Two key Miami football prospects on national top 25 high schools teams

Two top Miami football prospects, four-stars, offensive tackle Julian Armella of fifth-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale and linebacker Wesley Bissainthe of 16th ranked Miami Central are the best players on their teams. Max Preps ranked the top 25 teams. The player rankings are from 247Sports.Com

Max Preps updated their 2021 High School National Top 25 today. The 247 analysis was posted on Tuesday. Other local teams in the top 25 are American Heritage who is ranked 21st nationally and Cardinal Gibbons who is 22nd. Miami Northwestern and Columbus were included in the Max Preps Top 50 2021 high school teams.

Armella is the 124th ranked player, 13th ranked offensive tackle and 15th in Florida in the Class of 2022. One crystal ball from 247 Sports National Expert Bud Elliott projects Armella to Florida State. Alabama, Clemson and Florida are also heavily involved in the recruitment for Armella.

Bissainthe is the 175th ranked player, 19th LB and 20th in Florida. Miami is the projected leader to receive a commitment from Bissainthe. The Hurricanes received their first commitment from a defensive player over the weekend from four-star cornerback Khamauri Rogers. The next few commits should be on defense.

"“Top247 offensive tackle Julian Armella leads the impressive list of prospects at St. Thomas Aquinas, a long-time staple of high-level football and prospect development.LSU, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Miami and Ohio State are all in the mix for the 6-foot-6, 300-pound Armella, who spent his junior season at Miami Columbus. His father, Enzo Armella, played nose guard at Florida State in the early 1990s.He made an official visit to LSU during the first weekend of June and prior to that was at Florida State and Miami for unofficial visits. He has not set a date for a commitment.”"

A commitment from Armella would be a huge addition to the Miami football roster. The Hurricanes could lose as many as six OL after the 2021 season. Miami has to build depth upfront in the next two recruiting classes. The Miami OL needs to upgrade the talent over what there has been in recent years. More blue chips are needed.

"“Wesley Bissainthe, who is the No. 14 linebacker in 2022, is the top-rated player at Miami Central. He’s a new-age linebacker with great length and agility. Bissainthe made official visits to West Virginia, Penn State and Miami, and he also has Florida State high on his list, and getting him out of the state could prove tough for the schools.”"

Linebacker is another position that Miami received subpar play at during the 2020 season. The Hurricanes were uncharacteristically inconsistent against the run in 2020. There are no young blue-chip LBs currently on the Miami football roster. Gaining a commitment from Bissainthe would improve the Miami LBs.

Many 2021 Miami signees played on successful teams. Signing Armella and Bissainthe from elite high school teams will help a Hurricanes program become an elite program with players who don’t remember Miami as a national championship contender. Building a winning culture in the Miami football program is critical to Manny Diaz.