Manny Diaz shares some key Miami recruiting numbers and gives an update on Brevin Jordan
It’s the time of the year when recruiting classes start to take on their final shape, and the Miami Hurricanes’ Class of 2020 has spent the last few weeks — and will spend the next few weeks — in flux.
On Sunday, three-star cornerback Daran Branch flipped from Miami to the Ole Miss Rebels. On Monday, four-star wide receiver Marcus Fleming decommitted on the heels of an official visit with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. By the end of the week, the Hurricanes could add four-star wide receiver Dazalin Worsham, who is slated to make a commitment announcement Friday.
Miami is already at 20 orally committed players in the 2020 class, and Manny Diaz said it gives the Hurricanes a little bit of breathing room. The coach said Miami has room to sign a recruiting class somewhere in the range of 25 to 27 members.
“It’s going to be somewhere in there,” Diaz said after practice in Coral Gables. “At the minimum for sure we’re expecting to sign 25 and we’ll go from there. It doesn’t mean they’ll all be in December.”
Teams are only allowed to add 25 players in each recruiting class, but early enrollments make the number a bit more complicated. Players who enroll early can be counted either to their current class or the prior one, in certain situations.
The Hurricanes are still expecting a bit more attrition and have a few more positions spots are being held for — a couple wide receivers, another linebacker, an offensive lineman, probably two more defensive backs, and potentially a running back and tight end — which could mean a slight numbers crunch as the early signing period approaches next month.
A big recruiting class would help Miami get closer to one other important number: 85. The desire to get close to the maximum scholarship number, Diaz said, was part of the impetus for leaning so heavily on the transfer portal ahead of this season. The Hurricanes only had seven returning seniors before they went out and landed some transfers, so he needed to land some older players rather than loading up strictly on freshmen. With the roster balanced better, Miami can take a good-sized class once again this recruiting cycle.
“It’s going to be hard to get to 85, but we’re going to get to whatever number we’re allowed to get to and try to get as close as we can,” Diaz said. “Certainly, we obviously have a lot of young guys on the team that we can continue to develop to that nucleus and add a really good recruiting class behind it.”
Injury update
Diaz still isn’t ready to make a commitment to Brevin Jordan’s status for Saturday. The star tight end sat out the Hurricanes’ 52-27 win against the Louisville Cardinals on Nov. 9, but was back on the practice field in a limited capacity Tuesday as Miami (6-4, 4-3 Atlantic Coast) continued preparations for the FIU Panthers.
Diaz said the sophomore’s status will be a “game-time decision” Saturday at Marlins Park.
“Brevin’s still a game-time decision, you know what I mean?” Diaz said. “He’s certainly better than he was a week ago. We’ve just got to see what role he’d play on Saturday.”
Jordan went down with a lower left leg injury in the Hurricanes’ win against the Florida State Seminoles on Nov. 9. He was not in uniform for Miami’s home finale at Hard Rock Stadium and wore a boot on his left foot. A bye week immediately followed, and Jordan was back on the practice field ahead of the upcoming FIU game.
Even with injury uncertainty, Jordan was named a semifinalist Monday for the John Mackey Award, which is awarded to the nation’s top tight end. Even after missing the Louisville game, Jordan leads the Hurricanes with 495 receiving yards and his 35 receptions are second most on the team. The receiver also has two touchdown catches this year.
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Manny Diaz shares some key Miami recruiting numbers and gives an update on Brevin Jordan."
