All Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes Recruiting Notes

Miami has big recruiting battles, as well as position needs to fill

Brian Smith

Miami Hurricanes Recruiting Notes
Miami Hurricanes Recruiting Notes /
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Article photo of Jason Zandamela; photo credit to Brian Smith

Running down some of the most important topics for Miami Hurricanes football recruiting news, here are items Canes fans need to know.

Keep in mind, as Miami continues through spring ball, there will be random unofficial visits with so many top players living near the UM campus. So information will change fast. Here were four topics to note for today.

FSU vs Miami Battle?

One of the nation’s top overall center prospects would be Clearwater (Fla.) Clearwater International Academy’s Jason Zandamela. He came to the United States from Africa and flourished as he learned the game of football.

It looked like Florida State, Oklahoma and Southern California were the teams to watch, but a recent unofficial visit to Miami has placed the Canes squarely in the mix for his services.

When stopping by CAI to learn about the players that head coach Jesse Chinchar has for this next season, Zandamela came down to the office and discussed his recruitment further with All Hurricanes. First, he talked about his upcoming visits.

“I’m going to Southern California this weekend,” Zandamela said of his unofficial visit plans. “And then, I might be going to Oklahoma next weekend. And then, I’m going to Florida State’s spring game. I think it’s the 15th (of April).”

As for the Hurricanes, they recently made a move up the list. Zandamela’s comments proved that.

“Miami was great. Like, I was very surprised by the way they coach and how they run practice. Everything is very structured. It’s always on-point. Never late; everything was on time.

“That meant a lot. That meant that the program was getting better than what other people used to say about it.”

The competition will be very stiff for Mario Cristobal, Alex Mirabal and the Canes, but there’s now a good chance to land the 6-foot-3 and 285-pound center. The unofficial visit to Coral Gables took care of that.

Quarterback Recruiting

The Canes need at least one, if not two quarterbacks to sign with them for this recruiting cycle.

However, 2024 quarterback Prentiss Air Noland has been trending elsewhere, and Jake Merklinger selected Tennessee recently. It’s still quite early though.

Look for the spring practice sessions that numerous quarterbacks have to help the Canes get the ball rolling with quarterback recruiting.

Judd Anderson, a talented passer from Georgia will be visiting this week, and A.J. Hairston from nearby Monarch High School has visited multiple times this spring. Luke Moga from Arizona would be another good bet to end up a Hurricane and he's been to Miami already, too.

As these young men get to know newly hired offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson even better, that will make it more and more likely for quarterbacks to want to come to Miami.

As a projection, look for the Canes to have at least one signal caller in the fold by early to mid June. 

Safety Recruiting

There’s a really good chance that Kamren Kinchens and/or James Williams head to the NFL after this upcoming season. That’s why it’s imperative that the Canes sign a couple of talented safeties. Fortunately, one top-notch player has ties to Miami.

Salem (Va.) High School prospect Chris Cole would be the nephew of Rohan Marley, Miami’s former talented linebacker. After reviewing his film once again, make no mistake, this young man’s talent would place him in a position to make an early impact with the Canes.

Speed and length were evident. That was clear from the first three or four clips alone. As for Miami, Cole’s uncle took to Twitter recently to show his appreciation for a visit Cole took down to Dade County.

That was cool. Like with Zandamela and the quarterbacks, Cole’s recruitment will be big-time. Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State, Notre Dame, Penn State, and many others have been giving chase.

Cole’s eventual decision will be important to UM. Need to win the battles where there’s a connection like Marley.

Cornerback Recruiting

Sticking with the secondary, there have been positive vibes with top-notch cornerback Ricky Knight from North Palm Beach (Fla.) The Benjamin School. He tore it up at Under Armour Orlando and was already a prime Miami target to begin with. A recent visit to Miami went well, too.

Knight also gave his thoughts about newly hired Miami defensive coordinator Lance Guidry, which was more good news for the Canes. He took in a practice recently and came away with the following thoughts:

"What surprised me is that Coach Guidry is a very hype guy! To me, I thought he was just all serious, and even though he is, he still gets really hype! 

"I also noticed how discipline the defense is becoming. They are starting to communicate more and make a lot of plays. I think they have a chance at being a top 5 defense this season."

If Miami can land Knight, plus one more quality cornerback to the 2024 recruiting class, Miami’s cornerback room will be back on track when combining them with the 2023 Miami cornerback recruits.

AllHurricanes.com is your home for all things Miami Hurricanes football, recruiting, basketball and other athletics, all the time. Follow along on social media at @AllHurricanes on Twitter and All Hurricanes on Facebook for round-the-clock news and analysis.

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Brian Smith
BRIAN SMITH

Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.

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