Mark Matthews picking Texas A&M over Miami was already going to sting. But the way it happened only made it hurt more for Canes fans.
The five-star offensive tackle from St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale committed to Texas A&M on Friday, choosing the Aggies over Miami, LSU and Georgia. It was a major recruiting win for Mike Elko and a painful local miss for Mario Cristobal, considering Matthews plays about 30 minutes from Coral Gables.
The announcement itself has added to the conversation, but realistically it wasn't anything we haven't seen before. Matthews sat with Miami, Texas A&M and Georgia hats in front of him, picked up the Miami hat, put it down, picked up the Texas A&M hat, threw it, picked the Miami hat back up, put it down again and then removed his sweatshirt to reveal a Texas A&M jersey.
He later shouted, "Elko era baby, let's go!" while celebrating the decision. Matthews is rated No. 3 overall, No. 1 at offensive tackle and No. 1 in Florida by 247Sports. The 247Sports Composite has him No. 5 overall, No. 1 at tackle and No. 1 in the state.
The moment 5-star OT Mark Matthews committed to Texas A&M:
— 247Sports (@247Sports) May 15, 2026
"ELKO ERA BABY, LET'S GO!!!" pic.twitter.com/rkmXEnefWb
Mark Matthews' commitment adds another chapter to Miami's local recruiting pain
It landed like a troll job for Miami fans. But at the end of the day, these things aren't ever that serious and any Miami fan would've taken him in a heartbeat.
The bigger issue for Miami isn't how he announced — who cares about that — instead it is the South Florida recruiting issue that seems to be presenting itself.
Matthews is the latest elite South Florida recruit to leave the area after Miami pushed hard. The Hurricanes have landed plenty of local talent under Cristobal, but the top-end misses always get remembered because South Florida is Miami's natural recruiting base. When the best players from St. Thomas Aquinas, Chaminade-Madonna, American Heritage, Miami Central, Miami Palmetto or Monsignor Pace pick another program, it becomes part of a larger conversation.
Now, this isn't to say that Cristobal can't land major local players. The Hurricanes literally signed Rueben Bain Jr. from Miami Central. But there was a feeling around the program after the national championship game run, that this would stop happening — at least for one cycle. But, of course, the list of factors that go into a decision like this are long and the biggest one is probably money.
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