The information for this Miami Hurricanes football recruiting National Signing Day preview is provided by the Seventh Floor Blog, SB Nation’s Miami Hurricanes site. The Seventh Floor will be providing updates on the recruits that Canes fans will be interested in. Join the Seventh Floor for what should be a fun time, and as always, you can keep abreast of Canes news and info through our Twitter page @TheSeventhFloor.
Miami Football Recruiting: National Signing Day Commitments, Needs & Targets
As always, Miami’s bringing in talent this year, but the focus of the unique 2012 class has to be on quantity first. Visit Miami blog The 7th Floor.
Looking for National Signing Day coverage of other teams or recruits? Head to SB Nation College Football Recruiting.
Miami is bringing in an enormous recruiting class. The ‘Canes will likely take their full allotment of 25 players for the current class, and have already been able to count back an additional eight to last year’s cycle, allowing Miami to enroll as many as 33 new scholarship players. To say that the face of this roster is changing would be an understatement.
Miami’s class is comprised of some stars and a lot of players who do not hold legitimate offers from top BCS programs. When grading the class against its peers, it does not fare well, with an average star rating somewhere around 30th. But when grading on a curve, which is necessary considering the pending NCAA sanctions against the ‘Canes for a booster giving tens of thousands of dollars to players in the form of cash, gifts and trips over the course of a decade, Golden is doing a great job.
Miami’s class is headlined by Randy “Duke” Johnson, a great running back and athlete out of Miami. He was dominant in the state playoffs and is one of the best runners in the history of the city, and a legitimate five-star. Joining him is four-star defensive end/outside linebacker Tyriq McCord, who held offers from USC and Georgia. Also in the fold is four-star linebacker Raphael Kirby, four-star offensive lineman Ereck Flowers, four-star defensive back Deon Bush, four-star athlete Anjelo Jean-Louis, four-star linebacker Reggie Northrup and four-star defensive end Jelani Hamilton. Jean-Louis, however is not expected to qualify, Northrup is expected to flip to Florida State on signing day now that the Seminoles have room, and Hamilton had a major knee injury during his senior year.
Then there are 21 players rated three-stars or fewer that Miami hopes will improve a lot. They include cornerback Antonio Crawford, a former Georgia Tech commitment, and receiver Malcolm Lewis of Miramar, Fla. Offensive lineman Danny Isidora is also a nice pickup. Many of these players, however, are unknowns and are not the type of player that Miami would typically offer if the NCAA cloud was not hanging over its head.
There are still several major prospects left on the board for the Hurricanes. The major one is obviously Tracy Howard, the five-star cornerback out of Miramar, Fla. Can the ‘Canes keep him home?
Running back Davante Borque, a four-star Tennessee commitment out of Louisiana is still considering the Canes. Defensive end Darius Hamilton is also looking at Miami. The four-star was thought to be a lock to Rutgers, but then the Schiano departure occurred, and now his decision is very much up in the air. Defensive tackle Dequan Ivery is thought to be favoring Louisville, but Miami may be able to pull the two-star tackle. Offensive tackle Avery Young is also a major longshot, but has not eliminated Miami.
