Miami football named finalist by 3-star OG Ross Maseuli, how he fits in

Three-star two-way 2021 lineman Ross Maseuli of Santa Ana, California has named the Miami football program as one of five finalists in his recruitment.

Three-star lineman Ross Maseuli who plays guard on the offensive line and nose tackle on the defensive line has named the Miami football program as a finalist with Alabama, Hawaii, Michigan and USC. Hawaii is likely a finalist due to Maseuli’s Polynesian roots. The lineman has an invite to the Polynesian Bowl.

Maseuli is the 765th ranked player, 39th ranked offensive guard and 67th ranked player in California in the Class of 2021. In college, Maseuli will almost certainly play on the offensive line. Miami offensive line coach Garin Justice has been the primary recruiter for Maseuli. Naming Miami came as somewhat of a surprise.

On his 247Sports profile, Alabama, Michigan and USC are the three schools listed as warm for Maseuli. Miami could sneak in and add their fourth offensive line recruit to their 2021 Class. Maseuli told 247 Sports that Miami was one of his favorite teams growing up and that he looked up to Ed Reed and Ray Lewis.

Reed who was named the chief of staff for the Miami football program earlier this year could play a role in the recruitment of Maseuli. Off-site recruiting is not allowed for a chief of staff but would be allowed to meet with players on campus. The moratorium on in-person recruiting through August 31 has made that irrelevant.

"“Miami was one of my childhood favorite schools growing up…I actually had an official visit set up to Miami in the spring but had to re-schedule it due to Covid and all recruiting trips being canceled. That’s a school I’ve always followed because of all the great players that have come out of their program.Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are two of my all time favorite NFL players since the Cleveland Browns are my favorite NFL team so I’m really excited to get out there and see the school up close. It’s been cool, I’m talking with the whole staff basically.They like me as an offensive lineman so I’m talking with coach Justice and I’ve talked with coach Diaz too. I’m really excited about Miami and building a relationship with them.”"

It appears from the comments Maseuli made that Miami will be one of his five official visits once those are reinstated. At 6’2.5 350 pounds, Maseuli has the size to compete at the next level. He will probably have to work on conditioning and lose weight before being able to contribute.

Miami currently has four-star guard Laurence Seymore in addition to four-star tackle and three-star center Ryan Rodriguez commited for 2021. Greg Biggins of 247 Sports said of Maseuli He was a smash mouth, road grader of an offensive lineman and just dominated opposing players at the point of attack.”