ESPN: Miami has a top ranked class and plans to hold onto it

IowaCane16

Senior
Joined
Nov 5, 2011
Messages
4,949
Miami is again at the top of the recruiting class rankings. And Mark Richt’s staff is only cautiously optimistic.
“Two years ago, or three years ago, they were No. 1 [in class rankings] and then they finished 23rd in recruiting,” Richt said. “I don’t really care too much about where you’re ranked, there is some validity to it.”
The Hurricanes are currently hanging on to the No. 1-ranked recruiting class for 2018. Miami had the No. 5 class for 2017 last April, No. 2 in 2016 and 11 for 2015, but it was what happened after the spring that Richt is now trying to deter.

“We could open 2-4 and some recruits decide to bail, and everybody thinks the sky’s falling and it turns to crap,” Richt said. “It could happen. So who knows, but if we hang onto the kids we’ve got right now, it’s a **** of a class so far.”
The Class in 2017 fell from No. 5 in April to 12 on signing day, from No. 2 in 2016 to 19 on signing day and in 2015 fell 12 spots down to No. 23 overall.
That’s why Richt has bulked up his recruiting class and refined the Canes’ strategy with a familiar tactic.
When Richt first got to Miami, the recruiting department was lacking. In fact, most of the day-to-day recruiting responsibilities fell on the director of football operations, rather than an enormous staff as employed at other schools. That’s where Matt Doherty comes in.
Doherty was previously at Miami before going to Michigan. Richt brought him back to Coral Gables, this time with a staff and volunteers. Doherty says his second time around is a very different experience.
“The responsibilities of what a traditional recruiting department should be, in my mind, were kind of strewn out throughout the program and you would have one group of people planning official visits, but the others booking venues,” Doherty said. “My responsibility now is the entirety of the recruiting process and [that] it’s structured like an NFL scouting department. When I first started here in 2011, before I left for Michigan, I was a one-man band doing recruiting, so it has expanded considerably.”
Once the recruiting department was up and running, the staff started building relationships with local high school coaches. Since the majority of Richt’s full-time coaches are not from South Florida, this step was crucial.
Clinics and camps were held in the Hurricanes’ staple areas: Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Furthermore, every coach at Miami has a piece of the tri-county area in his recruiting territory and at least seven of the nine coaches all have an area that is close to campus.
“If there are players we’re looking for beyond Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County, they had better be beasts, the elite of the elite,” Doherty said. “Our strategy is, let’s go after the kids down here that take pride in this area, and take pride in this university. I think it is the total all-in commitment on recruiting players from South Florida and building this program with those players.”
So far, it’s working. In the 2018 class, only five of the 16 commitments are from outside South Florida.
The staff also decided to do away with big, hyped-up recruiting events when massive amounts of prospects visit all at once. Richt and Doherty agreed that having a select few recruits visit at once would provide the coaches a better opportunity to build the relationships and give the coaches more personal time with the recruits.

Focusing on South Florida certainly isn’t unique to Miami coaches, but attacking it with an entire staff, with the power of relationships and bonds in getting a commitment is a big part of why Miami is currently the top-ranked class.
Richt changed a few things when he got to Miami, but he had a lot of success as the head coach of Georgia just being himself. That was one aspect he knew he would keep and knew his coaches needed to believe as well.
While they believe they have the right strategy and the right people in place, they also know that anything can happen in recruiting. They are putting in the work, trusting the relationships they’re building and hoping that, come signing day, Miami is still at the top of the rankings.
“We all know these things are a fluid business,” Richt said. “You hope to attract the right kids and we’re trying to keep everybody, understanding that until they get on campus they’re not in. They make commitments and we hope they follow through, but we know it’s a long battle and a long haul and we’re just getting started.”

http://insider.espn.com/blog/ncfrecr...o-hold-onto-it
 
Advertisement
I also recall reading that Richt doesn't accept a commit unless they have visited first and are sure that is what they want. Otherwise he tells them to hold off before making a decision. Hopefully that minimizes some of the flakiness that is out there with some of these kids.
 
