Miami beats out Oregon, SEC suitors to land 4-star Eau Gallie athlete Robert Stafford
The Miami Hurricanes’ incredible week of recruiting just keeps going.
It might not be over yet, either.
Miami landed its third four-star commit in the last five days with the addition of Robert Stafford. The four-star athlete from Melbourne Eau Gallie orally committed to the Hurricanes on Thursday on 247Sports’ YouTube page after he took his official visit to Miami last week.
“It’s a real dynasty over there, man,” Stafford said after making the announcement. “My play style and everything I do — it just fit the Miami Hurricanes, so I just wanted to join it and I feel like Coach Cristobal is building something special over there.”
He joins Edison wide receiver Nathaniel Joseph and quarterback Jaden Rashada from Pittsburg in California as the blue-chip additions to the Hurricanes’ Class of 2023 since Sunday.
Miami is in play for four more during the upcoming long weekend, too. Four-star tight end Riley Williams, and four-star edge rushers Jaxon Howard and Collins Acheampong are all slated to make commitments Friday, and five-star tackle Francis Mauigoa is set to make an announcement Monday.
To land Stafford, the Hurricanes beat out the Georgia Bulldogs, Kentucky Wildcats, Arkansas Razorbacks and Oregon Ducks. The 5-foot-11, 171-pound star is a productive two-way player for Eau Gallie and the No. 163 overall prospect in 247’s composite rankings for the 2023 recruiting cycle. Last year, he caught 42 passes for 605 yards and five touchdowns, and added 19 tackles, a fumble recovery, an interception and five passes defended is his first season playing defense.
He also plays basketball, and competes in track and field.
Although most of Stafford’s experience is as a wide receiver, defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae is leading Miami’s recruitment of the in-state star and the Hurricanes envision him making the full-time move to cornerback once he gets down to Coral Gables for good next year.
“In little league, I used to hate playing,” Stafford said, but an uncle suggested he give it a shot and now he holds more than 40 scholarship offers.
Stafford is the 10th player to join the Miami’s 2023 recruiting class and the fifth from Florida. He’s also the fourth blue-chip recruit in the class and three of those four have joined the fold in the last week. Those three are now the three highest ranked players in the class, too.
Before Rashada committed Sunday, the Hurricanes’ 2023 class was ranked No. 44 in the country. Now, it’s up to No. 20 in the country, one spot behind the Alabama Crimson Tide, and No. 3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I just want to go be a good teammate,” Stafford said, “and then the only thing we’ve got on our mind is winning that natty, so we’re going to bring the U back.”
