Miami football roster compared to other ACC schools for 2020

In a thorough examination of the Miami football roster for 2020, the Hurricanes have improved their talent from 2019. The 2020 signing class provides Miami with more talent entering the 2020 season.

The Miami football team was third in graded talent in the ACC according to where a player was rated when he signed out of high school as listed by 247Sports. The average Miami football player graded 88.26 in 2019. The Hurricanes enter the 2020 season with the 72 players Canes Warning reviewed at an 89.62 average.

In 247Sports 2019 rankings it came as a surprise to see Florida State, not Clemson ranked at the top of the ACC. The Seminoles average player graded out at 89.8. With the loss of running back Cam Akers, some other stars and their 2020 recruiting class ranked 22nd, Florida State’s average rating will come down.

North Carolina will likely see the most improvement in the talent on their roster after signing the nation’s 19th ranked class in 2019 and their 2021 class currently ranked third nationally and first in the ACC. Miami currently has the nation’s ninth-ranked recruiting class and is third in the ACC behind UNC and Clemson.

A player’s rating is far more indicative of his talent than the star system. The rating is far more specific and does not create as wide of a gap between a five, four, three-star player or lower. The average Miami football player looking ahead to the 2020 season is 3.53 stars. Miami had two five-stars in 2019, 32 four and 37 three-star players.

Michigan Blogger Steve Deace ranked every roster for all power five teams plus Notre Dame. He only listed the top 25 nationally plus the Big Ten. Clemson has the seventh most talented roster, Notre Dame 11th and UNC is tied for 23rd according to Deace among ACC teams plus Notre Dame who plays five ACC teams annually.

Deace added all the teams’ players’ star rating system together and used the total number to determine talent. That is a good start but his system is flawed. USC came in at 25th with 273 points. The Miami roster by our calculations would have 254 points by adding all the star ratings together.

Deace recorded North Carolina with 275 points. There is a frequent assumption by the public that Miami has the most talent of any roster in the ACC Coastal. Using 247’s method that was true by a wide margin in 2019. Miami was closer to Clemson and Florida State in talent than they were to anyone else in the ACC.

With Mack Brown in his second tenure at North Carolina that is going to change over the next few years. Virginia Tech is always formidable. Manny Diaz and the Miami football staff have to continue to stack top 20 signing classes on top of each other and develop those players. Currently, the Miami roster is average to good.