Miami hasn't given up on 5-star OL Mark Matthews, and he's not ruling anything out

Mario Cristobal has done a very good job with his emphasis on local recruiting. Through these efforts, the Miami Hurricanes are in a great position to secure most of their biggest targets in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. But five-star offensive lineman Mark Matthews is still an outlier, and it doesn't sound like Cristobal is going to let the St. Thomas Aquinas product go without a fight.

Matthews was a Hurricanes lean at one time, but decided to make a commitment to Texas A&M. By all accounts, he's been pretty solid in that pledge, and the Aggies did a good job of putting together an NIL package to get it done. But the pull from the locals is strong, and clearly it's got Matthews at least thinking twice about his future plans.

"I love the family there. They put a lot of effort into me," Matthews told On3's EJ Holland.

5-star OL Mark Matthews still has a lot of love for Miami

The funny thing with recruits is that they are solidly committed until they're not. This little blurb doesn't suggest that Matthews is having second thoughts or is on the verge of a major flip. It just says that he loves what's going on in Miami and there's still a familiar feel there.

Miami is going all-in for the 2027 class. It's already an historic class that's ranked No. 2 by 247Sports and No. 3 by Rivals/On3. The Hurricanes have five recruits with five-star ratings on at least one of the two networks and a blue-chip ratio that's approaching 80 percent. It's one of the best recruiting classes in recent memory. 

So why wouldn't Matthews think twice about joining this group? He got a firsthand look at what A'mir Sears can do, and I'm sure he's come across others like Jaiden Bryant. Donte Wright and other Miami commits while on the camp circuit in the offseason. He sees the writing on the way like the rest of us. Cristobal is playing for keeps on the trail and building a team that will win a championship. Matthews can decide to be part of that, or he can go searching for oil in College Station. 

The Hurricane coaches aren't going to let up in their pursuit of Matthews. They understand that he's a special talent and would give Miami a crop of young trench warriors that could dominate college football. Matthews has the allure of staying home to think about. He sees how Malachi Toney is revered in the community and how high the anticipation is for Sears to get to Coral Gables next season. 

Matthews has a lot to think about, and he might not make his true final decision until he puts pen to paper. In that scenario, who would bet against him inevitably choosing the Hurricanes?

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