Miami football: Grading the Hurricanes 2019 recruiting class

2019 National Signing Day has come and gone for the Miami Hurricanes. We take an in-depth look at their newest recruiting class.

A new era ended quicker than it even began for Miami. Head coach Mark Richt abruptly announced his retirement shortly after the 2018 season, leaving behind a roster that had largely underachieved. Fortunately, Miami found a replacement in former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. Diaz was hired to be the next head coach at Temple before the Hurricanes convinced him to come back and take over. Now Diaz must take on his first task: putting together the 2019 recruiting class.

After a successful 2017 season, Richt and his staff pulled in the No. 8 nationally ranked recruiting class according to 247Sports. However, with the coaching changes and coming off a 7-6 record, that ranking dipped. Miami’s class dropped to No. 35 nationally and No. 6 in the ACC for this year.

Receiver Jeremiah Payton is Miami’s best recruit for this class with a four-star ranking and rated as the tenth best prospect at receiver nationally. Payton is already enrolled as are four-star defensive end Jahfari Harvey and three-star offensive tackle Zion Nelson.

Along with Harvey, Miami lands four more four-star recruits on defense. Poly Prep defensive tackle Jason Blissett will join Harvey on the line. Blissett is the No. 23 defensive tackle nationally. Cornerback Keontra Smith and safety Te’Cory Couch will bolster a secondary known for creating turnovers and sporting the famous “turnover chain”. The Hurricanes’ class is mostly dominated by defense for this year.

Those are the biggest names for this class, but what about everyone else who is headed to South Beach? Here is a look at the rest of the class:

One of the Hurricane’s biggest issues last year was depth due to countless injuries. The injury bug hit the tight ends the hardest. By the end of the season, Miami had just one scholarship tight end healthy. Larry Hodges helps there, but what about at other positions decimated by injuries. Receiver was another position they needed to address, but could only manage to land one in Payton. The team also did not land any running backs, which is a cause for concern based on the lack of depth they had last year.

While there is talent returning for Diaz’s first year, Miami did leave some on the table for their 2019 class. Defensively they nailed it, but there is some work to do to improve the talent level on offense. The transfer of former four-star recruit Tate Martell from Ohio State is a big help, even if he isn’t technically a part of their recruiting class. Diaz will need to work on adding weapons for Martell and big bodies to protect him.

Grade: B-