Miami Hurricanes Recruiting Radar: 2019 Rivals 250 Initial Release

Signing Day, February 2019.

It’s about a year and a half away, but as we know: recruiting never sleeps.

In an industry that is constantly changing one day to the next, it can sometimes seem counterproductive to make such a fuss about what kids say or where they are ranked on one day in particular, especially when discussing a class that is 2 years from actual on-field impact.

Nevertheless, there is also another truth about the recruiting industry: kids are getting attention and offers earlier and earlier nowadays due to a combination of the internet and increased camp settings generating greater exposure. Bonds between a staff and a prospect are formed so much quicker and with that accelerated exposure comes advanced commitments, and therefore, a demand for coverage.

In reaction to these modified times, the recruiting sites are releasing their rankings for juniors sooner than ever. Last week, Rivals released their initial Rivals 250 for the Class of 2019, of whom are about to begin their junior seasons, and of course the Miami Hurricanes were well represented.

Of their 5 early Surge19 commitments, 2 made Rivals’ cut for the top 250 players in the nation, as did a host of 15 other prime Miami targets mainly from the South Florida area.

Below you can find a handy little chart of all the guys of Miami interest within the initial 2019 Rivals 250.

Thoughts

• In terms of the commitments, no surprises there. Both DE/DT Derick Hunter and WR Brieon Fuller are elite-level talents with offers from all over the country. Hunter is locked in with Miami and has already been doing a bit of recruiting for the Canes, while Fuller was actually a bit of an bizarre story as a rare commit/decommit/recommit within a 12-hour span; however, for the time being, he seems to be solid.

• RB Noah Cain is the top overall target on the board for Miami, and he checks in at #17 overall in the nation. Cain is a transplant from Texas that has made his way to IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL to finish his high school career. Having Cain substantially closer to Miami definitely won’t hurt the Canes’ chances in securing his commitment, and he’s already planning to come to a Hurricanes game with his new QB: 2018 Hurricane commit Artur Sitkowski. Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU, and Texas are also heavily involved here.

• Perhaps my favorite tidbit to come out of the new 2019 Rivals 250? That the Canes have 3 legacies on the target list that are extremely high on Miami: ATH’s Kenny McIntosh and Mark-Antony Richards, plus DE George Karlaftis. Karlaftis’ father was a track athlete at UM that walked onto the football team in the 90’s, while McIntosh’s and Richards’ names should be familiar to any novice Canes fan: their older brothers, RJ and Ahmmon, respectively, currently star for Mark Richt on the 2017 Hurricanes.

• 9 Players from the target list attended Paradise Camp last month, showing an early affinity for wearing the orange and green. Those players are Richards, Karlaftis, OL’s Dontae Lucas, Will Putnam, and Michael Tarquin, DB’s Joshua Sanguinetti and Tyler Scott, ATH Jashawn Sheffield, and DE Khris Bogle. Miami is in great standing with all of them so far; look out for some commitments from this group in the near future.