4-Star edge Malik Bryant names Miami football finalist likes upside

Four-star edge rusher Malik Bryant named the Miami football program one of his five finalists. In an interview with On3Sports, Bryant said he knows Miami is on the uprise and he would like to in his words get his hand on that. The On3 consensus rankings have Bryant 40th overall, sixth edge rusher and fourth in Florida in 2023.

Alabama, Florida, UCF, and USC are the other four finalists for Bryant. Bryant plays at Orlando Jones. Three-star linebacker Bobby Washington is the only one of the five 2023 Miami commits on defense. Bryant would be a huge addition to the 2023 Miami football class. Alabama, Florida and Georgia are ahead of Miami per On3.

Miami has been loading up o edge rushers since Mario Cristobal was hired in December. The Hurricanes signed 2022 four-stars Nyjalik Kelly and Cyrus Moss. Edge rushers Mitchell Agude from UCLA and Ahkeem Mesidor from West Virginia transferred to Miami during the 2022 offseason.

Bryant was outstanding as a freshman at Jones in 2019 with 78 tackles and 14 sacks as they reached the 5A state championship game. After that outstanding season, Bryant transferred to IMG Academy. Bryant returned to Jones for his junior season in 2021 with 63 tackles, nine tackles for loss and four sacks.

"Miami“It’s kind of similar to Florida with a new staff…I feel like coach Cristobal knows what he’s doing with Miami, with the recruiting process. I don’t know if it will be this year or next, but I know Miami will be on the uprise and I want to get my hands on some of that. Coach played there, coached there and came back to coach.That’s where he’s destined to be and I know how much he cares about his players. And how they’re helping with NIL stuff, that stuck out to me as well.”"

Bryant was named an All-American during his one season at IMG. On3 projects Alabama with a 35.1 percent chance to sign Bryant, Florida at 25 percent, Georgia at 18.2 percent and Miami at 5.6 percent. Bryant would be the higher-ranked commit for Miami. Four-star WR Robby Washington is currently the highest commit.

Washington is the brother of Bobby and the 152nd ranked player, 27th ranked wide receiver and 30th in Florida in 2023. Bryant told 247 Sports that Alabama has separated itself and that he will announce a commitment on July 23. Miami currently has the 23rd ranked 2023 class according to On3.