With 5-star commitment of Samson Okunlola, Miami Hurricanes shoot up to No. 3 in the recruit rankings
Miami is six days away from landing its highest-ranked recruiting class since 2008.
The Hurricanes shot up from No. 7 to No. 3 in the On3 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings following the commitment of five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola Thursday afternoon, placing the Canes only behind No. 2 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama in the 2023 team rankings. Okunlola is Miami’s third five-star recruit along with cornerback Cormani McClain (the No. 3 overall recruit in the 2023 class) and offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa (the No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2023 class).
Miami now has a legitimate shot at finishing with a top three recruiting class in 15 years, when the Canes landed the No. 3 class in 2008. Miami has not had three five-star recruits in a recruiting class since 2004, and Alabama and USC are the only programs in the country who also have three five-star commits.
In 2004, by the way, there were four five-stars for Miami: WR Lance Leggett, RB Charlie Jones, LB James Bryant and RB Bobby Washington. Yes, it was a while ago. So long ago, in fact, that the same Bobby Washington now has his twin sons, Robby and Bobby Jr., as commitments in this year’s recruiting class.
The Hurricanes’ recruiting rankings have fluctuated from as high as No. 7 and as low as No. 14 over the past several weeks following the commitments of players like four-star EDGE Rueben Bain and the flip of three-star interior offensive lineman Connor Lew from Miami to Auburn. It now feels like the Canes have secured the No. 1 recruiting class in the ACC after securing more five-star recruits than the rest of the conference combined.
Miami has an average recruit score of 93.398, less than three tenths of a point away from No. 2 Georgia but only six tenths of a point ahead of No. 4 Ohio State. The Buckeyes, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 6 LSU and No. 7 Texas are all within striking distance of surpassing Miami with one or two big commitments before signing day Dec. 21.
Miami currently has 24 players committed in the 2023 class and 14 blue-chip recruits – three five-star recruits and 11 four-star recruits. The average Name, Image and Likeness value of a Miami commit is $90k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.
