How de-commitment from 4-star LB Elijah Melendez affects Miami 2025 class
The 2025 Miami football class fell to 12th nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings with the loss of four-star linebacker Elijah Melendez on Saturday. Miami still has commitments from four-star prospect Gavin Nix and three-star Ezekiel Marcelin at LB in the 2025 class.
Francisco Mauigoa is the only senior LB on the 2024 Miami roster. Jaylin Alderman, Wesley Bissainthe and Chase Smith are all Miami LBs eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft. Alderman and Bissainthe will be key contributors for Miami at LB in 2024. Smith has been primarily a special teams player for Miami.
Depending on the outlet reporting, Miami hosted about a half dozen LBs for official visits in June. Marcelin, Melendez, Nix and Auburn commit Eric Winters are the LBs as listed who took official visits to Miami in June. Ohio State commit Tarvos Alford and USC commit Jadon Perlotte were other LBs listed as taking official visits to Miami by On3.
Melendez is the third de-commit in the 2025 Miami class. Miami previously lost three-star wide receiver Waden Charles who is now committed to Central Florida and three-star offensive tackle Lamar Williams now in Maryland's class.
BREAKING: Four-Star LB Elijah Melendez has Decommitted from Miami, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) August 31, 2024
The 6’2 230 LB from Kissimmee, FL had been Committed to the Hurricanes since December
Holds a Total of 40 Offershttps://t.co/6tPmuljkjV pic.twitter.com/XfeztAJbRk
Miami offered seven LBs that are currently uncommitted, not including Melendez. None of the uncommitted LBs are strongly considering Miami per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. Miami could seek to add one more LB in the 2025 class or add a transfer LB.
Miami added Jaylin Alderman as a transfer in 2024 and K.J. Cloyd in 2023 as a transfer LBs from Louisville. Alderman, who has two years of eligibility remaining could replace Mauigoa as the middle lB for Miami in 2025. Raul Aguirre, Cam Pruitt and Adarius Hayes are all LBs projected to have bright futures for Miami.
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Nix is highly regarded and could compete for a significant role as a freshman. Pruitt is expected to receive playing time as a true freshman in 2025. Bissainthe led the Miami LBs with eligibility beyond 2024 with four tackles in the season-opening win at Florida on Saturday.