Recruiting misses are common for every college program in the country, but a select few remain memorable for the Miami Hurricanes and would have altered the course of college football history.
Miami's "what-if" list features numerous candidates who would have changed the Canes' fortunes.
Honorable mentions
Patrick Peterson was originally committed to the Hurricanes before establishing himself as a premier defensive back in college football at LSU, and Amari Cooper departed Miami Northwestern for Alabama, subsequently developing into a Biletnikoff Award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist.
3 biggest recruiting what-ifs that could have changed Miami football history
Florida State RB Dalvin Cook (High School Class of 2014)
Dalvin Cook is one of the more painful recruiting misses for Miami as he was a local superstar before choosing to go to a rival.
Cook's recruitment bounced from Clemson to Florida before he finally settled on Florida State. Because he planned to enroll early, an NCAA rule allowed him to sign nonbinding financial-aid agreements with multiple schools. Cook signed them with Florida, Florida State and Miami before choosing the Seminoles on New Year's Eve back in 2013.
Fun fact: His Miami Central teammate, Joe Yearby, actually ended up with the Hurricanes.
As a freshman in 2014, Cook scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:05 remaining as Florida State erased a 16-point deficit and beat Miami 30-26. One year later, he destroyed the Hurricanes for 222 rushing yards, 269 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in a 29-24 FSU victory. His 23-yard touchdown run with 6:44 remaining was the winning score. Cook then also went on to rush for 150 yards while catching a 59-yard touchdown pass in Florida State's 20-19 win in 2016.
The Seminoles beat Miami in all three seasons of Cook's college career, with each victory coming by five points or fewer. He eventually left Tallahassee as Florida State's career rushing leader with 4,464 yards and 46 rushing touchdowns. Remove him from FSU and put him in Miami's backfield, and some of the defining rivalry losses are taken off the board in the Al Golden and early Mark Richt years of the program.
Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater (High School Class of 2011)
Teddy Bridgewater, the Miami Northwestern quarterback at the time, made an early commitment to the Hurricanes and developed a close relationship with Randy Shannon. Bridgewater began reconsidering before Shannon was fired in November 2010, decommitted in early December and eventually chose Louisville in part because he believed he could compete for the starting job immediately.
Bridgewater finished his Louisville career with 9,817 passing yards and 72 passing touchdowns. He led the Cardinals to a Sugar Bowl victory over No. 2 Florida after the 2012 season and finished 12-1 as a junior in 2013. In his final college game, Bridgewater threw for a career-high 447 yards and three touchdowns while running for another score in Louisville's 36-9 demolition of the Hurricanes in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
Miami went 6-6 in 2011, 7-5 in 2012 and 9-4 in 2013. Bridgewater would have entered the program with Jacory Harris nearing the end of his career and given Miami an elite quarterback option during the first three seasons of Golden's tenure.
Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith (High School Class of 2024)
Jeremiah Smith was committed to Ohio State throughout the 2024 recruiting cycle, but Miami tried its best to keep him home. Unfortunately, Mario Cristobal and the Canes hadn't shown enough success on the field to flip him and Smith immediately became one of college football's best players.
As a true freshman, he caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns while helping Ohio State win the national championship. He followed that with 87 catches for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025. Through two seasons, Smith has 163 receptions for 2,558 yards and 27 receiving touchdowns, the most receiving yards and touchdowns by a Big Ten player over his first two college seasons.
Now imagine his freshman/sophomore seasons happening in Coral Gables.
Miami finished the 2024 regular season 10-2 and led the nation in both scoring and total offense, but its playoff hopes disappeared after losses by five points at Georgia Tech and four points at Syracuse. Miami certainly did not lose those games because it lacked offense, and adding Smith would not have fixed the defensive problems that hurt that team. But putting one of the best freshman receivers college football has ever seen into an offense already featuring Cam Ward would have been cinema.
And then in 2025, with Miami making a run to the national championship game, Smith would have probably put the Canes over the top against Indiana. That's also not mentioning the fact that Smith still has this season to dominate college football... and he could have done it with Miami. Smith truly is the greatest Miami what-if in its history.
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