Miami Hurricanes fans flood coach Mario Cristobal with praise after Dante Wright flips commitment from Georgia to UM
Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal was already in the good graces of fans after leading the team the College Football Playoff championship game.
He may have reached another level after what he accomplished on Saturday. That was when five-star cornerback Donte Wright flipped his commitment from Georgia to the Hurricanes.
The move completely set social media on fire with fans pouring support for Cristobal.
Wright is a standout at Long Beach Poly High School in California. It is annually one of the top programs in the country. Former `Canes safety Vaughn Telemaque also attended here.
Last season Wright had 68 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 14 passes broken up, three sacks, and two interceptions. He initially committed to the Bulldogs after making an unofficial visit.
This is just the latest in Cristobal's attempt to return the Hurricanes to national prominence. It was the first season since 2003 when they were in contention for the championship. The program hit major lows in the last 20 years, including a 5-7 season in 2007.
It appears Coral Gables is once again a preferred destination for top players now that Cristobal has things headed in the right direction. The Hurricanes are only expected to improve on last year's run, which ended with a disappointing loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in the title game.
The NFL draft also proved things are returning to the old days. The Hurricanes had three players selected in the first round, including Francis Mauigoa (New York Giants) Rueben Bain (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Akheem Mesidor (Los Angeles Chargers).
Overall, the Hurricanes had nine players drafted.
Despite all the progress, Cristobal has tried to keep the players grounded.
"I feel we've got to work," he said after the spring game. "There's no judgement right now. I don't get into that. Do I get excited? Of course. We're driven beyond what I think people can fathom in those cases. That's where we're at right now. We're a team that fully understands to do what we want to and get to where we want to, we have to shut our mouths, go to work and make sure all of the focus is on us. They've got to make sure they close out the outside world."
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of MiamiRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com