Mario Cristobal has delivered the quality in Miami's loaded recruiting class

The Miami Hurricanes might not officially have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, but that's more a case of semantics and quantity over quality. These ranking systems are a little distorted in the sense that simple numbers count. Whether it's a blue-chip guy or a mid-range guy, a class of 30 players with a good mix of those players — let's say 60–65 percent blue chips, has a better chance of hitting a top-three ranking than a class of 18 players that's a little more top-heavy with 70-75 percent blue chips. 

Despite where the class is ranked numerically, even Rivals/On3 national recruiting experts Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons know that the quality of the Hurricanes' class makes it the best in the nation. 

Looking at the Rivals/On3 team rankings, Miami has the third-best class overall, but their average rating of 91.58 is tops in the nation ahead of Ohio State's 91.47 (sixth overall class), Texas A&M's 91.38 (top overall class) and Texas Tech's 91.36 (fourth overall class).

READ MORE: Miami has the nation's highest average recruit rating in latest Rivals Industry rankings

The numbers at 247Sports read the same. Miami's class is ranked third nationally, but its average rating per commit is the second-best in the country (91.45), only behind USC's (91.57) and the Trojans' class is rated 14th in the country, simply because they have just 14 players committed and probably won't take more than 17 or 18. 

"Pound for pound, the best recruiting class in the country. When you look at the Rivals industry ratings for average ranking per commit, this Miami class is No. 1. Miami maybe has the most talented recruiting class in the country," Wiltfong said during the Rivals' summer signing special show. 

Blue chips and flips is the story of Miami's recruiting class in 2027

You think you have a blue-chip player committed, but Mario Cristobal will take him. Ask LSU, ask Georgia, ask Oregon too, and if Ohio State and Texas A&M aren't careful, he'll steal their best dude too. 

"Flip city 305. Jaiden Bryant, an elite rush edge from Irmo High School in South Carolina, flips from LSU to Miami. Donte Wright, we knew he was flipping, thinking he was flipping from Georgia to Oregon, and instead, he goes from Georgia to Miami," Simmons said. "And they want more. They're still involved with a guy like DJ Jacobs, an Ohio State commit, another five-star edge. Miami's going to compete with the best players in the country whether they are committed or uncommitted. They have four flips right now, and I think they want to add one more."

When you break down the numbers in Miami's class, they have 15 blue-chip players on both sites for a 75 percent blue-chip rate in the class. That's a ridiculous haul of top-end talent and prospects that project to be quality college starters and likely NFL draft picks. It's the kind of classes that Nick Saban used to bring into Tuscaloosa when he won all the national titles. Now, one of Saban's most loyal students is showing off all the skills he learned from his mentor. 

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