Miami football longshot ahead of 5-star OL Josh Conerly Friday commitment

USC is the prohibitive favorite for five-star offensive lineman Josh Conerly who is announcing his commitment on Friday. The Miami football program is one of five finalists for Conerly. USC has 94.1 percent of the crystal balls from 247 Sports and is projected at 95.2 percent to the Trojans from On3.Com.

Miami signed three-star 2022 OL Anez Cooper and Matthew McCoy. The Hurricanes also added Oregon transfer OL Logan Sagapolu. Miami is the projected favorite to add Oregon transfer Jonathan Dennis who is originally from South Florida. Conerly is the highest uncommitted player in the Class of 2022.

Improving the play on the line of scrimmage is a priority for head coach Mario Cristobal and the Miami football program. Signing a player like Conerly can change the projection of the Hurricanes’ future. Cristobal being hired in December was a tough sell for Conerly so late in the recruiting process.

Conerly is from Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. Selling the over 3,000-mile distance is difficult under the best circumstances in recruiting. Michigan, Oklahoma and Oregon are the other finalists for Conerly. Michigan was thought to be the leader when Miami offensive coordinator Josh Gattis was there.

"MIAMI HURRICANES“Miami may have had the most ground to make up outside of Oregon — the ‘Canes didn’t really become a factor until the week of the early signing period in December, shortly after Mario Cristobal was hired. He offered Conerly soon after his hiring and the ‘Canes got an official visit from Conerly in January.Conerly has a good relationship with Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabel (SIC) and Miami getting an official visit was big for them, but it is likely a case of too little too late, and they’re probably on the outside looking in at this point.”"

Brandon Huffman of 247 Sports profiled the chances for each finalist and their chance to sign Conerly. Miami did not hire Gattis until February. With a full recruiting cycle for 2023, Cristobal and the Miami football staff will have greater opportunities to sign elite recruits. Miami signed the 15th best class in 2022.

Miami returns their entire OL in 2022. Cristobal and his staff have added depth to the OL during the offseason. The focus of recruiting moving forward will be continuing to develop depth and upgrade the talent on the OL. Cristobal and Mirabal leading the recruiting Miami should be successful in upgrading the OL.