Miami football 2024 DL class ranked fifth nationally
Commitments from four-star defensive ends Marquise Lightfoot and Elias Rudolph, tackle Artavius Jones and three-star end Daylen Russell has the 2024 defensive line class for the Miami football program ranked fifth nationally by Rivals.com. Georgia, Clemson, Oregon and Texas are the four programs ranked ahead of Miami.
Rivals ranks Lightfoot as the 78th overall prospect, the third player in Illinois and the fourth weakside DE in the 2024 Class. Miami surprisingly earned a commitment from Lightfoot last month after the consensus projections expected him to commit to Ohio State. Lightfoot is the highest-rated 2024 Miami commit defensively.
Rudolph is the 225th-ranked prospect, 35th player in Ohio and 13th WDE for 2024. Miami was able to flip Rudolph from Michigan last week. This is the second year in a row, Miami has flipped a defensive lineman from Michigan. Collins Acheampong signed with Miami after originally committing to Michigan.
Jones provides Miami with a big body at 6’4 and 305 pounds to anchor the middle of the DL. Jones is not ranked in the Rivals 250. Jones is the 92nd-ranked player in Florida and 12th DT in the 2024 class by Rivals. The Miami football program received a commitment from Jones last month.
Russell is the 75th-ranked player in Florida and the 36th DT. Russell was one of the earliest commits in the 2024 Miami class when he announced his decision in May. At 6’1 and 235 pounds, Russell needs to fill out more in college. Russell had 51 tackles, six tackles for loss and seven sacks in 2022 per Max Preps.
Miami might not be finished receiving commitments from elite DL prospects. Five-star DL David Stone and Kamarion Franklin are making their commitment announcements later this month. A commitment from either Franklin or Stone could propel Miami to the best 2024 DL class.
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Mario Cristobal has made the DL a priority in the 2024 class with defensive coordinator Lance Guidry and position coaches Jason Taylor and Joe Salave’a. Having a top-five DL class comes after Miami signed arguably the best offensive line class in 2023. Expect the trenches to continue being a priority for Miami under Cristobal.