The re-commitment from record-setting running back Thad Franklin has vaulted the 2021 Miami football recruiting class from eighth nationally to fifth. Franklin made the announcement on Tuesday via Twitter.
The re-commitment on Tuesday from four-star running back Thad Franklin to the 2021 recruiting class was critical as the Miami football program continues to re-build after adding the 13th ranked recruiting class in the 2021 cycle. Franklin is the 187th ranked player overall, 11th ranked RB and 25th in Florida for 2021.
The re-commitment from Franklin will give the Miami football program one of the deepest rosters at RB in the country in 2021. Cam Harris could potentially return as he enters his junior season in 2020. Miami signed four-star RBs Don Chaney Jr. and Jaylan Knighton in the Category ’20 class.
Chaney will be out all of spring football with a shoulder injury. That will give Knighton and rising junior Robert Burns a chance to challenge Harris for carries. Franklin will potentially be the most productive RB on the Hurricanes roster in 2021. In the Florida state championship game, Franklin had 333 rushing yards and five TDs.
In three seasons of varsity football Franklin has run for 4,379 and 47 TDs. The addition of Franklin to the Miami Class of 2021 vaulted the Hurricanes from eighth to fifth in the national rankings. Franklin is the highest-rated player for Miami in the 2021 recruiting cycle. Franklin is rated slightly below Chaney and Knighton.
The addition of Franklin in 2021 will provide more size and give them more of a straight-ahead runner than Knighton or Chaney. Franklin is 6’0 215 pounds. Chaney and Knighton are both sub 6’0. Harris is likely to be the starting running back for the Hurricanes in 2020 at 5’10. At 5’11 219 pounds, Burns should be a short-yardage RB.
Franklin re-committed to the Miami football program seemingly under the impression that new Hurricanes offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee will be running the same offense that Franklin plays in at Chaminade-Madonna. Franklin was not that concerned about the potential depth chart at RB for the Hurricanes in 2021.
"“I haven’t seen the offense yet, but I will in March…[Coach Lashlee] was just basically saying that the spread offense he runs is basically like what we do at Chaminade-Madonna. So he was saying that I should like it. I think he’s a cool guy. I just want to see them use all the athletes in space and stuff like that.I think I can play wherever…I mean if a [depth chart] is deep I might have to look at something else, but it’s really not that deep at Miami.”"
Franklin is the ninth player committed to Miami for 2021. Only two of the Miami 2021 commits are skill position players on offense. Franklin is the first RB. The Hurricanes also have a commitment from three-star wide receiver Khalil Brantley from Miami Northwestern. Franklin is the ninth commitment for 2021.
All of the Hurricanes current commitments in the next recruiting cycle are from South Florida, That is key for Manny Diaz and his staff as they try to reinstate the State of Miami as a Hurricanes stronghold. Running backs coach Eric Hickson gets credit for Franklin re-committing to Miami.