Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal is making serious inroads on the South Florida recruiting scene
After coming close to winning the College Football Playoff title game, the Miami Hurricanes are starting to see the benefits of success.
The Hurricanes are attracting several of the nation's top high school recruits, most importantly in the South Florida area. The counties of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach are among the best places to land top-tier players.
Recently, St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Julius Jones raved about his visit to the Coral Gables in an interview with Inside The U of the 247Sports network.
Roundtable Sports contributor Rudy Rodriguez-Chomat discussed this impact on the Hurricanes Unfiltered podcast.
"It is very critical that Miami continues to dominate South Florida recruiting," Rodriguez-Chomat said. "It is what made the University for Miami the University of Miami. It is something they have to continue to do, lock down the back yard."
While some have criticized coach Mario Cristobal for his decision-making during games, no one has ever doubted his recruiting prowess. The Hurricanes have annually grabbed top recruiting classes in the Cristobal era.
"I haven't ever questioned his recruiting," Rodriguez-Chomat said. "He's an excellent recruiter ... You see the program has turned the corner and these players are responding. Are there things that can be improved? Absolutely, you can always improve ... There's always things that can get better but Mario Cristobal has given you every reason to believe at this point."
The Hurricanes are hoping to lock down or at least make it more difficult for other programs to recruit South Florida. That's how it was during the glory years under Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis and Larry Coker. The `Canes made sure to keep the local talent.
So far, Cristobal seems to have continued the trend. More and more top local prospects have the `Canes high on their radar. It could potentially lead to a first national championship since 2002 when UM was atop the college football world.
"There are a lot of crystal balls that are heavily favored toward Miami, including three-star safety Andre Hyppolite out of North Miami Beach High School," Rodriguez-Chomat said. "That's keeping hometown guys at home."
Cristobal has the program headed in the right direction.
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of MiamiRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com