Miami is lining up another mass official visit date for commits. Will class stay intact?
Any time recruiting questions have arisen for Manny Diaz as his Miami Hurricanes have struggled this season, the coach has praised the strong, committed core of his class.
He fielded a question on the subject Monday on an appearance on WQAM. Miami has lost four commitments since the Hurricanes’ stunning 30-24 loss to the FIU Panthers — albeit three in the Class of 2021 — but he also noted Miami received three oral commitments last week, although only four-star wide receiver Dazalin Worsham has gone public.
“All those guys are solid,” Diaz said on The Joe Rose Show with Zach Krantz. “We had two key members of that class at Sunday’s practice. I have gotten three commitments in the past three or four days and all those kids are rock solid and on board.”
Recruiting will certainly take some sort of a hit — a potential five-game winning streak to end the season is a stark difference from a season-ending stretch featuring arguably the worst loss in program history — but Diaz doesn’t expect any significant attrition from the group already committed. The first-year coach mentioned a group text chat most of the Class of 2020 is in and most of the blue-chip commits, including four-star running back Donald Chaney Jr. and four-star quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, have been outspoken about the strength of their commitments no matter what shape the season seemed to be taking at various points throughout the year.
The Hurricanes also have another weekend planned to host a massive swath of official visitors, including just about every committed prospect who hasn’t already taken his official visit to Coral Gables. The group slated to visit the weekend of Dec. 13 could feature Chaney, Van Dyke, four-star wide receiver Michael Redding III, four-star tackle Jalen Rivers, three-star tackle Chris Washington, four-star defensive ends Chantz Williams and Elijah Roberts and three-star safeties Brian Balom and Keshawn Washington.
Four-star safety Jaiden Francois and four-star linebacker Keyshawn Greene, a pair of top targets for Miami, also told 247Sports.com earlier this month they’re in line to officially visit the Hurricanes the same weekend. Worsham and three-star linebackers Romello Height, Tirek Austin-Cave and Corey Flagg are the only commits who have already officially visited.
“I can’t wait. If we go all the way to states, I have a game that day, but I’ll be coming down right after,” said Roberts, who will play in the Class 8A semifinals with Miami Columbus on Friday. “I’ll be down right after that.”
Diaz also mentioned a group chat containing most of the 2020 class Monday, which recruits have discussed in the past as part of their collective camaraderie.
Roberts, Florida’s No. 54 player in the 247Sports composite rankings for the 2020 cycle, mentioned the chat Thursday after helping the Explorers beat Western, 36-21, in the Region 4-8A championship in Miami. The defensive lineman is in the chat and still saw consistent excitement this year, even though he kept mostly quiet.
“I don’t really talk as much,” Roberts said, “but hopefully I’ll have a chance to build a better bond with those guys as I get on campus, have a better feel for them.”
After three-star defensive tackle Tre’von Riggins’ decommitment Saturday, there should only be one or two more impending decommitments, and none by any of the currently pledged four-star prospects.
As long as this holds, the Hurricanes’ 2020 recruiting class will wind up better at the top and deeper than their Class of 2019. As many cliches as Diaz has spouted since the loss to the Panthers, his feelings about the strength of the current class are, as of now, legitimate — every blue-chip prospect at least says he’s still fully committed.
The question now becomes how much the Hurricanes can add before the early signing period next month. Five-star inside linebacker Justin Flowe, four-star running back Jaylan Knighton and four-star safety Jalen Harrell are all strongly considering Miami. Landing two or three from that group could be the difference between a top-20 class and one which ultimately pushes up against the top 10.
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 2:33 PM.
