as a slot receiver who can play on the boundary, too.
But Woodard is visiting Cal this weekend, and the Golden Bears can offer him a chance to play with his high school quarterback, Dane Weber, who recently committed. UCLA also is pursuing Woodard.
AD update
UM initially zeroed in on former Florida Panthers president Michael Yormark to replace the retiring Dan Radakovich, as reported by The Miami Herald and ESPN, among others.
And while Yormark remains a candidate, top UM officials and Yormark have been taken aback by the negative public reaction to him, two sources said. The school has opted to proceed deliberately with the search and consider other candidates, while not ruling out Yormark by any means.
Yormark appeals to UM because he has a proven record of creating revenue and outside-the-box thinking, with the Panthers and Roc Nation. The Canes are looking for an AD with business and fund-raising acumen to navigate the new world of college athletics, in a which a football roster can cost as much as $40 million, per Nick Saban and others.
Mensah reaction
Eric Galko, the top football executive at the East-West Shrine Game, sized up new UM quarterback Darian Mensah in a social media post this week:
“Mensah will look to follow in Cam Ward and Carson Beck’s footsteps, work with [UM offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson], and raise [his] NFL Draft grade. Last year in speaking with NFL clubs, if Mensah declared for the draft, a near unanimous comparison emerged, both stylistically and in upside: Packers QB Jordan Love.
“Mensah returned to school, and has a chance to clean up some footwork and balance techniques, and contend for a top-10 draft selection even in loaded draft.”
Mensah threw 34 touchdowns and just six interceptions at Duke last season, and Galko said that “over the last five years, just 20 draft eligible QBs have had a 30+ TD and sub-10 INT season at the Power 4 level” and that “100% of QBs who did that were drafted (minus [Ohio State’s] Julian Sayin, who was not draft eligible).
“Nine of those QBs went on to be 1st round pick [including Fernando Mendoza]. Just three hit that number two straight years — Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Caleb Williams.”
Galko called that “potential rare company for an already well-liked NFL QB prospect [Mensah] now playing with an elite supporting cast and a coaching staff that’s done wonders to develop NFL QBs.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 11:46 AM.
