Miami Hurricanes Recruiting: Biggest Wins And Losses in 2015 Recruiting Cycle

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National Signing Day is coming to a close, and now it’s time to get ready for Spring Football and reflect on some of the recruits the Miami Hurricanes were able to get, and the ones that got away. The 2015 cycle wasn’t as good for the Canes as previous years — which definitely has to do with the 6-7 performance on the field — but it was still a pretty solid class that filled some needs for Miami.

Just like in every recruiting cycle, there are players that you landed late, and there are some that you wanted really badly but ended up signing to another school. The 2015 class was no different.

I’m going to go through three players who were great gets by the Miami staff, and then go to three players in which I wanted really badly, and the Canes came away just short for them. Don’t be afraid to agree/disagree in the comments below.

Recruiting Wins

Kendrick Norton

Landing defensive tackles is something this current staff has struggled with, but they were able to land high three-star Kendrick Norton on Wednesday. Norton was always linked to the Hurricanes, but a late push by Will Muschamp and the Auburn Tigers got people a lot more worried. Up until last night, the Canes felt cautiously optimistic to land Norton, and he made his decision official at about 2:30 on Wednesday. Norton is a big get for the Hurricanes, and beating an SEC team is always good, especially when it’s for one of your top targets.

Sheldrick Redwine

Sheldrick Redwine was a Louisville commit heading into his Wednesday presentation, but a late offer and visit by the hometown Hurricanes ultimately landed the commitment of the three-star defensive back. Redwine is from Killian high school in Miami, and landing a local cornerback to join Michael Jackson was something the staff absolutely needed to do. Redwine is a tall, physical corner who will be able to compete with some of the bigger wide receivers in the ACC. Pulling Redwine was a huge win for the Hurricanes, and is a big part of a nice haul for the Canes in the secondary.

Gerald Willis III

Gerald Willis isn’t an incoming freshman, but Miami announced his transfer on National Signing Day, and it was one, if not the best, recruiting win of the day for the Canes. Willis was kicked out of Florida after multiple altercations with his teammates, and getting kicked out of the game against Florida State after hitting Jameis Winston. As problematic as Willis is off the field, he’s an even bigger problem on the field. The former five-star recruit will have to sit out a year, and if he can keep his head straight for a year, Miami will have landed a huge defensive tackle, which is much-needed.

Recruiting Losses

Jordan Scarlett

Well, this one was an easy one if, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has Scarlett at the top of the “what if” list. Scarlett was committed to Miami for 6 months, and ultimately de-committed with four days left until National Signing Day. Not only did Scarlett break up with the Canes, but also he married his side piece — the Florida Gators. This is one player that could easily go on and have a great collegiate career, and four years from now, we’ll be saying “what if”.

Terrell Chatman 

Terrell Chatman was my favorite wide receiver in this class, and it hurts to not get his fax on National Signing Day. Chatman still hasn’t decided because the stress of NSD got to him, but what we do know, is that he won’t be coming to Miami. Chatman eliminated Miami and Georgia, and the one-time Miami commit will decide soon between TCU and Arizona State. The visions we all had of Brad Kaaya throwing to Chatman are no longer real, and that makes me really, really sad. But, you win some, and you lose some.

Dexter Williams

Dexter Williams was considered a Florida lean at the beginning, but after committing during a visit in the spring, it seemed that Williams was Miami’s to lose. And they lost. Williams and the staff’s communication was poor specifically down the stretch. When Miami feared that they would lose Jordan Scarlett, they got back to targeting Williams. The four-star running back always talked about how much he loved Miami, but the damage had been done. Notre Dame was too far ahead, and although a late push by Miami made it closer than many people think, this was a recruit Miami should’ve landed in this class.

Let us know who were some of your recruiting wins/losses.