ACC Football Recruiting: #3 - Miami (FL)

While the on field results perhaps have not been what Canes fans have hoped for, they must be encouraged by what Randy Shannon has been able to do on the recruiting trail. According to rivals.com, the Canes signed the number eleven class nationally, which put them third best in the ACC behind Florida St. and North Carolina. This class is loaded with "Miami" type guys, which means athletic, fast, and playmakers.

Offense: The headliner of the Hurricanes class is Ray Ray Armstrong. Armstrong checks in at 6'4" and 218 lbs. He is rated five stars by rivals.com and the number one athlete in the country (and number 13 in the country regardless of position). I am listing him with the offense because by the look of his size he could make an unbelievable receiver. He could be used at a number of positions however. Wherever Randy Shannon and his staff decide to put Armstrong he will look to make an instant impact and be a contributor from the moment he sets foot on campus. Armstrong chose Miami over, well, just about everyone else in the country. The Hurricanes also signed two four star running backs, the better of which appears to be, at least at this time, Lamar Miller. Miller is ranked as the #9 RB on rivals.com and boasts 4.4 forty yard dash speed. He also made the rivals.com top 100, checking in at #80. The other back is Mike James, another four star back ranked as the #21 RB on rivals.com. Rounding out the offense, Shannon signed four offensive lineman, two of which got four star ratings. Brandon Washington projects as a guard at the collegiate level and already possesses good measurables, with a 6'5" frame and weighing 330 lbs. He did not get a position rating as he is coming to Miami from prep school. Jermaine Johnson is the other four star OL signed by the Hurricanes. He too did not get a position ranking as he is coming from Hargrave Military Academy. He projects as a tackle at the collegiate level and checks in at 6'6" and 309 lbs.

Defense: The Hurricanes are always known for their fast, attacking defenses that can fly all over the field. The Hurricanes definitely wanted to upgrade some of their defensive talent level this recruiting year and were largely successful. One four star defensive back will be calling Miami home this fall. He is Brandon McGee. McGee possesses 4.35 speed and is ranked as the #10 DB on rivals.com. Dryon Dye was the best defensive line prospect signed by the Hurricanes ranking four stars. He will need to add some weight before he may be able to contribute (215 lbs.) but already has that typical Hurricane speed off the edge. His personal best in the forty is 4.62. Olivier Vernon was another four star defensive end signed by the Canes. He is not quite as quick as Dye (4.8) but has the more college ready frame at 6'3" and 239 lbs. Luther Robinson was signed as a defensive tackle and ranked four stars by riavls.com. Rivals ranked him as the number 18 DT in the nation and could be a bit of a sleeper in this class as his video shows some great explosiveness.

Recap: Miami's class was loaded with four star guys and headliner Ray Ray Armstrong. With a few more classes like this one and some good coaching from the Miami staff, I see things looking up in Coral Gables. The jury is still out on Shannon as a head coach and program builder, but he does get his guys to play hard and work hard and seems to relate to them well. I am interested to see what Miami looks like 2 or 3 years from now when most of this class should be ready to contribute. If recruiting were a true indication on rankings (which it obviously isn't but sometimes does come reasonably close) then Miami, with this year's class and last year's, should be a top 10 team within the next couple of years and battling for conference championships.