Mario Cristobal and Miami are trending high for 4-star WR after recent update

Mario Cristobal has been the king of "flip season" thus far, and he might have another one up his sleeve for the Miami Hurricanes.

Cristobal and the Hurricanes staff have been circling around four-star wide receiver Eli Woodard for a while and the blue-chip prospect from Riverside County, California, may have offered his biggest sign that he's seriously considering the 'Canes when he de-committed from USC on Tuesday morning. Woodard has not scheduled official visits yet, but it's safe to expect Miami to be heavily in the mix when he announces his summer visit schedule.

Miami has already had an interest in Woodard and Cristobal keeps a close eye on the West Coast, where he still has plenty of pull from his days at Oregon. The Hurricanes have historically recruited California well over the years, and they continues to this date. Five-star cornerback Donte Wright, who recently flipped from Georgia, is from Long Beach and freshman wide receiver Vance Spafford, one of the top recruits in the 2026 class, is from Mission Viejo.

Eli Woodard has his eyes on Miami after backing away from USC pledge

Miami serves to be the beneficiary of USC's policy of not allowing commitments to take visits once they are committed. Woodard was unsure enough about his pledge to the Trojans that he decided to re-open his recruitment. Cristobal has been the flip master over the past few weeks, snatching Wright from Georgia and convincing four-star cornerback Ai'King Hall to back away from his commitment to Oregon and join the Hurricanes' class. 

Woodard told Blair Angulo of 247Sports that Miami, Cal and UCLA are three of the schools that he'll be looking at, but expect other potential suitors to follow. The Rivals/On3 predictor has been on fire with multiple site editors and national reporters, Steve Wiltfong and Adam Gorney putting in their crystal balls for Miami with the Hurricanes at over a 65% chance of getting Woodard's commitment. There's still a long way to go in Woodard's recruitment and now that he's re-opened things, expect other big spenders to try to jump in and get the blue-chip pass catcher on campus. 

Miami has been a top flip option for elite recruits

The Hurricanes will host many of their top targets over the next month, and they have consistently been mentioned as a school that could jump in and sway some of the elite prospects from their current pledges. Five-star edge rusher DJ Jacobs has been committed to Ohio State for several months, but Miami has always been the school to watch for a potential flip. He has been to Coral Gables several times and always speaks highly of the Hurricanes, Cristobal and the staff. 

Last week's disappointing news on five-star offensive tackle Mark Matthews doesn't mean that the Hurricanes are going to stand by and watch Texas A&M come into their backyard and swoop up the top local recruit without a fight. We don't know if Matthews will continue with his previously announced official visit to Coral Gables on May 29, but he's close by and the contact between both sides won't stop because of a verbal commitment. Anything goes during flip season and Cristobal has shown he's not afraid to pull out all the stops. 

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