Miami Signee Rueben Bain Is Underrated, Next Hurricanes Portal Arrival? | Donno Mailbag
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Q: What does Rueben Bain have to do to get his 5th star? -James in the Pines
A: This question gets bumped to the front of the line because I have been complaining for months to anyone who will listen about Rueben Bain ONLY being a 4-star recruit despite generating roughly 60 sacks in his past two seasons, a Nat Moore trophy in 2022, and four state championships at Miami Central.
In my opinion the only reason Bain hasn't been given his 5th star by the recruiting services is because he's 6'2 and not 6'4 or 6'5.
Bain has been a standout performer so far at Under Armour All America practices in Kissimmee over the past few days. If he keeps it up into Tuesday's game, he could very well be given that deserved fifth star by mid-week.
I spoke to SI's head of football recruiting, John Garcia, about Bain's Under Armour showing from Friday through Sunday.
"Bain was able to assert his dominance in multiple ways," Garcia said. "With that power and that frame he possesses, he was able to bull rush against tackles that are forty pounds heavier. But with the leverage and power he generates, it was enough to push them off their spot and then he can read and react from there. He had a lot of tackles in the team sessions. In the one-on-ones he was able to win the edge more times than not."
Another Miami signee, 4-star cornerback Robert Stafford, is also performing well. So is verbal commit Cormani McClain.
Q: Is Cormani McClain officially a Miami Hurricane yet? -Steven
A: No, he's not. He did tell reporters at Under Armour media day that he still considers himself a Miami commit, but he won't be able to sign on the dotted line until February 1st after missing the early signing window. In the meantime, people will continue to speculate about Coach Prime at Colorado or Nick Saban at Alabama flipping his commitment. All we can do is wait, speculate, and follow the clues...
Q: Who's the next portal commit? -Bobby
A: Miami's top target in the portal appears to be Oregon wide receiver Dont'e Thornton. The Hurricanes have a major need at outside receiver. Thornton was recruited to Oregon by Mario Cristobal and the two have a good relationship. There has also been buzz linking him to Auburn and Tennessee. The former 4-star recruit stands 6-4 and weighs 200 lbs. The Hurricanes are loaded up with sub-6'0, shifty slot receivers, so adding a guy with size like Thornton to join 6-5 Colbie Young would be a huge win for Miami.
Another player to watch is Arkansas defensive tackle Isaiah Nichols. Per Gaby Urrutia of Inside The U, Nichols will be on campus visiting this weekend. Miami still has a glaring need for veteran D-tackles even after adding Thomas Gore from Georgia State.
Q: If you had to bet on one coaching change being made before next season, what would it be? -Salty
A: I suspect you want me to say offensive coordinator Josh Gattis will depart. Will I take the bait? Hmmmm...
I bet Miami will find a way to promote defensive analyst DeMarcus Van Dyke to an on-field role. He's among the best recruiters on staff and he deserves a promotion in my humble opinion.
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