Starting with the Miami recruiting class of 2018 the glory days could be returning for the Miami Hurricanes under second-year head coach Mark Richt.
The Miami Hurricanes have established themselves as a competitive, but not elite team in college football over the last decade. Gone, it seems, are the days of Miami’s dominance. However, things finally are headed in the right direction again.
Miami graduate and head coach Mark Richt seem to be a great fit together so far. They went 9-4 (5-3 ACC) in Richt’s first full season with the Canes. That was much better than the result from the previous two seasons for the Canes, where they compiled 14 wins total between those two years.
Expectations will always be high among Miami fans because of the dominance portrayed by the Canes during the late 1970’s through the early 2000’s. A return to glory would mean recruiting would have to reach elite levels along with putting it all together on the field. It seems like neither of the two ends have linked together in the past decade.
A solid recruiting push from Richt has seen Miami steadily rise in the overall Composite Team Rankings since the end of former head coach Al Golden‘s days in 2015. Miami finished 27th in the composite team rankings, according to 247Sports, in 2015. They are currently second in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings for 2018. That ranks only behind the Ohio State Buckeyes who recently jumped Miami because they received a commitment from the No. 1 tight end in the country, Jeremy Ruckert. Another solid commitment could jump Miami right back into the no. 1 slot.
New faces could have a huge impact
Players like five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard, four-star tight end Brevin Jordan, and four-star cornerback Josh Jobe can be program changing type talents. Other commits like four-star wide receiver Brian Hightower and four-star defensive tackle Nesta Silvera are names to watch as well.
Landing a top three ranked recruiting class is something that could vault any program into national contention and generate enough momentum to recruit at a high level for years to come. That looks to be the sort of transformation happening under Richt at Miami right now.
Moreover, Miami has already received commitments from four solid players in the 2019 class, putting them at No. 5 nationally in the Composite Team Rankings. Recruiting is finally a consistent strength again with the Canes. A 10-win campaign in 2017 would do wonders for future recruiting classes, showing that the improvement under Richt is consistent.
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The 2017 schedule stacks up very nice for Miami as well. The only really unfavorable matchup is a road game against the Florida State Seminoles. Every other game on tap at least looks manageable for Miami. However, the overall landscape at “The U” is finally getting back to consistent success. That’s something that Miami fans have been awaiting for more than a decade.