{"id":6441,"date":"2017-03-13T10:01:31","date_gmt":"2017-03-13T14:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=6441"},"modified":"2017-05-21T23:54:27","modified_gmt":"2017-05-22T03:54:27","slug":"storm-brewing-coral-gables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2017\/03\/13\/storm-brewing-coral-gables\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Recruiting Off to a Hot Start"},"content":{"rendered":"

Say it isn’t so, but could the “U” be back in just Mark Richt’s<\/strong> second season? With National Signing Day having been wrapped up for over a month now, there is much optimism around the Coral Gables campus. It was evident that before signing day was even over that coaches were already looking ahead<\/a>, and that there would be a strong commitment towards the next class. Speaking of commitments, Miami has already secured 13 verbal commitments from juniors before their senior campaigns. Now although these commitments are non-binding, the number is indicative of how relevant the once dominant program is within the class of 2018.<\/p>\n

State of Miami… Part 2<\/h2>\n

When Howard Schnellenberger<\/strong> first took over at Miami in 1979, he knew in order to\u00a0win there would have to be an extra emphasis on winning locally<\/a> and making a priority around the tri-county area (Dade,Broward and Palm Beach). This recruiting blueprint would be the driving force behind the five national championships that\u00a0Miami is responsible for and would be the template all coaches after Schnellenberger followed. With Richt at the helm, the fence around south Florida is once again in construction and the commitments in the 2018 class is definitely proof.<\/p>\n

Miami made a big splash in recruiting by landing coveted recruit Lorenzo Lingard<\/a>, a 6-0 running back from out of Orange City, Florida. His commitment would be the first of many surprises so far. \u00a0Miami was able to land two recruits from nationally ranked powerhouse IMG Academy, the shock factor was that both recruits come originate from outside of Florida but believe in the direction in which the Miami program is going. Arthur Sitowski<\/strong><\/a> transferred to IMG after being enrolled at Old Bridge high school in New Jersey. Brian Hightower<\/strong><\/a>, the top recruit according to ESPN, also transferred into IMG academy leaving his hometown of Los Angeles. Outside of those two prospects all of the other commits are originally from the state of Florida.<\/p>\n

Meet the Recruits<\/h2>\n