Mario Cristobal and Miami pivot to the future as official visit season slows down

Things are slowing down for the Miami Hurricanes with recruiting. Mario Cristobal decided to front load the schedule, bringing in tons of official visitors for the May 29 and June 5 weekends, and now only a handful of targets will visit this weekend and next weekend.

But just because the visits have slowed down, doesn't mean the recruiting has stopped. These next few weeks are a crucial time for the Hurricanes staff to begin to evaluate the class of 2028 and 2029 prospects that they are going to begin pursuing and building relationships with. The search doesn't end with last week's Legends camp either, as Miami is hosting an OL/DL camp this weekend and a final prospect camp on June 17. 

READ MORE: Mario Cristobal and Jason Taylor have already identified Miami's primary EDGE target for 2028

What are the remaining storylines for the 2027 recruiting class?

There are some major targets still on the board. The biggest uncommitted target is elite in-state linebacker Kaden Henderson. The five-star prospect from Jesuit High (Tampa) took his official visit to Miami on May 29 and was at Texas A&M last weekend. According to his posted schedule, the next trip will be to Notre Dame on June 19. Henderson originally said he would take his time on making a final decision, but life moves fast in recruiting and now the word is he has set a July 1 date for his announcement.

Henderson talked about the push for him to commit during the Miami visit, but he wanted to visit all the schools on his list. He also took a visit to LSU in late April, but it seems like the Tigers are on the outside looking in. There should be more clarity on where Henderson is leaning after the Notre Dame visit. 

There's also going to be a continued watch on five-star edge rusher DJ Jacobs. Will the Ohio State commit be on campus in the final two weekends? Has he been on campus already? There are a lot of questions there, but Jacobs is still a primary flip target for Cristobal, and that recruitment may drag until the December signing period. 

The other flip hopeful is five-star offensive tackle Mark Matthews. The top-rated offensive tackle in the country is committed to Texas A&M and has spent much of the official visit season at College Station. It looks like that will be an uphill battle for the Miami staff, but Matthews is a few minutes away from campus at St. Thomas Aquinas, so there's always a chance that the draw to play close to home could win out. 

Who is visiting Miami this weekend?

The only official visitor on the schedule this weekend is in-state defensive back Andre Hyppolite, who was recently named a four-star prospect by 247Sports. Hyppolite, who plays at North Miami Beach, is one of the local recruits that Cristobal would love to add to this class as the numbers begin to fill up. The projected safety took a trip to Florida last week and has also been to Minnesota. 

Hyppolite has a mid-week trip to Georgia and a visit to Notre Dame remaining on his visit schedule, but those plans could change if the Hurricanes can lock him down this weekend. 

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