Podcast: Miami puts together a historic recruiting class. How Cristobal pulled it off

Another incredible run of commitments has the Miami Hurricanes’ Class of 2023 up to No. 3 in the country.

After winning just five games in his first year at Miami, Mario Cristobal now has six top-100 recruits, according to ESPN’s rankings, locked in ahead of the early signing period.

It’s a wild feat for the first-year coach and also exactly what was advertised when the Hurricanes hired him away from the Oregon Ducks a little more than a year ago. On a new episode of the Eye on the U podcast, David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Miami Herald’s Hurricanes beat writer, discuss what it means and how Cristobal pulled it off after such an underwhelming debut season.

It started with a strong run in June and July, building up a foundation of eight blue-chip recruits and a dozen total commits, and hit a second peak in the last month with four-more blue chip additions and finally another five-star tackle joining the recruiting class Thursday.

In the last week alone, Miami secured a commitment from four-star Dillard running back Christopher Johnson on Sunday, got another from elite Miami Central edge rusher Rueben Bain on Tuesday and finally one from five-star tackle Samson Okunlola on Thursday.

All three are a big deal, for different reasons.

Johnson gives the Hurricanes badly needed depth in the backfield after the departure of running back Jaylan Knighton. Bain is the top-ranked senior in Miami-Dade County and the Hurricanes kept him from leaving South Florida even after he spent the weekend on an official visit. Okunlola is now one of the prizes of Miami’s 2023 recruiting class, coming from Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts, to Coral Gables as part of one of the Hurricanes’ best offensive line hauls ever.

For the first time in history, Miami will have two five-star star offensive linemen in the same class.

We wrap up with some transfer portal news, including what the departure of offensive lineman John Campbell Jr. means for the Hurricanes, especially in the context of Okunlola’s commitment.

As always, thanks for listening and please continue to rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.