The latest with 5-star DL Shemar Stewart — and Miami’s recruiting class — after busy June
Shemar Stewart, the most coveted recruit in all of Florida, ended June just as he began it — by visiting the Miami Hurricanes.
After visiting Miami on the first day of June as soon as a 15-month dead period ended, Stewart made two more trips to Coral Gables later in the month, then made one final trip to campus Saturday for the Hurricanes’ annual Paradise Camp. It was a final affirmation for Miami at the end of the first leg of a most-unusual recruiting cycle: No one is doing a better job of getting their pitch in front of Stewart than his hometown Hurricanes.
“The visits to Miami have been good vibes,” Stewart said Saturday. “I came out here tonight with a couple of my friends and some other people I know, got to talk a lot with the coaches. Paradise Camp was good. I met Calais Campbell, Greg Rousseau and Jaelan Phillips.”
All throughout June, Stewart bounced around the country, checking in with nearly every school he’s seriously considering. He took his first official visit with the LSU Tigers. He took unofficial visits with the Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes. The Florida State Seminoles and Florida Gators both got him on campus.
When the month began, LSU was the clear early favorite, according to 247Sports.com’s Crystal Ball, but the Tigers effectively fell out of serious contention by the time he returned from his trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Miami is now the technically the favorite, but only because someone has to be. The enduring takeaway from the first real month of Stewart’s recruitment is there’s a long way to go for the five-star defensive lineman from Miami Gardens Monsignor Pace.
“Maybe I’ll decide on early signing day,” said Stewart, who played only two games in 2020, with eight tackles and one tackle for loss.
While it’s a long way away, it still could be a positive development for the Hurricanes: In June, Stewart said he was planning to wait until National Signing Day to make a decision.
For the Hurricanes, June was ultimately a month of intangible progress, with Stewart included. Miami has only three players committed — the fewest in the Atlantic Coast Conference — but finished every official visit weekend feeling good about the impression it made on recruits. Nearly every one of the Hurricanes’ top targets spent time in South Florida, but Miami only added two commits in the entire month.
At the same time, the Hurricanes have yet to really whiff on any of their top targets. Only seven of the 36 players to officially visit Miami in June have committed elsewhere, and two of those were already committed to other schools at the time of the visits. Miami’s only decommitment in June was from Quan Lee, and it was effectively a mutual parting of ways after the three-star wide receiver decided he wanted to visit other schools and the Hurricanes were able to replace him with fellow three-star wide receiver Landon Ibieta.
Coach Manny Diaz insists the relative lack of commitments isn’t worrying, decrying the “fake momentum” other schools have built in the summer by pressuring prospects to commit as soon as possible. Diaz and Miami, since the start of June, have planned to let players be patient in their decision making processes, knowing most of the Hurricanes’ top targets were eyeing commitment dates for July or later.
July will be a critical month for Miami — the Hurricanes need to start landing commitments eventually and four-star defensive lineman Zane Durant, four-star cornerbacks Jacolby Spells and Chris Graves, and three-star tackles Daughtry Richardson and Leyton Nelson have all scheduled commitments for this month — but just as many of its top targets aren’t planning to make a decision anytime soon.
Stewart is right at the front of this list. The No. 7 overall prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings for the 2022 recruiting class, Stewart has the luxury of waiting. Nearly every school will save a spot for a player like Stewart — a 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end — in its recruiting class.
The Hurricanes finished June feeling good about where it stands in Stewart’s recruitment, a program source told the Miami Herald, but they know there could be a long way to go.
“I’m just taking it day by day,” Stewart said. “I want to chill, relax.”
