Miami Hurricanes Next Objectives After Successful Early Signing Period
The Miami Hurricanes have received 25 signed national letters of intent and have officially added four veterans in the transfer portal. Still, Mario Cristobal's rebuild is far from finished.
Here are the top objectives, as I see them, before the Canes open up spring football in a few months.
1- Get the Cormani McClain signing over the finish line. Miami's top rated 2023 verbal commit still hasn't signed his letter of intent and seemingly every human being on social media has their theories or "insider" scoops as to why. I would caution everyone to take anything you hear with a grain of salt because none of the rumors are coming from Cormani himself or from his family. We only know two things for sure: he hasn't officially signed yet and he won't be graduating early from Lakeland HS. This, in theory, gives programs like Colorado, Florida, and Alabama until February 1st to rival Miami for his signature. Cristobal and his staff will fight tooth and nail to make him a Cane officially.
2- Add an outside wide receiver in the transfer portal. Miami's roster is overflowing with excellent slot receivers but need more quality help on the outside to compliment Jacolby George and Colbie Young on the depth chart. Former Oregon receiver Dont'e Thornton appears to be Miami's top target in the portal. Mario Cristobal recruited him to Eugene in the class of 2021. Thornton, 6-5 200 lbs, played in all 14 games as a true freshman under Cristobal and caught a pair of touchdowns.
Did he leave a clue on his Instagram?
3- Find more help at defensive tackle and safety. Adding Georgia State DT Thomas Gore (top rated available DT per PFF) in the portal was a solid pickup but Miami could still use more of a punch in the interior after losing starter Darrell Jackson to Florida State. FSU also added top three tackle Braden Fiske from Western Michigan. He would have looked great in orange and green. At safety, Miami has lost depth players like Avantae Williams and Al Blades Jr. while missing on recruiting targets like Conrad Hussey and Jayden Bonsu.
4- Land some surprise February 1st commitments? Miami scored a big get on late signing day last season with Trevonte' Citizen. One of the top remaining targets out there this year is 5-star ATH Nyckoles Harbor. He's choosing between Maryland, Michigan, South Carolina, LSU and Miami. The Canes do not appear to be the favorites here (Michigan, LSU and South Carolina are in a tight race per On3) but a lot can change between now and February if Miami decides to go all in. Harbor is a track star with near-Olympic level speed. He ran the 100-meter dash in 10.21 seconds. At 6-2 225 lbs, he can play edge rusher, tight end or receiver at the next level.
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