Head coach Manny Diaz loves the progress the Miami football program is making in Dade and Broward counties. Twelve of the 15 players currently commited to Miami for 2021 are from Dade or Broward counties.
When Manny Diaz was hired in December 2018 to replace Mark Richt as the Miami football coach, he mentioned the Hurricanes getting back to securing Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties as their foundation in recruiting. Twelve of the 15 commits to Miami for 2021 recruiting class are from Dade or Broward counties.
Two of the other three, linebacker Deshawn Troutman and tight end Elijah Arroyo from the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas spent a good portion of their upbringings in Dade county. During an appearance on the Joe Rose Show on Thursday morning, Diaz carefully discussed how well his staff is recruiting in South Florida.
College coaches are not allowed to discuss commits until they officially sign a National Letter of Intent. The early National Signing Day in 2020 is December 18-20. The only commit to the 2021 Miami recruiting class without a connection to South Florida is three-star athlete Malik Curtis from Fort Myers.
The Diaz interview with Rose and co-host Zach Krantz was transcribed by
Susan Miller-Degnan of the Miami Herald
and
Diaz discussed the numbers in the Hurricanes 2021 class, the importance of relationships in recruiting, the progress the Miami staff is making in recruiting and the process.
"“All you do is look at the numbers, right? Whatever amount of commits we have, I think every one of them except for three are from Dade and Broward and two of the three that aren’t from Dade and Broward lived in Dade and Broward when they were young. I mean fact is fact and we’re not done.We’re still a long way from signing day but we’re not done. We’re always going to start off at home and I think we’re making great progress. We’re very encouraged with the way recruiting is going. I think our staff is doing a fantastic job, our recruiting staff and our coaches.As you mentioned, it’s been sort of this online video conferencing and that’s been unusual, but you know I think there’s been a lot of good to it too. Sales is people. The one thing you can’t fake over time is just who you are as a person, you know? So, it’s easy for a recruit to sometimes get wow’d by a facility or a thing.You know, a campus, whatever it is, but ultimately you’re choosing the people who you trust to get the most out of you. I’m blessed that I work with a great staff of people who I think their personalities come through the Zoom screen and I think the parents are starting to get it.”"
The 2021 Miami class is evolving. Four-star wide receiver Romello Brinson is announcing his commitment on Saturday and it’s expected to be Miami. Andrew Ivins of Inside the U updated his crystal ball for Brinson on Friday afternoon and changed it from Texas A&M to Miami. Bulldawg Illustrated also projects Brinson to Miami.
Brinson would be the latest Miami high-level recruit to commit to the Hurricanes. Four-star safety Kamren Kinchens is the next big-time Miami recruit strongly considering the Hurricanes has a July 11 commitment date set. Brinson would be the fourth Miami commit from Miami Northwestern and Kinchens could be the fifth.