Miami-Florida State is the hottest recruiting rivalry in the ACC

In college football, rivalries between top programs often extend beyond the field and into recruiting. These intense battles for top prospects directly influence the direction of programs and shape future conference standings. This week Rivals is exploring the best recruiting rivalries in major college football, continuing today with the ACC.

Miami Hurricanes vs. Florida State Seminoles

Notable head-to-heads: Chauncey Kennon (2026), Jaelen Waters (2026), Brody Jennings (2026), Jasen Lopez (2026), Armondo Blount (2024), Hykeem Williams (2023), Asante Samuel Jr. (2018)

Who is winning right now: Miami

Two of the top-eight colleges in America in producing first round NFL Draft picks, Miami and Florida State have had as strong a reputation on the field and in recruiting as any rivalry near the top of college football. Of course each campus sits at opposite ends of the Sunshine State, with each spending considerable time recruiting South Florida as a true pipeline coinciding with the rise of each program from the 1980s in Coral Gables and the 1990s in Tallahassee.

Naturally, it creates plenty of head-to-head recruiting battles dating back to legends like Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin in picking one program over the other. It also becomes reflective of perception of the program, like Miami running away with ACC recruiting titles under Mario Cristobal much like FSU would rattle off under Jimbo Fisher a decade prior. At this time, though, UM is the program the entire league continues to chase in the talent acquisition business.

Miami is gunning for its fourth-consecutive crown in the 2026 recruiting cycle with a class, in true Cristobal fashion, built from the inside-out. It features the No. 1 recruit in the land, Jackson Cantwell, along with five more offensive line recruits already on board. In terms of the rivalry, blue-chippers on the other side of the ball include plenty of Seminole targets like Jaelen Waters, a former FSU commitment, as well as Jordan Campbell and a legacy to both programs in Brody Jennings.

The current crop on board with Mike Norvell and company is sitting No. 3 in the ACC at this time with the South Florida pipeline back up and running. Of the 21 current commitments, six come from Miami-Dade or Broward County, including a marquee head-to-head victory in wide receiver Jasen Lopez. Perhaps fittingly, Miami continues to court the top recruit in what could be the tightest battle among the rivals moving forward.

Honorable Mention

Clemson vs. Florida State: Before Cristobal showed up in Coral Gables, this was the perennial battle in the conference not only for top recruits, but for the top spot in the rankings. The duo went back and forth atop the conference and/or finished No. 1 and No. 2 in four out of five cycles from 2015 to 2019. With overlapping territory in the Atlanta metro area and the Carolinas beyond the state of Florida, these battles won’t soon slow down.

North Carolina vs. Clemson: Dabo Swinney is the constant in the conference but one of the challengers to him on the trail while the Sunshine State programs were in flux was Mack Brown and North Carolina. It won the ACC crown on the trail in the 2022 cycle and was on CU’s heals in two of the three previous runs with top-five finishes.

Louisville vs. Miami: Every program recruits the state of Florida because of its fertile grounds, but few have been as consistent as the Cardinals have in not only contending, but developing. Some are very direct in the rivalry, like quarterback Teddy Bridgewater flipping from UM to UofL before his storied run in the ACC. Others are more related to local prospects potentially being overlooked by The U and others while prioritized up north. Memorable Miami-area natives and/or names like Lamar Jackson, Elvis Dumervil, Tutu Atwell and Yasir Abdullah fit this bill on an ever-expanding list.