Another day, another Miami commitment: UM adds 6-6, 315-pound offensive lineman for 2024
For the fourth time in the last five days, the Miami Hurricanes made an addition to their Class of 2024 and this time it’s a massive offensive lineman.
Juan Minaya orally committed to Miami on Tuesday, making his announcement on Twitter and giving the Hurricanes their first lineman in their 2024 recruiting class.
Although he’s still unranked in the 247Sports composite rankings for the 2024 class, Minaya is a 6-foot-6, 315-pound tackle from New Jersey’s Paramus Catholic and holds more than a dozen scholarship offers.
On3.com and Rivals each have him rated as a three-star prospect, with the On3 industry ranking rating him the 60th best offensive lineman in the nation, and 16th best player in New Jersey.
Minaya visited Miami last month and the was again in South Florida on Friday to watch the Hurricanes’ spring game at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, where Miami worked to lock up his commitment.
He started at left tackle for the Paladins as a junior.
Minaya is scheduled to make another trip down to Coral Gables in June for his official visit. He also previously scheduled June official visits with Duke and Maryland, but it’s not immediately clear whether he still plans to take those.
The under-the-radar lineman’s recruitment started to pick up in January, when he added more than a half a dozen offers from schools including Florida, Kentucky and Michigan State. The Hurricanes, though, have been involved with Minaya for almost a year, first offering him last spring, and they positioned themselves as the leader in his recruitment through their constant communication.
UM now has six total commitments for the Class of 2024.
Minaya’s pledge comes the day after three-star South Broward running back Chris Wheatley-Humphrey committed to the Canes. Also committing to Miami in the last week: four-star St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Chance Robinson and unranked safety Dylan Day from Southern Lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Hurricanes also landed a commitment from three-star quarterback Judd Anderson from Jones County in Gray, Georgia, on April 7.
The other UM commit: kicker Abram Murray out of C.E. Byrd in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Players can begin signing national letters of intent in December.
While he’s not yet ranked, Minaya checks a lot of boxes coach Mario Cristobal values in his offensive linemen — namely, size. In the Class of 2022, Cristobal went hard after Anez Cooper, who wasn’t even ranked in the top 1,000, as one of the few recruits he was able to target in the few months after he was hired and the 6-6, 350-pound offensive lineman wound up starting the last five games of the 2022 season as a freshman.
Given his track record at developing linemen, Cristobal gets the full benefit of the doubt when picking out players to target along the line, and Minaya’s size and mobility give him major upside, even as he’s still developing.
UM’s current offensive line should be significantly improved from the past few years. The line includes highly rated transfers Javion Cohen (Alabama) at left guard and Matt Lee (UCF) at center. The left tackle is Canes veteran Jalen Rivers, the right guard is Cooper and the right tackle is early enrollee and true freshman Francis Mauigoa.
Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal said they will play the best five, regardless of age.
