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The Miami Hurricanes Class of 2014 football recruiting is undoubtedly a critical one for the Al Golden era.
For the first time since arriving in Coral Gables, AG and staff are working with out the cloud of NCAA investigations.
And the early returns were superb. Even before the NCAA handed down its decision, UM boasted a class that nearly every program in the country envied. Miami was sitting pretty, anywhere from #3 to #5 on most board.
But recently other teams have made gains, and the Hurricanes have lost a few chips.
Where do they rank just days before NSD?
247 is bullish due to the 'Canes recent rash of lost commits, placing them at #11.
See their full rankings below:
| Team | Total | Five Star | Four Star | Three Star | Avg | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alabama |
25 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 93.53 | 314.76 | ▼ | |
| 2 |  Ohio State |
22 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 92.73 | 295.30 | ▼ | |
| 3 |  Texas A&M |
21 | 3 | 12 | 6 | 91.84 | 279.83 | ▼ | |
| 4 |  LSU |
19 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 92.23 | 279.29 | ▼ | |
| 5 |  Florida State |
27 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 89.73 | 275.87 | ▼ | |
| 6 |  Tennessee |
34 | 0 | 16 | 18 | 89.23 | 274.71 | ▼ | |
| 7 |  Auburn |
20 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 90.23 | 263.83 | ▼ | |
| 8 |
UP 3
|
 Georgia |
18 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 91.38 | 260.01 | ▼ |
| 9 |
DOWN -1
|
 Notre Dame |
22 | 0 | 15 | 7 | 89.96 | 259.82 | ▼ |
| 10 |
DOWN -1
|
 Florida |
21 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 89.59 | 258.62 | ▼ |
| 11 |
DOWN -1
|
 Miami |
25 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 88.63 | 256.50 | ▼ |
| 12 |  Texas |
21 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 88.48 | 238.00 | ▼ | |
| 13 |  Ole Miss |
24 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 88.01 | 237.62 | ▼ | |
| 14 |
UP 2
|
 Clemson |
19 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 88.61 | 236.41 | ▼ |
| 15 |
DOWN -1
|
 Michigan |
16 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 89.90 | 233.54 | ▼ |
| 16 |
UP 10
|
 Stanford |
18 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 88.73 | 231.93 | ▼ |
| 17 |
UP 1
|
 UCLA |
17 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 88.96 | 226.60 | ▼ |
| 18 |
DOWN -1
|
 Oklahoma |
23 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 86.75 | 226.46 | ▼ |
| 19 |
UP 5
|
 Kentucky |
28 | 0 | 6 | 22 | 86.68 | 225.01 | ▼ |
| 20 |  South Carolina |
18 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 88.33 | 223.00 | ▼ | |
| 21 |
UP 7
|
 Penn State |
24 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 87.14 | 222.63 | ▼ |
| 22 |
DOWN -7
|
 Oregon |
17 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 88.45 | 222.38 | ▼ |
| 23 |
DOWN -1
|
 Arizona State |
25 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 86.62 | 219.98 | ▼ |
| 24 |
DOWN -1
|
 Baylor |
28 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 85.08 | 216.98 | ▼ |
| 25 |
UP 2
|
 North Carolina |
22 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 86.57 | 215.95 | |
How do the other publications rate UM's class?
ESPN - 8th
Rivals - 8th
Scout - 8th
But alas 'Canes fans, if JC Jackson, Lamont Gaillard, Treon Harris or any other combination of undecided players pick up a UM cap on Wednesday, Miami can still shoot up the charts.
Our very own Cameron Underwood summarized the class neatly,
"Adding JC Jackson would be a nice boost, and give us another top talent at a position of need. And, obviously, the whole Travonte Valentine thing. We need him desperately, but if he decides to go to LSU, as many believe he will, getting Lamont Gaillard to flip from his Georgia commitment would soften that blow.The only way I really see us moving up in the rankings would be to flip Bo Scarbrough from Alabama (HIGHLY UNLIKELY), and getting the above listed players. Short of that, I think a finish somewhere between 10-17 is likely."
Also in the mix on NSD, 4 star WR Isiah Ford from Jacksonville, WR CJ Worton (unlikely) of Homestead, Brad Kaaya's favorite target in HS, Brayden Lenius, and perhaps a few surprises.
Don't expect them to catch Alabama for the mythical NSD National Championship, but with a few late closes Miami can still rise some.
More importantly, even with out any late pushes, UM will still end up with a very highly rated class highlighted by guys like Kaaya, Joseph Yearby, Anthony Moten, KC McDermott, Chad Thomas (hopefully), and Kiy Hester.
Stay tuned for updated rankings, post NSD.
