Miami football recruiting expects June surge per Manny Diaz

Head coach Manny Diaz expects a surge of commits to the Miami football program once the moratorium on official campus visits is lifted on June 1. The NCAA extended the dead period of in-person recruiting through May 31 earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Diaz discussed recruiting with reporters via Zoom on Tuesday.

Four-star quarterback Jacurri Brown is the only commit the Miami football program has in the Class of 2022. Miami lost 2022 defensive linemen Brandon Cleveland and Jamaal Johnson earlier this year. Diaz and his staff have taken a more deliberate approach in this recruiting cycle. Diaz expects that to change in June.

In the Tuesday morning Zoom meeting, Diaz stated he expects an unprecedented June. Recruits will be allowed to take official visits and meet face to face with coaching staffs for the first time since the dead period was enacted in March 2020. The moratorium is expected to be lifted starting June 1

Several high-level Miami prospects have already scheduled their official visits to Coral Gables in June with the expectation that the dead period will be lifted. Diaz is hopeful that recruits will be able to visit in June and the Miami football staff is planning with that as the expectation. Miami expects to host more recruits in June than usual.

"“Everybody is planning like that’s going to be the case…This June will be a different June than any other June. We will host more. You have to adjust to the situation and be flexible.”"

Having Brown committed to the 2022 class is a good start. Miami did not have their QB in the Class of 2021 until Jake Garcia signed on Early National Signing Day in December. Diaz has the right approach focusing on who signs with Miami in December and not being concerned with who is committed in April.

"“We know that Signing Day is what matters…There’s some people that sometimes do some things to create fake momentum in recruiting. It’s what happens when the faxes come in, and that’s really what matters. The most important thing that matters is how you develop them when they show up.Great players want to play with great players,” Diaz said, “and certainly everybody knows that when Miami has a great quarterback, Miami competes for championships. That’s just been true historically.”"

Diaz spoke above about the momentum in recruiting and how some programs accept commits more for cosmetic reasons. Stockpiling prospects who later de-committed was far too frequent for Miami in past recruiting classes was far too often of an occurrence for the Hurricanes. Diaz has made rules to change that.

Miami has been able to reduce the de-commits from their recent recruiting classes. The four highest-ranked de-commits from the 2021 Class eventually re-committed and signed with Miami. Miami can quickly climb up the rankings in the 2022 Class once players are on campus in June and commit to the Hurricanes.