Miami football in top programs for seven 2023 5-star prospects

The Miami football program ranks in the top programs for seven 2023 five-star prospects according to 247 Sports.Com. Defensive tackle Leonard Taylor and safety James Williams are the only five-star players Miami has signed since 2015. The hiring of Mario Cristobal is expected to change that.

Cristobal is known as an elite recruiter. In three full classes at Oregon, the Ducks averaged the 8.3 class nationally under Cristobal. Oregon signed three five-star players in the Class of 2020 and expected high 2022 NFL Draft pick, Kayvon Thibodeaux, in 2019. That’s double the Miami amount over the past seven classes.

The Miami football program is competing for cornerback Cormani McClain, quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava, linebacker Anthony Hill, athlete Samuel M’Pemba, edge rusher Malik Bryant, wide receiver Jalen Brown and defensive lineman Jayden Wayne. The players are listed in the order they are ranked in the 2023 Class.

Miami is in the running for several other players on the 247 Sports list. Brown is the key player of those listed as he attends Gulliver High School three miles from the Miami campus. At 6’1, 170 pounds, Brown has good length and elite speed but will need to add muscle to his frame. Brown exploded as a junior in 2021.

In his first two years of high school, Brown had 33 receptions for 962 yards and 11 TDs. As a junior in 2021, Brown had 56 receptions for 1,033 yards and matched the 11 TDs he had in his first two seasons. Miami would gain a player who can stretch the field if they can sign Brown. Brown also runs track.

Miami has quickly gotten on the radar of the top recruits in the Class of 2023 with the hiring of Cristobal. Many national analysts expect recruiting to become more difficult in South Florida with Cristobal at Miami. With how well he recruited at Oregon, Cristobal will now have the most elite talent nationally in South Florida.

In less than two months, Cristobal was able to sign several top 100 players who were not previously committed to Miami before he was hired. In a full recruiting cycle, Cristobal and his staff should be able to improve on their 15th ranked 2022 class and potentially land in the top 10 for 2023.