Miami commitment of Christopher Johnson, Jr. further solidifies Canes in top 10 as program eyes a top 5 finish
Miami’s recruiting class ranking is continuing to fluctuate as the early signing period approaches, this time in a positive way.
The Hurricanes climbed to No. 7 in the 2023 On3 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings following the commitment of four-star running back Christopher Johnson Jr. Sunday afternoon as Miami continues to climb toward a top five recruiting class. The Canes also reclaimed the top spot in the ACC recruiting rankings by leapfrogging Clemson, whose class currently sits at No. 10 nationally.
Miami 2023 recruiting class
Johnson’s commitment gives Miami 23 commits in the 2023 class. According to the On3 Consensus, Miami has two Five-Star Plus+ commits, 10 four-star commits and 11 three-star commits. The Canes are still in pursuit of five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola, the On3 Consensus’ No. 3 offensive tackle in the 2023 class, and several other 2023 recruits.
Miami is tied with Clemson for the third-most 2023 commits in the ACC behind Duke’s 26 commits and Virginia Tech’s 24 commits. The Hurricanes are yet to have a recruit decommit in the month of December and have already added Johnson, three-star linebacker Marcellius Pulliam, three-star defensive lineman Joshua Horton and flipped four-star defensive lineman Collins Acheampong from Michigan in the last two weeks.
The Canes have the second-most blue-chip recruits in the ACC in this year’s class (behind Clemson’s 16 blue-chips) and the most five-star commits.
Connor Lew visits Auburn, Okunlola says updates coming soon
Three-star interior offensive lineman commit Connor Lew (Kennesaw, GA) took an official visit to Auburn one week after reaffirming his commitment to the Hurricanes. Lew said ahead of his visit he was only doing his due diligence by choosing to visit the Tigers and “wouldn’t be surprised” if teams make a late push for him before signing day.
Asked for an update on his visit to Auburn, Lew texted back: “Respectfully i’m not doing interviews for anyone right now. Thank you 🙏.”
Lew is the No. 49 interior offensive lineman in this year’s class and received offers from Georgia, Auburn, Clemson and Tennessee, among others. He took an official visit to Miami June 10 and committed to the Canes Aug. 5. Head coach Mario Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal visited Lew in his home Dec. 2.
Okunlola took an official visit to Florida this weekend and felt positive about the visit but did not hint at which schools are his frontrunners, saying he plans on releasing more information about his top schools on social media in the coming days. It is expected that Cristobal will visit Okunlola Tuesday, and he plans on announcing his verbal commitment on social media Dec. 15.
Okunlola’s commitment could put Miami in position to finish with a top-five 2023 recruiting class.
2023 ACC recruiting rankings
- Miami (7)
- Clemson (10)
- Florida State (16)
- Louisville (21)
- North Carolina (27)
- North Carolina State (36)
- Virginia Tech (44)
- Wake Forest (46)
- Boston College (47)
- Duke (51)
- Pitt (53)
- Georgia Tech (63)
- Virginia (64)
- Syracuse (88)