I think that we can all agree that the game has changed down here in Miami. This staff is not playing the game of getting a "Golden Shower" of commitments and then hoping they don't go down the drain. It truly feels like we are becoming the "Cool School" and these boys can see they can get great coaching and still stay close to home!!!
 
We will win a title under richt with this type of recruiting
 
Last edited:
Advertisement
The article is dry hating. I wish the staff didn't participate. We are currently "hanging onto" our class??? It's like they are creating the narrative and atmosphere for flips down the road. Passive-aggressive
 
The article is dry hating. I wish the staff didn't participate. We are currently "hanging onto" our class??? It's like they are creating the narrative and atmosphere for flips down the road. Passive-aggressive

Solid. My blood pressure went up reading that choice of verbage, though I should be used to it.

UM
 
We fuqin and I already know we winning a title during MR regime. This is all we had to do was recruit sfla like this.....Georgia doesn't have the talent we have
 
Advertisement
1-3-5-8 doesn't matter...if you are in the top 10 schools you got a load of stud recruits.

Yea it's great for bragging rights but I'll be very happy with a top five finish cause I can see who we are bringing in and how much talent they have and I'm excited as **** and losing the number 1 title isn't going to wain that happiness a bit.
 
The last regime was the epitome of landing "placeholders"

Richt can't avoid a few guys doing that here and there but his personality just doesn't allow for a steady river of bull**** flowing through our classes
 
We fuqin and I already know we winning a title during MR regime. This is all we had to do was recruit sfla like this.....Georgia doesn't have the talent we have


Wrong. GA does have the talent in the state and competes with no one in the state for Croots. The problem is a lot of kids want to leave the state and go to Auburn, Clemson, and Bama.
 
Last edited:
Advertisement
We fuqin and I already know we winning a title during MR regime. This is all we had to do was recruit sfla like this.....Georgia doesn't have the talent we have


Wrong. GA does have the talent in the state and competes with no one in the state for Croots. The problem is a lot of kids want to leave the state and go to Auburn, Clemson, and Bama.

yea thats true too
 
top ten class full of studs from south florida is equivalent top 5 class

3 stars here would be 4 stars elsewhere, etc.
 
Advertisement
We fuqin and I already know we winning a title during MR regime. This is all we had to do was recruit sfla like this.....Georgia doesn't have the talent we have


Wrong. GA does have the talent in the state and competes with no one in the state for Croots. The problem is a lot of kids want to leave the state and go to Auburn, Clemson, and Bama.

They don't have the miami mentality idgaf what u say. Their r not the dogs like al blades and ed reed. They don't go as hard in practice and compete. They just don't have the miami mentality which makes the u dominant
 
We fuqin and I already know we winning a title during MR regime. This is all we had to do was recruit sfla like this.....Georgia doesn't have the talent we have


Wrong. GA does have the talent in the state and competes with no one in the state for Croots. The problem is a lot of kids want to leave the state and go to Auburn, Clemson, and Bama.

They don't have the miami mentality idgaf what u say. Their r not the dogs like al blades and ed reed. They don't go as hard in practice and compete. They just don't have the miami mentality which makes the u dominant

Ever heard the name Nick Chubb? That man got more dog than any player in football with what he went through.
 
"...hanging on to the No. 1-ranked recruiting class for 2018."

Lol, nice try. It's not even ******* close. Everybody else is trying to hang on to our nuts.
 
We fuqin and I already know we winning a title during MR regime. This is all we had to do was recruit sfla like this.....Georgia doesn't have the talent we have


Wrong. GA does have the talent in the state and competes with no one in the state for Croots. The problem is a lot of kids want to leave the state and go to Auburn, Clemson, and Bama.
They have talent but Florida definitely has more.
You got to think about it a lot of these schools are closer to the metro Atlanta area (clemson and auburn) most notably than a school like uf is to south Florida. So it's a closer proximity. Just from metro Atlanta auburn like 1 hour 15-30 minutes away, clemson less than 2 hours
 
Advertisement
Back
Top