LB Bissainthe wants ‘to make the crib great.’ Miami’s Cristobal has made him a priority
Wesley Bissainthe wore two state championship rings while he was honored as the Warren Henry Player of the Year on Friday and he envisions a future with plenty more.
The four-star linebacker can add another ring next Friday when Miami Central plays in the Class 5A championship with a shot at a threepeat, and then he wants to add a few more with the Miami Hurricanes.
“It’s just making the crib great again, getting it back to how it used be,” said Bissainthe, who orally committed to Miami on Saturday.
It was a strange time to be committing to the Hurricanes. Bissainthe and his family were very close with Manny Diaz and the now-former coach helped lock up the blue-chip recruit in the final days before he was fired Monday. He liked the idea of representing his hometown and trying to lead Miami back to glory, but he had no idea what even the immediate future held.
Last week, Bissainthe said his decision Saturday was going to be final, no matter what happened with the Hurricanes, and Mario Cristobal has done everything in his power to ensure Bissainthe sticks to his word. The new coach made his first recruiting stop at Central on Tuesday, just hours after he was formally introduced as Miami’s new coach, and then made an in-home visit with the 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior later in the evening.
“It was great, bringing the coaches, me talking to Cristobal, just feeling him out, seeing what type of guy he is,” said Bissainthe, who has to make a final decision next week because he plans to early enroll.
This weekend, Cristobal will have his best chance yet to make an impression on Florida’s top-ranked linebacker when Bissainthe makes the quick trip to Coral Gables for an official visit with the Hurricanes.
Bissainthe also took an official visit to Miami in June, but is allowed to take a second because of the coaching change. With the Florida State Seminoles trying to make one final push for Bissainthe, the Hurricanes will make sure they get to make the final sales pitch.
Still, Bissainthe wouldn’t go all the way as far as saying his decision is 100-percent final with the early signing period set to begin Wednesday. When asked whether he’s “all Miami” at this point, Bissainthe flashed a big grin and offered up only, “We’ll see.”
“I want to see what the new coaches are like, things like that,” said Bissainthe, who’s the No. 169 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2022. “It’s definitely going to be great.”
Aside from remaining uncertainty about the coaching staff and his still-budding relationship with Cristobal, Bissainthe likes pretty much everything about the Hurricanes — it’s why he committed to them even when he knew there was a good chance they’d fire Diaz a few days later.
Strikers coach Ishmael Aristide and cornerbacks coach DeMarcus Van Dyke led Bissainthe’s recruitment, and both were there at the Rockets’ practice and the in-home visit Tuesday to help assuage any of Bissainthe’s concerns. Bissainthe also likes Miami’s defense — although that could change, of course — and the path to early playing time in South Florida.
The progress the young Hurricanes made throughout the year helps, too. Bissainthe is good friends with several of Miami’s high-profile freshmen — in particular the group from rival Northwestern — and sees a team with a chance to compete for Atlantic Coast Conference titles as soon as next year.
“It’s just the love from the coaches and, being from Miami, I want to make the crib great,” Bissainthe said.
Of course, as mother Samantha Evans pointed out, “Manny recruited us,” and they just want to make sure Bissainthe will click with Cristobal in the same way.
Diaz had three years to build a relationship with Bissainthe, who has been a first-team all-county selection by the Miami Herald every season since he was a sophomore and one of the Hurricanes’ top targets since 2019. Cristobal, who never recruited Bissainthe while he was with the Oregon Ducks, has a little more than a week.
The first impression, though, has been strong.
“He’s a great guy, great coach,” Bissainthe said. “I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Cristobal hosts big official visitors
Bissainthe is one of four official visitors scheduled to be at Miami this weekend and one of two taking his second official visit with the Hurricanes.
▪ Chris Graves: The four-star athlete from Fort Myers Bishop Verot has been orally committed to Miami since July and is taking his second official visit after he made the trip across the state for one in June. The Hurricanes are recruiting the 6-1, 175-pound prospect as a cornerback and trying to fend off the Florida Gators, who hired cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond away from the LSU Tigers on Thursday. Graves is particularly close with Van Dyke and would like Miami to keep him. Since he can’t early enroll, he could hold off on signing until the traditional National Signing Day next year.
▪ Nyjalik Kelly: The four-star defensive lineman from Fort Lauderdale Dillard is Cristobal’s best chance at making one more blue-chip splash between now and Wednesday. Oregon was a serious contender for the 6-4, 240-pound lineman before Cristobal left for Miami and the coach made an in-home visit with him Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, just a few hours after his introductory news conference. Diaz and Co. had already started making a late push for him and got him to visit a handful of times in the last few weeks of the season. Now Cristobal will try to seal the deal and the Hurricanes feel really good about where they stand, a source said, and they now hold the edge in the 247Sports Crystal Ball.
▪ Kevin Coleman: The four-star wide receiver from St. Mary’s in St. Louis is a new target for Miami with Cristobal now at the helm. The Ducks were a contender to land the 5-11, 170-pound receiver, so Cristobal is now trying to sell him on his vision at a new school. Florida State currently leads in the Crystal Ball and Coleman plans to sign next week.
