There is a lot of excitement built up about National Signing Day for Wednesday. A lot of amateur analysis will be made about how the Hurricanes signees impact the future for the Miami football program and what it means for Mark Richt.
The players that do or don’t sign with UM this week will won’t make or break the Surge ’19 Class. An SB Nation Article on December 18 focused on the fact that Miami’s decommits would have made a better class than the players currently committed to the Miami football program.
Some of those players committed in early 2016 as Freshmen. Miami also has some players that have flipped to the Hurricanes and others that the Miami coaching staff is still working. The most high profile player that flipped to Miami is four-star safety Keontra Smith who originally committed to Kentucky.
Three-star center Jakai Clark just recently committed to Miami after previously been committed to Illinois. Clark is a much-needed addition for the Hurricanes’ offensive line. Miami has since gotten a commitment from three-star offensive lineman Zion Nelson from South Carolina.
Three-star linebacker Samuel Brooks de-committed from the Hurricanes last week when Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz announced he was leaving Miami to take the Head Coaching job at Temple.
Brooks then recommitted to the Hurricanes when Outside Linebackers Jonathan Patke and Safeties Coach Ephraim Banda were named Co-Defensive Coordinators. Patke was the key for Brooks as he is projected as an outside linebacker in college. Brooks played defensive end at Miami Northwestern in High School.
The top-ranked player expected to sign early in Surge ’19 is four-star wide receiver Jeremiah Payton. Payton would join an already deep and young Miami wide receiver corps. The Hurricanes will definitely lose Senior Darrell Langham after this season. Unless someone transfers, all the other wide receivers return in 2019.
Several players the Hurricanes are recruiting will not make their decision or announce it publically until January or February. Some of the players will make their college choice known at the All-Star games in early January while others will announce where they will play college football on the traditional National Signing Day in February.
Five-Star wide receiver Jadon Haselwood, four-star defensive end Khris Bogle, cornerbacks Tyrique Stevenson and Martin Emerson (currently committed to Mississippi State) and defensive tackle Jared Hunte are expected to make their college choices known at the January College All-Star Games or during the February NSD.
No matter what happens with the Hurricanes this week there will still be opportunities to add to the Surge ’19 Class officially in February. Miami will miss out on some of the players they hope to get in this recruiting cycle. The Hurricanes might surprise with some other players they are able to sign now and in February.
No matter what happens we all have to remember that recruiting is a marathon, not a sprint. The fact is some of the lower rated players will exceed expectations and some of the higher rated players won’t live up to their rankings.