Miami football on 'flip watch' with elite 5-star Texas commit visiting for ND game

With the 2025 season here, it means visits are back for top Miami football targets and Mario Cristobal is getting things started with a bang for the Notre Dame game. This is unfortunately bad news for the Texas Longhorns.

According to recruiting guru Steve Wiltfong, elite 5-star running back Derrek Cooper will be back on the Miami campus next weekend and he'll be on hand to see the Canes try and post an upset over the Fighting Irish. When Cooper first committed to Texas, Miami fans were a bit down in the dumps. Now, though, there's hope that Cristobal and his staff will be able to flip him before the Early Signing Period arrives.

Texas RB commit Derrek Cooper will visit Miami next weekend for the Notre Dame game

Cooper is a local product, as he's a superstar for Chaminade-Madonna in Hollywood, which is about an hour away from Miami's campus and only about 15-20 minutes from Hard Rock Stadium. With the Canes being so close to home for Cooper, it shouldn't be a stunner that Cristobal is still pushing to sign him.

This is something that Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns must be fully aware of and they'll work to get him to Austin for a game this fall as soon as possible too. Cooper originally committed to Texas on July 20, surprising a lot of people with his call.

His finalists were Texas, Miami, Ohio State, Georgia and Florida State. Throughout his recruitment, Cooper, a 6-1, 205-pounder, has picked up 34 total offers. The expectation is that Miami will go all-in to change his mind, but it's safe to assume that other programs will work to do the same.

With the way college recruiting works these days, nothing is ever finalized with a prospect until he signs on the dotted line. Just because Cooper committed to Texas this summer, it doesn't mean it's guaranteed he'll be playing his college ball in the SEC. Cristobal wants to make sure he'll be suiting up in the ACC once '26 gets here instead.