Miami football impressing 2022 top 5 recruit Shemar Stewart

The fourth-ranked recruit in the 247 Sports composite rankings, defensive end Shemar Stewart is impressed with the recruiting and fanbase for the Miami football program.

Shemar Stewart is the fourth-ranked player overall and the top-ranked strongside defensive end and player in Florida in the Class of 2022. Stewart is one of the top priorities for the Miami football program for 2022. A five-star recruit, Stewart would be another huge local signing for Manny Diaz and the Hurricanes.

September 1 is the first day that college coaches can electronically communicate with juniors. Diaz has spoken about the importance of building relationships with recruits. That begins far earlier than September 1 of a recruit’s junior year. Miami has secured high-level recruits in the classes of 2020 and 2021 because of those relationships.

According to 247Sports, Stewart has heard from Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan State, LSU and Penn State on Tuesday. One crystal ball projects Stewart to eventually commit to LSU. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, and Penn State are the teams listed as the leaders for Stewart.

The 2022 Miami football class has two commits and is currently ranked 11th nationally. Four-star defensive tackle Brandon Cleveland from Tampa and three-star SDE Jamal Johnson are the lone commits for the Hurricanes in 2022. The 2021 Miami recruiting class currently ranks eighth. Stewart spoke to Rivals.Com.

"ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH MIAMI“I feel great about Miami right to be honest. They’ve been doing a great job of recruiting me.”WHAT HE LIKES ABOUT MIAMI“It’s pretty clear that Coach Manny Diaz has it figured out now down there. He’s getting recruits. I think things are about to get a lot better for them and will be even better by the time I get there — if I go there. Plus, Miami has crazy fans. I love it. They’re just crazy.”"

Miami is very much in the mix for Stewart. If the Hurricanes receive a commitment from Stewart and can sign him for 2021 that would be the second straight class Miami has a top 10 defensive lineman. Five-star DT Leonard Taylor is committed to Miami for 2021. Miami is building one of the best defensive lines in college football.

Rivals projects that LSU and Miami as the early favorites to receive a commitment from Stewart. The likelihood is that Steward will not announce a commitment soon. The expectation should be that Stewart will take his official visits when the NCAA reinstates allowing recruits on campus.

"RIVALS REACTION: It’s still early in Stewart’s recruitment, so guesses about where the Rivals100 defensive end may land are based on very little. That said, Miami and LSU seem to be the current frontrunners….For now, however, the Hurricanes and Tigers seem to be top of mind."

Miami also has a commit from four-star DL Jabari Ismael and Savion Collins and athletes, five-star Chase Smith and James Williams. Manny Diaz built an elite defense as the Miami defensive coordinator from 2016-2018. The level of play from Miami defensively continued during the 2019 season.

Co-defensive coordinators Blake Baker and Ephraim Banda led Miami to a top 25 finish in six categories in 2019. Baker and Banda have also had an impact on recruiting elite players on defense. Stewart and other recruits are clearly noticing what the Hurricanes are building for the future defensively.