National Summary on final 2023 Miami football class

The Miami football program finished as the top class in the ACC after the traditional National Signing Day concluded on Wednesday. Brian Dohn of 247 Sports examined the “Class rankings, top prospects, incoming QBs: 2023 ACC Signing Day Superlatives” in a post on Wednesday afternoon.

Miami finished with the seventh class nationally and had the highest-average signee ranking in the ACC. Offensive tackles Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola provided Miami with the only Five-star signees in the same class in the ACC. Mauigoa and Okunlola will anchor the Miami offensive line for the next three years.

Mario Cristobal was hired by the Miami football program in part because of his relentlessness as a recruiter. In just about 14 months, Cristobal has proven his ability as a recruiter. Cristobal has backed up his claim by preaching the importance of controlling the line of scrimmage. Miami has thrived signing linemen under Cristobal.

Mauigoa and Okunlola were not the blue-chip linemen Miami signed in the two classes under Cristobal. Miami signed high four-star defensive linemen Cyrus Moss and Nyjalik Kelly in the 2022 class and Collins Acheampong, Rueben Bain and Jayden Wayne in 2023. Bain is one of the most productive prospects in the 2023 class.

"Best Class“There is little doubt that Miami coach Mario Cristobal is a high-level recruiter and he showed that again in his first full cycle with the Hurricanes. Miami’s class sits seventh nationally and it’s the top class in the ACC. It’s highlight by high-end talent along the line of scrimmage that starts with the top two offensive tackles in the nation.The ACC has signed four five-star prospects and two of them are in Miami’s class. Bradenton (Fla.) IMG offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa and Braintree (Mass.) Thayer offensive tackle Samson Okunlola are the No. 10 and No. 23 players in the country, respectively.However, the key to Miami’s recruiting success has been focusing on the state of Florida. Of the 25 players in the class, 17 are from the Sunshine State. The top talent producer in the state, IMG, was also a home for future Hurricanes.In addition to Mauigoa, Miami landed edge rusher Jayden Wayne, tight end Riley Williams and offensive line Antonio Tripp from the the high school.”Top ProspectFrancis Mauigoa, an offensive tackle from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG, is the No. 10 player in the nation and No. 2 offensive tackle. He is a big-time get for the Hurricanes and signing him keeps him in a familiar spot after he moved around early in his high school career.The 6-foot-5.5, 330 pound Mauigoa is from American Samoa and grew up playing club volleyball. He spent his freshman season at San Bernardino (Calif.) Aquinas before moving home to play at Pago Pago (American Samoa) Tafuna as a sophomore. Eventually, he landed at IMG for his junior and senior seasons.”"

Miami has also signed elite running backs Tre’Vonte Citizen in the 2022 class and Mark Fletcher and Chris Johnson in the 2023 class. Cristobal and his staff have missed on several elite outside wide receivers in the 2023 class. Dohn profiling the linemen is a trend that has taken hold for two Miami football classes under Cristobal.

In addition to Williams, Miami also signed four-star TE Jaleel Skinner in the 2022 class. Kelly and Skinner both showed their potential in limited playing time in 2022. Miami could lean on several freshmen in 2023, especially Mauigoa and Okunlola who could both start this fall. Cristobal does things his way and on his timetable.

Cristobal has proven he can build Miami into one of the best programs for recruiting nationally. Miami has to be able to sign elite WRs to truly reach the next level in recruiting and on the field. The Hurricanes have also been unable to sign any elite transfer WRs under Cristobal. That is the next step for Miami in recruiting.