How new Miami assistant coaches are performing as recruiters

During the 2025 offseason, Mario Cristobal nearly completely remade his defensive coaching staff, with co-defensive line coach Jason Taylor the only returning assistant coach on defense from 2024. Cristobal hired four new defensive assistants to his 2025 staff.

Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Corey Hetherman, co-defensive line coach Damione Lewis, defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge and safeties coach Will Harris were hired by Cristobal during the 2025 offseason.

Hetherman is only credited with three-star linebacker Justin Edwards, who flipped from Rutgers to commit to Miami in the 2026 class. The 247Sports page for HethermanZ credits him with being the primary recruiter for four players throughout his career, with the other three during his one year at Minnesota.

Etheridge is the highest-ranked recruiter who is new to the Miami staff. The 247Sports rankings have Etheridge as the 27th best recruiter in the ACC and 164th nationally in the 2026 class. Etheride has helped Miami flip cornerbacks Jaelan Waters from Florida and Jontaviius Wyman from Georgia in the 2026 class.

Harris is the 238th-ranked recruiter nationally in the 2026 class. In the recruitment of Waters, Harris is listed as the primary recruiter and Etheridge as the secondary by 247Sports. Harris was credited with nine blue-chip players signing with Florida during his tenure on the Gators' staff.

Lewis was the Seattle Seahawks' defensive line coach from 2020-2023 before spending the 2024 season on the staff at Colorado in the same position. Colorado only signed 13 players in the 2025 class, with none of the three DL having a primary recruiter attributed to them by 247Sports.

Expect the impact of the new Miami assistant coaches to grow in the 2026 class and in the future. Being an elite recruiter is demanded by anyone working for Mario Cristobal. With the sixth-ranked 2026 class, Miami is trending to sign a top 10 group for the third time in four full recruiting cycles under Cristobal.