Miami football signing 4-star WR Jacorey Brooks critical to top 10 2021 class

The 2021 recruiting class for the Miami football program currently ranks eighth in the country. Staying in the top 10 for the Hurricanes will largely depend on adding more players like five-star wide receiver Jacorey Brooks.

Consensus five-star wide receiver Jacorey Brooks could be considered the most important recruit in the Manny Diaz era up through the present. The Miami football program has not signed a five-star player since former running back Lorenzo Lingard signed in 2018. Adding Brooks would be a huge boost to Miami for 2021.

The 2021 Miami recruiting class is currently ranked eighth nationally. The Hurricanes are holding on by building the class around local, three-star star prospects. Four of the 13 committed players to Miami for 2021 are four-star players with the other nine graded out at three-stars. Miami has to add more top-end talent.

Only Iowa and Minnesota in the top 10 recruiting classes for 2021 have as few as four four-star players as Miami without having a five-star recruit committed to their class. If Manny Diaz and his staff want to keep the momentum going and stay in the top 10 they need to add more four and five-star signees.

When Diaz was hired in late December 2018 to replace his mentor Mark Richt he made a point of returning the State of Miami to the Hurricanes way of recruiting. Howard Schnellenberger who is credited with the revival of Miami football coined the State of Miami to keep players from Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties home.

In an article examining the most important uncommitted recruits in the 2021 recruiting class, The Athletic listed Brooks as the seventh most impactful uncommitted recruit for 2021. Signing Brooks is critical for Miami on the “National recruiting big board: The 10 most impactful uncommitted 2021 prospects.”

"7. WR Jacorey BrooksParticulars: Five-star prospect from Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington“The buzz: Miami has 13 commitments in a class that ranks No. 8 overall, so there has been some excitement about what Manny Diaz is doing.But if you look closer at the Hurricanes’ class, you’ll see only four of those commitments are four-star prospects, which means Miami may have a hard time holding onto a spot in the top 10 in the team rankings. If The U is ever going to be back under Diaz, it needs to land some top-end talent like Brooks.Rated the No. 23 player in the country, Brooks seems high on Alabama, Auburn and Florida, but if the Hurricanes show signs of improvement on the field, they may be able to keep this talented prospect home.”"

On Brooks 247Sports profile one prognosticator, Demetric Warren from OMSpirit, the Ole Miss website, projects Brooks to sign with Miami. On the list of schools Brooks is considering, he is projected as currently being most interested in Alabama, Auburn and Florida. That can change with a good season by Miami.

Miami currently has no WR committed for 2021. Chamon Meyeter is currently listed as an athlete after previously having been projected as a defensive end in college. Meteyer is expected to play WR for North Miami this fall and is thought to likely be a wideout in college. Running back Thad Franklin is Miami’s highest-ranked commit.

Four-star WRs Jacolby George and Romello Brinson are currently listed as warm on the Miami football program. If Miami misses out on Brooks signing either George, Brinson, or both will be critical for Miami staying in the top 10. A lot of what happens with the 2021 Miami singing class will depend on the Miami offense in 2020.