Paradise Camp live updates: Miami’s low number of commitments ‘doesn’t bother’ Manny Diaz

Manny Diaz kept referring again and again to this month as “unique.” A 15-month dead period ended June 1 and a whirlwind recruiting season began. The Miami Hurricanes have hosted at least a half dozen official visitors every weekend, and virtually every recruit with a substantial offer sheet has tried to visit a different school every weekend, too.

It even made Paradise Camp, which returned Saturday after being canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unusual affair. Miami still had its loaded crop of alumni in Coral Gables to offer coaching, but there were far more underclassmen in attendance than priority senior recruiting targets for the Hurricanes. Diaz understands it: Most of his top targets were already on campus earlier in June and want to check out something different before a new four-week dead period begins Monday.

It’s the same reason he’s not worried about the current size of Miami’s Class of 2022, with only four players orally committed with less than six months until the early signing period begins in December.

“It’s a scenario where the kids are going to go look around. They haven’t been able to go anywhere,” the coach said. “We’re not a high-pressure outfit. There’s a lot of schools that kind of press a kid to try to commit. I think they’re trying to get some fake momentum because of that and that’s fine. They can win the recruiting bake-off in the month of June because that’s not Signing Day. We want to be authentic in our relationships and if a kid picks Miami we want it to be for the right reasons.”

The Hurricanes entered June with just two commitments from four-star quarterback Jacurri Brown and three-star wide receiver Quan Lee, then added two more last weekend when four-star cornerback Khamauri Rogers orally committed last Saturday and three-star wide receiver Landon Ibieta followed him Sunday.

While Miami’s class could easily double in size in July, the Hurricanes’ four commitments are tied for second fewest in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Boston College Eagles lead the way with 18, followed by the Florida State Seminoles and Virginia Tech Hokies with 12 each.

“It doesn’t bother me, not because of a fear of decommitment phase. It just doesn’t bother me because as we are recruiting, we’re evaluating and that’s unique,” Diaz said. “When have you ever had a month where many of the visitors you’re bringing on official visits you’re meeting for the first time? That’s not the way that it normally works. You’re evaluating while you’re recruiting. Normally, there’s a process to that and they’re evaluating us. You can only learn so much about people on FaceTime and Zoom, and I think just getting back into a real face-to-face experience has been enlightening, not just for them evaluating us, but us evaluating them, as well.”

None of the four commits were at Paradise Camp on Saturday and only a handful of other top prospects were.

Those who were, however, count as upper echelon of Miami’s most wanted. Shemar Stewart, a five-star defensive lineman from Miami Gardens Monsignor Pace, bounced around the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility, wearing a throwback Hurricanes shirt and chatting with alumni like Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips and Baltimore Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell. Wesley Bissainthe, a four-star linebacker from Miami Central, also spent the day on campus after taking an unofficial visit to Florida State on Saturday.

Cornerback Earl Little Jr. and edge rusher Marvin Jones Jr., a pair of elite prospects from Plantation American Heritage, were also late additions to the camp roster, as was three-star Tampa Gaither linebacker Kobe McCloud. Those three worked out.

The Hurricanes also had six official visitors on campus: four-star safety Jaleel Skinner, four-star defensive lineman Zane Durant, four-star linebackers Devon Jackson and DeMario Tolan, and three-star tackles Daughtry Richardson and Jacob Hood. Skinner, a top-100 prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, hung around Greentree Practice Fields for an early portion of the camp, chatting with tight end Elijah Arroyo and Campbell, who was one of more than a dozen guest coaches with NFL experience.

Miami’s list of guest coaches included multiple Pro Football Hall of Famers with wide receiver Michael Irvin and running back Edgerrin James chipping in wisdom. As is becoming tradition, Irvin opened the camp by giving a three-minute speech to the entire group of campers.

“You really can’t get the full experience of what the University of Miami means without having those people in the building,” Diaz said. “You’re talking about a group that has been not just in the NFL, but dominated the NFL.”

This story will be updated.