5 Star Miami Hurricanes WR annouced his  recruitment and is “100% locked in with U….

College football is a talent acquisition sport.

The teams that stack the most talent on a consistent basis typically have the strongest probability to compete for championships on a consistent basis.

Talent acquisition is the most important phase of any major college football program, but nearly just as important of a factor for these major programs is player development.

Talent acquisition is the most important phase of any major college football program, but nearly just as important of a factor for these major programs is player development.

Six Hurricanes who have blossomed since arriving at Miami as high school recruits

College football is a talent acquisition sport.

 

The teams that stack the most talent on a consistent basis typically have the strongest probability to compete for championships on a consistent basis.

 

Talent acquisition is the most important phase of any major college football program, but nearly just as important of a factor for these major programs is player development.

 

What does a program do with the players it signs out of high school? Do players who sign with the program out of high school improve and perform at an acceptable level when it is their time to get on the field?

This article highlights six strong player development stories that have happened on this 2024 Miami Hurricanes football team.

 

In this modern age of college football, programs must maximize their potential in high school recruiting and transfer portal talent acquisition. The talent landed in the portal should be used in a complementary sense to either fill holes on a roster or in some cases take a team over the top.

 

While the portal is important, we’d argue that high school recruiting is the best way to raise the ceiling of a program by landing Top 100 level talents AND it is the best way to lay the foundation for a culture that embraces competition and pride in a program.

 

Mario Cristobal is one of the best recruiters in all of college football. It is easy to identify the high school talents Cristobal has added who have made significant impacts since arriving: OL Francis Mauigoa, DL Rueben Bain, and RB Mark Fletcher are all former top 100 recruits who have can change games.

 

Who are some of the high school signees Miami has developed over the last few seasons? This article takes a closer look.

High school recruiting classes must be layered with developmental players that embrace that long term process. Not every player is ready to make an immediate impact. Some times it takes two or three years of development before a player is ready to play a significant role.

 

Read on for a look at six players who have embraced the developmental process at UM—and now they are seeing the rewards of their hard work on the

Horton arrived at Miami in Cristobal’s transition recruiting class in 2022 and has worked hard behind the scenes while not playing much. Horton has reshaped his body, lowering his body fat percentage while getting stronger, and blossoming into one of the fastest players on the team. Horton entered this 2024 season with 14 receptions for 174 yards and one touchdown in 17 games played. Through two games in 2024, Horton has caught eight passes for 136 yards. He is on pace to make the leap to totaling over 750 yards on the season.

 

Miami brought in Sam Brown as a transfer from Houston this summer and Horton responded by continuing to work and fighting for playing time. He is now the second leading receiver on t

Arroyo arrived at Miami as a 4-star prospect in the 2021 class who dealt with the comeback from a significant non-contact knee injury that was sustained during the 2022 season. He is now healthy and emerging as one of the top playmakers for this 2024 UM attack.

 

Arroyo entered this 2024 season with career stats of 11 receptions for 163 yards and one touchdown. Through two games this season, Arroyo has caught five passes for 106 yards and one touchdown. Since the 2022 season, Arroyo has reshaped his body, improved his athleticism, and improved his physicality as a blocker.

Arroyo was a tight end much of the ACC was unaware of coming into this season. He is now in the conversation as being one of the best players at his position in the conference.

 

The PFF grades don’t exactly tell the whole story of the development by Cooper since he arrived in Cristobal’s transition class in 2022. When Cooper signed with Miami he was pushing 400 pounds. He is now in the 340 pound range at 6-feet-6. Cooper plays right guard with an edge in the run game and he has nimble feet to be strong in pass protection as well. Cooper’s development story at Miami is also an evaluation story by Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal. The offensive lineman was largely overlooked while playing high school football in the state of Alabama. Cooper is now in a position to be drafted whenever he is ready to turn pro.

 

Moten signed with Miami in Cristobal’s transition class in 2022 as a three-star prospect out of local Cardinal Gibbons High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Moten did not play much at all in the 2022 season, earning 31 defensive snaps as a true freshman and he saw his playing time increase to 146 defensive snaps in 2023.

 

Through two games of this 2024 season, Moten has emerged as a key rotational player at defensive tackle. At 6-feet-3 and 315 pounds, Moten has improved his strength and conditioning level dramatically since arriving at UM. Through two games of this 2024 season, Moten has earned the second highest run defense grade on the team from PFF with a 79.3 grade. He has not missed a tackle on the year.

 

A defense can never have too many defensive tackles. The Hurricanes went out and added veterans in the transfer portal like Simeon Barrow, CJ Clark, and Marley Cook while also signing a 5-star recruit in the 2024 cycle in Justin Scott. Moten kept working and kept improving and now he is a solid contributor to the team with three years of eligibility remaining.

Bissainthe joined Miami as a member of Cristobal’s 2022 transition recruiting class. The linebacker was solid over the last two seasons, but in 2024, he has been voted the defensive player of the week by the team in the first two games. Bissainthe has totaled six tackles, one tackle for loss, and one interception.

 

Bissainthe has not missed a tackle through two games and in coverage he has allowed a reception on 5-of-6 targets for eight yards with one interception. Bissainthe has been a tone setter for Miami’s defense early in each of the wins over Florida and FAMU. Bissainthe’s development in 2024 gives the Hurricanes arguably the top linebacker duo in the ACC with Kiko Mauigoa.

 

Bissainthe played 276 defensive snaps as a true freshman. In 2023, he played 445 defensive snaps with the Hurricanes bringing in a veteran in K.J. Cloyd to prove depth to the group. Bissainthe responded by continuing to work hard. He is up to 230 pounds and the game has slowed down for him.

Harris arrived in Mario Cristobal’s transition recruiting class in 2022 as a three-star cornerback from the state of Georgia. Harris transitioned to safety at the college level and was groomed by Lance Guidry as the successor to Kam Kinchens and James Williams as one of the next starting safeties in 2024.

 

Harris played 148 snaps in 2022 and 2023 and didn’t show anything remarkable on tape during his time on the field. Through two games in 2024, however, Harris has played fast and with physicality as a strong safety and he leads the team with 12 tackles while adding 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and one interception.

 

Coming into this 2024 season, Harris was viewed as a question mark because he was an unknown commodity and he wasn’t a highly ranked recruit. With his play on the field, however, Harris has quieted those concerns and he is going to be an important piece to the defense in 2024.