Inside the Mind of Miami's Executive Director Dennis Smith

Recruiting is the starting point for the Miami Hurricanes and how they have been able to turn around the program back into a national contender.

Mario Cristobal continues to be the head of the snake, but there are still others who are making moves behind the scenes to lock down these recruits at the highest level. Most importantly, Miami's executive director, Dennis Smith.

READ MORE: Miami Hurricanes' 2027 Football Commitment Tracker

Smith has been with the program since the start of the Cristobal era and has brought in endless talent that has turned into first-round picks, from recruits to transfer portal targets. However, it also starts with wanting to be part of a historic program in Coral Gables and keeping the talent there.

"It started, really, the advent of coming back to help coach bring great players back to the University of Miami, great players and people back to the University of Miami," Smith said on an appearance with Adam Breneman on 'Next Up'. "And then, as this thing has really, really accelerated in college football with NIL, it's-the process changes, not yearly, it changes daily. And so, it's still player acquisition, number one. It's player retention.

"But it's really become about helping coach day-to-day manage the building as it ties into player retention and player acquisition. Trying to make sure you provide the best customer service experience for your players because they're the most important recruits that you-that you have. And then, the players that you're trying to bring into your program, and tying in your coaches, your staff, their families, so that it all works collectively together.

"Yeah, there's probably a lot to do, right, on a day-to-day basis. You get in your car at night and you go home and you ask yourself, at least I do, like, man, what did I get accomplished today? I have got so much more that I need to get accomplished. But you learn that the pile is never going to go away. You just try to attack it each day."

Moreover, it also starts with a plan. Who is good, who is bad, and how does Miami get the right players who fit the right mold for the program?

"You know, when we started this thing five years ago, it was high school recruiting and the portal, because I don't know that there was a ton of talent that we wanted to retain," Smith said. "We're at a place now where you guys, it's player retention first.

"It's high school recruiting is right there, neck and neck second. And then the portal is third, okay? Because we believe in our ability to identify and develop. You start with the high school kid, because you're going to have them three to four years, three to five years. And then the portal is second. I think if you do a great job with player retention and the high school recruitment, you now use the portal to supplement.

Furthermore, NIL continues to play into the fact of keeping and bringing in players. It is what has brought the team back to national relevance, allowing more talent to be interested in Miami.

"You know, now you see a lot of people taking elements of the NFL and bringing it into the college game," Smith said. "There are parts of the roster, you know, build model that come from the NFL. But I think because you have player retention, that's simply like free agency every day of the week, okay?

"And then when you go to the high school part of it, the high school recruitment process is not something you just turn on in November and say, we're going to recruit these high school kids. That's a two-year process. It happens so much faster now. So if you don't have the ability to manage those tasks simultaneously, you're going to get run over, okay? But you have to keep the players on your roster always have to be first."

Keeping those players has allowed Miami to return to the National Championship Game and make it one of the strongest contenders heading into this season. Smith continues to be the behind-the-scenes engine that brings more to the university.

Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes-related: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and BlueSky.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/miami as Inside the Mind of Miami's Executive Director Dennis Smith.

Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 8:39 AM.