MIAMI COMMITMENTS
Four stars
Pos./Player/Ht./Wt./Hometown-school
DB/Artie Burns/6-1/183/Miami Northwestern
DB/Jamal Carter/6-1/175/Miami Southridge
TE/Standish Dobard/6-5/235/New Orleans (La.) Kerr
ATH/Angelo Jean-Louis/6-0/185/Wellington-Fort Union (Va.) Military Academy
TE/Travis Johnson/6-3/231/Tampa Jesuit
QB/Kevin Olsen/6-3/196/Wayne (N.J.) Hills
Three stars
DE/Alex Figueroa/6-2/210/Stafford (Va.) Brooke Point
OL/Alex Gall/6-5/295/Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller
TE/Jeremy Kerr/6-6/254/St. Petersburg
RB/Ray Lewis III/5-10/192/Lake Mary Preparatory
UM IN TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS
Source/Ranking/Avg. player star rating
ESPN/22/3.6
Rivals/64/3.4
Scout/39/3.4
If the Miami Hurricanes need a slogan for their 2013 recruiting class, here’s one: Doing more with less.
Hoping to reduce the impact of expected NCAA sanctions connected to the Nevin Shapiro scandal that will undoubtedly include scholarship reductions, UM coach Al Golden has already begun the process of cutting down the number of incoming players that will become Hurricanes on national signing day in February.
Golden has said he will only offer about 15 scholarships, a number that could shift slightly in either direction. NCAA rules allow FBS programs to sign a maximum of 25 players per season or a total of 85 over four years. If UM does sign 15 players, it will mark the program’s smallest recruiting class since 1996 when the Hurricanes — hit by NCAA penalties that caused the loss of 31 scholarships — brought in 13 players.
Small classes cut down on the margin for error. Sign too many players that don’t pan out and the results can linger long term.
“For Miami, they have to hit on all 15 if they want to keep pace,” said Tom Lemming, CBS Sports’ recruiting analyst. “Their evaluating skills are going to be put to the test.”
UM fans hope history repeats itself.
In 1996, coach Butch Davis signed just 13 players but it turned into one of the most productive classes in the school’s history. The 13 signees included running back Edgerrin James, tight end Bubba Franks and defensive lineman Damione Lewis, who each developed into an NFL first-round pick.
For Golden, the limited numbers are a drastic change from last February when UM signed 33 players. (Several of those players enrolled in January and counted against 2011 scholarship numbers.) With 33 slots to fill, Golden was able to go after sure things like Duke Johnson and Tracy Howard but also reach for some lower level prospects.
That won’t be the case this time around.
Golden said his recruiting strategy with limited scholarships “is more focused, more personalized, more selective. We don’t need that many and we’re trying to find the right ones. We’re being patient.”
By most accounts, UM is doing well with less than two months to go before signing day Feb. 6. Miami’s 10 oral commitments are ranked only No. 64 by Rivals.com but the 3.44 average star rating of those 10 players places among the nation’s top 15 schools.
Still, there’s little doubt the on-going NCAA investigation into the football program continues to weigh down the Hurricanes’ recruiting efforts even after the school self-imposed two bowl bans and bypassed a chance to play in the ACC championship game last week.
The latest evidence of that came this week when Atlantic High’s Keith Bryant, a four-star defensive tackle, de-committed from UM. Bryant is the latest elite player to reconsider his commitment to UM in recent weeks. South Plantation running back Alex Collins, ranked as the nation’s No. 147th best player by ESPN, backed out last month.
Overall, five top high school players have de-committed from UM since the summer. None of those players said that looming sanctions affected their decisions, but it obviously didn’t help.
“To me, it’s a huge thing,” Beau Sandland, a junior college tight end from Woodland Hills, Calif., told ESPN.com after visiting UM last week. “That’s not something you can overlook. I think they’ve done a good job of punishing themselves. I hope the NCAA looks favorably upon that. But the NCAA has not been known to be the most consistent with its rulings.”
Golden admits that opposing recruiters “prey on the uncertainty” caused by the 19-month NCAA investigation.
That doesn’t mean UM and Golden are getting pushed around. The Hurricanes still have commitments from four players ranked among ESPN’s top 150 and remain in the running for several top-tier prospects.
“They’re up against a lot of stuff,” said Mike Farrell, Rivals’ national recruiting analyst. “But Al Golden is a great recruiter so if anybody can get them through it, it’s him.”
