Flips propelling Miami toward best recruiting class since 2008 cycle

Flip season has come early for Mario Cristobal and Miami.

On Wednesday night, Irmo (S.C.) five-star EDGE Jaiden Bryant told Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett that he has flipped his commitment from LSU to Miami. The Hurricanes got Bryant back to Coral Gables for an official visit and have now added him to the fold.

Bryant is the No. 29 overall prospect and No. 4 EDGE in the 2027 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies. He’s also the top-ranked recruit in South Carolina.

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“It went great,” Bryant said of his OV to Miami when speaking with CaneSport’s EJ Holland. “Some highlights from this weekend were spending time with some of the guys and some of the players already on the team. I just had an all-around great time. I appreciated the way the coaches treated me and my family. I felt love here. I felt wanted.”

Going off rankings, Bryant somehow isn’t even the top recruit that’s made the call to flip to the Canes this cycle. That designation belongs to Long Beach (Calif.) Poly five-star cornerback Donte Wright.

The nation’s No. 8 prospect flipped to Miami from Georgia less than a month ago on May 9. The top-ranked recruit in California is set on making the cross-country move to the 305 next year and he plans on making an instant impact on the field.

“They see him playing a lot right away,” Donte Wright Sr. told Rivals’ Greg Biggins. “They’re all about competition there and the best players will play, no matter the grade. They think Donte is an NFL guy and they’re going to do all they can to maximize his talent there.”

Wright isn’t the only elite cornerback recruit that Miami has already flipped this cycle, either. One week after Wright committed, Dothan (Ala.) four-star CB Ai’King Hall did the same, flipping away from Oregon. A top-100 prospect in the industry rankings, Hall is the No. 39 prospect and No. 7 CB in the Rivals300.

“Miami is much closer… my mom is not getting on a plane,” Hall said with a laugh when discussing his decision with Rivals’ Chad Simmons. “That was a factor and the future at Miami was too. Coach Cristobal is definitely making a national championship team. One’s coming real soon.”

Miami after landmark recruiting class

The Canes now have a tight grip on the No. 3 spot in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. They check in behind only Texas A&M and Oklahoma, as of June 3. There’s still a ways to go until pen hits paper, but Cristobal and his staff have laid some serious groundwork.

The highest-ranked Miami recruiting class in the modern recruiting era came in the 2008 cycle. It signed a pair of five-stars in linebacker Arthur Brown and defensive lineman Marcus Forston, as well as eight other top-100 prospects, including cornerback Brandon Harris, LB Ramon Buchanan, wide receiver Aldarius Johnson and LB Sean Spence.

Back in February, Cristobal discussed his recruiting approach with On3’s J.D. PicKell. Fresh off a national championship appearance, he’s letting what he’s building in Coral Gables do the talking.

“We provide very tangible proof of the direction of our program and what we’re doing,” Cristobal said. “We don’t get into negative recruiting, but people always negative recruit us and that’s fine, no one should ever take that personally, let’s just let it play out. People have a lot of data, they have a sample size to compare how our program is doing versus the rest of our competitors in the state and the direction of our program as well.”

“At Miami it’s very different. It’s a whole different level of meaning, a whole different level of purpose and intent. Live and die a Hurricane, man. That means I’ll do anything and everything possible to make sure our players and our program continues to have success both on and off the field.”