Mario Cristobal being hired saved the 2022 signing class for the Miami football program. The Hurricanes 2022 class was ranked in the 70s when Cristobal was hired in December. Miami rose to15th nationally with several top 100 signees after Cristobal was hired. Miami averaged 15th nationally from 2017 through 2021.
The Hurricanes are just one of 22 FBS programs nationally to sign a top 25 class in each of the past five recruiting cycles. Miami signed the 13th ranked class in 2017, eighth in 2018, 28th in 2019, 13th in 2020 and 12th in 2021. Florida State who ranked 17th and North Carolina who was 21st were other ACC teams listed.
Miami signed the third-highest ranked 2022 Class. Clemson and North Carolina signed the 10th and 11th ranked classes nationally and the top two in the ACC. With Cristobal going head to head against Mack Brown in the ACC Coastal Miami will become far more competitive on the field and the recruiting trail.
With Florida State trending down on and off the field over the last five years, Cristobal should provide Miami with a better chance of signing the elite recruits particularly in South Florida and throughout the sunshine state. Florida signed the 16th ranked class nationally in 2022 and Florida State was 20th.
Top 2022 Recruiting Classes (247 composite):
— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) February 2, 2022
1 Texas A&M
2 Alabama
3 Georgia
4 Ohio St
5 Texas
6 ND
7 PSU
8 Michigan
9 UNC
10 OU
11 Clemson
12 Kentucky
13 Mizzou
14 Miami
15 Tennessee
16 LSU
17 Stanford
18 Auburn
19 FSU
20 UF
21 Indiana
22 Mich St
23 Ole Miss
24 Arizona
25 SCAR
Cristobal and the Miami football program signed quality to achieve the nation’s 15 ranked class. Miami didn’t need to stack their class with numbers to achieve a recruiting class full of fool’s gold. The Hurricanes 2022 signees have the seventh-highest average rating nationally and top in the ACC.
In the five-year average originally posted by Chip Patterson of CBS, Miami was able to finish with the 15th best average span from 2017-2021 despite the Hurricanes 2018 class finishing 28th. The 2018, 28th ranked class was the worst of the top 15 programs from 2017 through 2021.
Cristobal has routinely been praised as an elite recruiter. In the three full classes that Cristobal signed at Oregon, the Ducks averaged 8.3 nationally. At Oregon, Cristobal had to sign a near-complete recruiting class from out of state. At Miami, Cristobal will be able to do a significant amount of recruiting in South Florida.