Miami’s Cristobal earns elite signing day haul as Hurricanes soar to top-3 class

Not much Miami Hurricanes football coach Mario Cristobal covets more than recruiting.

And not much the Canes covet more than a Cristobal signing class — as evidenced Wednesday night by a top-3 national class ranking a year after finishing among the top five.

Off a 7-5 season, the coach’s well-documented flare for captivating the nation’s top high school players resulted in another superb haul on the opening day of the three-day early signing period for the class of 2024.

By Wednesday night, after five-star Miami Central defensive end Armondo Blount announced his commitment to Miami, UM’s 2024 class led the Atlantic Coast Conference and was No. 3 nationally behind Georgia and Alabama in the 247Sports composite rankings, No. 4 in the On3 industry rankings and No. 4 in the Rivals rankings.

Cristobal, as expected, raved about his newest class after he walked into the Mann Auditorium, chugging from a disposable coffee cup before starting his news conference.

“The day is not done,’’ Cristobal said. “Today has been an awesome day so far, and it’s not over. The night is still young, there’s a battle or two maybe out there that is still going on, and obviously the transfer portal is something that we’re going to be very active in and have been.

“So far, the class of ‘24 has a chance to be what we strive it to be, the best in the conference and maybe the best in our history — maybe surpassing last year’s class, as we continue to push into the night.’’

Among their 27 signees (not including four transfers), the Hurricanes got two blue-chip players to flip their commitments down the stretch from not-so-beloved Ohio State: 6-4, 310-pound five-star defensive tackle Justin Scott of Chicago St. Ignatius and 6-0, 180-pound four-star Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas running back Jordan Lyle.

“Growing up, it’s everyone’s dream to represent their city,’’ Lyle said Wednesday. “Being the next great running back coming through the University of Miami, that was a dream of mine.’’

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Miami exhaled with glee when 6-3, 250-pound Blount completed the second part of a double-flip at his private signing ceremony by spurning the Florida State Seminoles for the Hurricanes, with whom he originally committed in September.

“For the next three to four years,’’ Blount said, as green-and-orange confetti fell in his announcement room in Lauderhill, “I’ve decided to go to the University of Miami.’’

“Welcome to the Canes family, @ArmondoBlount,’’ UM immediately posted on the social media platform X.

Blount chooses Miami, that could push the Canes to a top-5 class by multiple recruiting sites.

While reporters were waiting for Cristobal to enter the auditorium, 6-4, 210-pound four-star linebacker Adarius Hayes of Largo flipped his pledge from the Gators to UM at 1:38 p.m., pushing Miami up the rankings and giving the Canes a valuable second incoming linebacker for 2024.

“Wow! That guy is unbelievable,’’ Cristobal said. “He’s a throwback player. He’s over 6-4 and knocking people all over the place.’’

The Canes were dreaming of a triple-flip signing class via Ohio State, but the nation’s No. 1 player, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith of Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, kept his word and supposedly stayed with the Buckeyes after Cristobal recruited him hard to the end. But later Wednesday night, CaneSport reported that Smith had not actually signed with Ohio State, and that his name was missing from the OSU signing day list.

Then, just after 10 p.m., the Buckeyes tweeted that Smith had officially signed with Ohio State.

One flip UM likely expected after Lyle committed to the Canes this week: Four-star running back Kevin Riley of Tuscaloosa County High switched to Nick Saban’s hometown Crimson Tide after Saban secured Riley’s final official visit last weekend.

Quarterback signed

Miami, still seeking a transfer quarterback to ideally replace departed Wisconsin-bound Tyler Van Dyke, secured its quarterback of the future with 6-7, 225-pound three-star Judd Anderson of Warner Robins (Georgia) High. He was the first Cane announced as a signee shortly after 7 a.m. He’ll be arriving as an early-enrollee in mid-January.

“I’ve been through a lot in my four years of high school, so moving on is a big step for me,’’ said Anderson. “It’s beautiful there. Can’t wait.’’

The Canes secured three consensus four-star receivers for their signal callers, including JoJo Trader of Chaminade-Madonna and Chance Robinson of St. Thomas Aquinas.

UM’s bounty also included 6-0, 185-pound Chaminade-Madonna second-team Max Preps All-American safety Zaquan Patterson, rated five stars by recruiting site Rivals and four by 247Sports and On3. He chose UM over elite programs such as FSU, Auburn, Texas, Michigan and Ohio State, and will be integral in helping to replace NFL Draft-bound Canes stars Kam Kinchens and James Williams.

And despite four-star/three-star defensive lineman Kendall Jackson decommiting from Miami to opt for Texas A&M on Tuesday, just 10 days after flipping from the Gators to the Canes, UM was poised to secure one of the top defensive line classes in the nation.

In 2022, Cristobal signed a vaunted offensive line crop, with a pair of five-star tackles. This time around, Cristobal, who helps coach the offensive line and understands the value of bodyguards, sackers and run-stoppers, focused on defensive linemen after losing starting defensive tackles Leonard Taylor III and Branson Deen to the draft and others to the transfer portal.

Strong D-line

Cristobal secured the services of at least seven incoming defensive linemen, including Scott; 6-5, 220-pound four-star edge Marquise Lightfoot of Kenwood High (Chicago); 6-3, 280-pound four-star tackle Artavius Jones of Blountstown, Florida; and 6-4, 205-pound four-star edge Elias Rudolph of Taft (Cincinnati) High.

The coach, however, did not forget his quarterback protectors. Among UM’s new offensive line signees is massive 6-8 1/2, 340-pound Holmes Community College tackle Markel Bell, an intriguing addition.

“It starts with the human skyscraper Markel Bell,’’ Cristobal said.

Miami signed four players from St. Thomas Aquinas, and in all, seven from Broward County as of 2 p.m. and one from Miami-Dade.

After Blount’s ceremony, there were 12 signees on offense, 14 on defense and the nation’s No. 1 kicker – Abram Murray of CE Byrd High in Shreveport, Louisiana.

“We’re trying to start a pipeline: St. Thomas Aquinas to The U,’’ defensive back Romanas Frederique Jr. said at his morning ceremony. “

Four-star receiver Robinson, who helped kick off Miami’s 2024 class in April when he became the first South Floridian to commit and stuck it out despite a late push from Ohio State, won four state titles in four years with the Raiders.

“This is a winning program,’’ Robinson said of St. Thomas, “and that’s what we’re going to bring. It means a lot to bring elite talent there and that’s what is going to turn it around.’’

▪ At about 7 p.m. Wednesday, UM got its fourth transfer and second on the defensive line: defensive tackle Marley Cook from Middle Tennessee State. He’s 6-2 and 298 pounds. Cook told 247Sports that what he like about Miami is “the culture.’’

“Everybody there is good people,’’ said Cook, who has a sixth year of eligibility remaining.

According to his MTSU bio, Cook started all 12 games and finished the year with 22 tackles, including six tackles for loss, a sack, forced fumble, pass breakup and interception. He averaged 55 snaps played per game.

Miami Herald sportswriter Jordan McPherson contributed to this report.