Mark Matthews quote on picking Texas A&M over Miami is a total gut punch

Mark Matthews confirmed the rumors and committed to the Texas A&M Aggies on Friday afternoon, spurning aggressive efforts from Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes staff to keep the 5-star offensive tackle home.

Matthews, who plays high school football at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, was arguably the top recruit on the board for Miami in the 2027 class. The Hurricanes were hoping to have back-to-back years of commitments from the top-ranked offensive lineman in the country. 

"I mean, it just feels like home away from home," Matthews said right after spurning the Canes. "The coaching staff, the o-line staff, just everyone (feels like home)."

Those were tough words to hear for Hurricanes fans and Cristobal, who has placed a great emphasis on local recruiting and making sure the top kids from the tri-county area (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach) stayed home to play for Miami. Matthews choosing the Aggies is a huge disappointment and a far cry from the feelings those around the Hurricanes had when Miami beat Texas A&M in the first round of the College Football Playoff at Kyle Field.

5-star local recruit Mark Matthews chooses Texas A&M over Miami

It's a bad result for sure, a rough day and a rough week if we're being honest. But not all the news is bad for Cristobal. As a matter of fact, this disappointment should speak to how high the expectations are in Coral Gables right now. And it's important to remember a few things.

Miami has the top offensive lineman in the 2026 class, Jackson Cantwell, on campus and holding down one of the starting spots. Cantwell, a mammoth tackle from Columbia, Missouri, looks like a grown man despite being two weeks away from turning 18. He's been on campus for months and was on the Hurricanes scout team during the playoff run, giving him hands-on experience of blocking guys like Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor. Cantwell is going to be a three-year starter at one of the tackle positions and a future NFL Draft Pick.

Cristobal has also already executed his 'Plan B'. The Hurricanes have commitments from four-star offensive lineman Sean Tatum, three-star offensive tackle Tyler Ford and lineman John Johnson, who is listed as a defensive lineman, but could possibly flip over once he gets on campus. Miami is also the favorite to land four-star offensive lineman Jatori Williams, who is expected to make his announcement next Friday. During this entire process, Cristobal made sure all Miami's eggs weren't in one basket. 

It's easy for fans to point fingers or blame this coach or that coach or claim that Matthews is simply chasing the bag. Whatever helps you sleep at night is fine, but Miami is going to survive losing out on a top recruit. Every top team in the country is going to lose some recruiting battles. Miami continues to be in these battles and Cristobal's efforts give the Hurricanes a chance to win each one of them. That's a great place to be. 

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