Mario Cristobal and Miami haven't given up on chase for 4-star RB Myson Johnson-Cook

There has been a lot of chatter about the Miami Hurricanes trying to flip 5-star edge rusher DJ Jacobs from Ohio State and that is expected to continue into the fall and up until the Early Signing Period or whenenevr Jacobs decides to end the speculation. But another flip candidate has emerged, and it's a player that Mario Cristobal never stopped pursuing.

Four-star running back Myson Johnson-Cook looked like he was going to be a future Hurricane for much of the spring, but things changed in late April, and Johnson-Cook ended up committing to Auburn. But 247Sports writer Gaby Urrutia said that Miami is still recruiting Johnson-Cook and it wouldn't be a surprise to see the blue-chip recruit from East St. Louis on campus this fall attending a game. 

READ MORE: Priority RB target will commit this weekend and signs are pointing towards Miami

Miami isn't giving up on its recruitment of 4-star RB Myson Johnson-Cook

Urrutia appeared on the CanesInSight YouTube show and confirmed much of the speculation that the recruitment of Johnson-Cook came down to NIL and Auburn's desire to do whatever it took to make a big splash on the trail for coach Alex Golesh in his first recruiting class. But, as we know by now, Cristobal is never going to stop going after a recruit that he believes can be a difference maker. 

"This is another [recruitment] we'll be tracking into the fall months. As far as I know, this summer they were still engaged in conversation to some extent. I also think there's a sense of Myson Johnson-Cook seeing what Miami is doing in this recruiting class and understanding that maybe the best offer is at Auburn, but maybe the best situation is at Miami," Urrutia said.

Miami has a top-five nationally ranked class by both 247Sports and Rivals/On3 despite only 20 commitments. The big reason for that is the over 70 percent blue-chip hit rate that makes up the group. Johnson-Cook was expected to be part of that group and was heavily predicted to end up in Coral Gables after taking three trips to campus during the spring. 

"There is certainly an avenue for Myson Johnson-Cook, similar to DJ Jacobs. Miami is continuing to kind of kick the tires there and explore their options with Myson Johnson-Cook," Urrutia said. "This was a player that they highly valued, heavily recruited and made a top priority to get down on campus."

The Hurricanes have a back in the class already; four-star recruit Ty Keys committed to Miami on May 1st. Cristobal, however, would probably like to take a second back in the class after only taking one running back last season. If there's one thing that Cristobal and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson will do is utilize the backs. As Urrutia points out, Keys and Johnson-Cook are different types of backs that can complement each other. And Keys, for one, would welcome the competition.  

"I don't think he's worried about Miami taking a second back," Urrutia concluded.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow