2023 Recruiting Tracker: Miami Recruit Antione Jackson Asking Out of NLI
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Ahead of the 2022 college football season, recruiting is taking center stage from coast to coast. For Mario Cristobal and his new staff at Miami, things are expected to be quite busy in Coral Gables relative to the top talent expected to travel to campus.
In the class of 2023 and beyond, UM's recruiting momentum is hitting full force, and as a result, the Hurricanes are in the mix for some of the top names around the country. As the talent descends upon south Florida, drops top schools, commitment dates and more, this recruiting tracker will serve as a one-stop-shop for Canes fans looking for the very latest.
Stick with All Hurricanes for all of the latest updates in recruiting below:
FEBRUARY 7
In the world of college football there have always been surprises. Adding in the Name, Image, and Likeness category to the recruiting game, that's even more reason to believe there's going to be bumps in the road for any given college football program.
Case in point, 2023 Miami signee Antione Jackson, a player All Hurricanes ran into at Battle Miami just a few weeks ago, is apparently asking to be released from his signed National Letter of Intent.
Jackson was happy with Miami. He even had a Miami Hurricanes shirt on (see article photo). Hard to say what exactly happened to make him want the NLI contract to go away, or anything else.
Jackson was the No. 174 recruit in the country by Rivals for this past recruiting cycle. He picked the Hurricanes over numerous other programs.
All Hurricanes will report anything else that breaks with Jackson.
FEBRUARY 1 - 11:23 AM
Former Miami Hurricanes quarterback commitment Jaden Rashada has landed with Arizona State. It has been a long and wild recruitment from the Pittsburg (Calif.) High School football recruit.
Many people thought that either Colorado or Washington would end up landing Rashada after he pulled out of his letter of intent with the University of Florida. Rashada signing with the Sun Devils just shows that recruiting can truly be difficult to predict.
FEBRUARY 1
While it's not the best news for Miami, the saga has appeared to come to a conclusion.
Cormani McClain, arguably the top cornerback recruit in the class of 2023, has all but officially come off the board with a National Letter of Intent to Colorado. The news broke early Wednesday morning, according to his mother via social media.
The one-time Miami commitment was pledged to Mario Cristobal's program for about two months, flipping from The U to Colorado after a trip to Boulder in mid January.
The timeline around the Lakeland (Fla.) High School star's recruitment can be found, in full, here.
JANUARY 30
It appeared that the University of Miami's 2023 recruiting class was done. Perhaps not.
Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes hosted defensive tackle Jamel Howard from Chicago (Ill.) Marist this past weekend. He's taken official visits to Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, LSU and now Miami.
With his frame, Howard could play nose guard or defensive tackle for a Power 5 program:
The Hurricanes only signed one interior defensive lineman on Dec. 21, the first National Signing Day. That prospect was Joshua Horton from Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes. Miami lacked defensive tackle depth for the future, and signing two interior defensive linemen has generally been a good practice anyway, so recruiting Howard made sense.
The second National Signing Day takes place on Wednesday, Feb. 1. All Hurricanes will report any news or developments with Howard moving forward. There has not been much information after the visit as he's not been all that active on social media or by way of direct comments.
JANUARY 18
The ups and downs of recruiting have certainly been present with former University of Miami quarterback commitment Jaden Rashada.
After he decommitted from the Hurricanes this past November, he knew where he wanted to go. At least at that time that’s the case.
Rashada signed with Florida on National Signign Day, but that tale was just getting started.
There were numerous rumors about what exactly transpired with an alleged Name, Image, and Likeness deal that apparently went wrong. Now the following tweet was sent out last night:
Huffman was essentially confirming the swirling rumors that had been going around for over a week that Rashada wanted to play his college football elsewhere. With that in mind, the guessing game now begins.
Where the Pittsburgh (Calif.) High School signal caller eventually calls home for his college football career, that’s difficult to say at this point.
Jan. 14, 2023, 6:40 PM UPDATE
Madison Central (Miss.) walk-on quarterback Vic Sutton has flipped his commitment from the Canes to Mississippi State. Sutton, ranked as a three-star quarterback by most recruiting services, was a home run walk-on commitment.
Sutton's flip doesn't exactly sting as Miami signed Emory Williams and has returned every quarterback from 2022. He's also extremely raw as a passer, much like Jacurri Brown.
Sutton could eventually earn a scholarship after two or three years and has enough talent to see the field at the Power Five level with proper development.
Dec. 11, 1:55 PM UPDATE
Miami just landed its first running back target of the recruiting cycle in Dillard High School speedster Chris Johnson and it already has sights on potentially adding another.
Mark Fletcher, another Broward County star coming out of American Heritage High School, is set to visit Miami for the final weekend of the recruiting cycle. Next weekend's trip will be an official visit, per Adam Gorney at Rivals.
Fletcher took an unofficial visit to Miami, and then Florida, in November just before decommitting from Ohio State. The Gators hosted him for an official visit this weekend in a recruitment long expected to be the latest to come down to the in-state recruiting rivals.
"Miami, you know that's hometown," Fletcher told All Hurricanes in October.
Dec. 9 3:20 UPDATE
Mario Cristobal decided to head up to Lakeland (Fla.) to visit one of the Hurricanes' most prized commits in Cormani McClain. McClain's mother shared a picture from the visit via Twitter.
McClain was rumored to potentially visit Alabama this weekend but it seems as if those plans have been "changed" by the Hurricanes head man in charge. This post by McClain's mom could confirm the latter. It certainly shows that Cristobal is playing no games about keeping his commits, committed.
Dec. 7 6:05 UPDATE
A five-star tackle from Thayer Academy (MA) will announce to the world his college decision on December 15.
Samson Okunlola, also known as "Pancake Honcho," is one of the last top offensive linemen still uncommitted in the 2023 cycle but all that will change come mid-December. Okunlola will take an official visit to Florida on December 9 before making his commitment, but the Hurricanes are firmly in the race for one of the nation's best offensive linemen.
UM hosted him for a summer official visit and again for a game trip in 2022.
Nov. 22, 5:45 PM UPDATE
A former Pac-12 commitment has the Miami Hurricanes in his top group.
Caleb Bryant, the Vicksburg (Miss.) High School star pass rusher, released a top eight on Monday with the Hurricanes square in the mix along with Mississippi State, Jackson State, Oregon, USC, Missouri, Nebraska and Alcorn State.
Bryant was once verbally committed to Utah, but appears all but moved on from the Utes program. He has visited most schools on his final list, including Miami back in the spring when he learned of his scholarship offer from Mario Cristobal's program.
On Tuesday, Bryant confirmed to Sports Illustrated's John Garcia, Jr., that he will look to end the recruiting process during the traditional signing period in February. Class of 2023 recruits could technically begin signing a National Letter of Intent as early as December 21.
Bryant also says he will take multiple official visits before a final decision is to be made early next year.
Nov. 16, 8:00 PM UPDATE
American Heritage (Fla.) running back Mark Fletcher announced his decommitment from Ohio State.
The decommitment is not a surprising one as both Miami and Florida have been extensively working one of Florida's best tailbacks behind the scenes and it seems as if the Gators could be in the driver's seat considering he's fresh off a visit to the Swamp.
According to MaxPreps, the 6'2 220-pound bruiser is averaging 8.8 yards per carry with 127.1 yards per game and 17 total touchdowns.
Miami has yet to pick up a running back commitment in the class of 2023.
Nov. 15, 9:45 AM UPDATE
One of Miami’s top commitments has shut out all the rumors of a potential change of heart.
Malik Bryant, the Orlando (Fla.) Jones star pass rusher and linebacker, announced plans to shut down his entire recruitment on Tuesday morning. The Miami verbal commitment, part of the program’s big recruiting wave in the summer, had been rumored to be eyeing the Florida Gators among other programs.
Bryant also confirmed plans to graduate from Jones in December in time for a January enrollment at The U.
Miami has a top 10 recruiting class of 2023, with many of the elite recruits expected to come in and compete for early playing time.
Nov. 11, 6:30 PM UPDATE
Naturally, rumors began to circulate that Miami commits could look elsewhere following quarterback Jaden Rashada's quick exit from the Hurricanes' recruiting class early on Friday morning. Offensive line commits Francis Mauigoa and Tommy Kinsler, whose names have spun around the rumor mill, want no part of that drama.
The duo of Miami commits took to Twitter on Friday night to state that they will not visit Florida on Saturday when the Gators take on South Carolina, despite buzz circulating that they would.
"BLOCK THE NOISE!!! MIAMI IS HOME!!! I GOT LOVE 4 COACH [Mario Cristobal] and my future CANES!" Mauigoa wrote on Saturday. "I will not be attending FLORIDA this weekend. I'm ALL IN on [The] U."
Kinsler shared a similar message, adding that he "didn’t tell these reporters I was attending Florida game this weekend" as some reports had suggested.
Isn't recruiting fascinating?
Mauigoa and Kinsler weren't the only Miami commits to comment on Rashada's departure. Check out All Hurricanes' reporter Luke Chaney's interviews with five commits who remain locked in with The U following the news here.
Nov. 10, 12:25 PM UPDATE
The future of the Miami Hurricanes football program remains bright, especially in recruiting, under Mario Cristobal.
UM is one of just a few programs to have two future signal-callers in the class of 2023 currently verbally committed, and the latest sample Emory Williams put on tape was a gem. In arguably his best performance as a varsity starter, the Milton (Fla.) High School quarterback threw for 362 yards and six touchdowns in his latest outing. It paced the Elite 11 field.
Williams wrapped up his regular season, and prep career, with a dominant win over Godby High School, 56-32. He completed 27 of his 33 pass attempts in the rout, adding another 31 yards on the ground as a rusher to boot.
With his senior season complete, Williams' 10-game stat line reads: 161 for 257 for 2,049 yards, 21 touchdowns against just four interceptions. As a runner, Williams added 237 yards and a pair of additional touchdowns.
The Milton Panthers finished the 2022 campaign 3-7.
Nov. 4, 2:00 PM UPDATE
One of the top athletes in the country could cap his recruitment in Coral Gables.
Nyckoles Harbor, the two-way and two-sport star from Washington (D.C.) Archbishop Carroll High School, confirmed multiple reports of a final official visit schedule this week. Before intentions to sign a National Letter of Intent in February, Harbor will see LSU, Maryland and Miami in December. He had already taken official visits to South Carolina and Michigan.
“The 'Canes I'll say are (recruiting) the hardest," Harbor said of The U recently. "Once (Cristobal) got there and once the new staff got there, they’re recruiting me (the hardest). and it’s paid off.”
Despite on-field struggles, Miami is on a tear in recruiting the class of 2023 and up to No. 7 in the SI team rankings with plenty of top targets remaining. Harbor, who stands 6-foot-4 with freaky speed and overall athleticism, could project on either side of the ball in college and he shown flashes of it as a senior this fall.
Oct. 22 12:40 PM UPDATE
IMG Academy (Fla.) five-star cornerback Desmond Ricks has announced his decision to reclassify from 2024 to 2023. Ricks was one of the top players in the class of 2024 and will certainly be in consideration to be a top-10 prospect in the class of 2023.
Ricks announced the decision via Twitter.
Ricks released a top 10 in early July that featured Miami, Ohio State, Oregon, Florida, Alabama, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Jackson State, LSU and USC. With Miami having success at IMG this cycle, one can imagine that the reclassification gives the Canes a fighting chance to secure his services.
Ricks visited Miami on Oct. 8 and could be in the running to receive an official visit from the highly-touted defensive back.
Sep. 22, 8:20 AM UPDATE
One of the top prospects in South Florida will make his college choice on Friday, and he’s a prospect the Miami Hurricanes coaching staff has pursued for quite some time.
Wide receiver Hykeem Williams will be selecting from Miami, Florida State, Texas A&M, Georgia, and Pittsburgh among his many scholarship opportunities.
The Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Stranahan player has a wide array of skills to go along with a 6-foot-3 and 215-pound frame. The speed to get deep, excellent hand-eye coordination to win 50-50 balls, and understands how to use his size to shield off opposing defensive backs just to name a few of Williams’ talents.
At 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Williams will make his choice. Regardless of where Williams decides to call home during his college career, one can be assured that he will still be ardently pursued by the other programs that have been chasing him.
SEPTEMBER 1, 1:30 PM UPDATE
One of the top uncommitted recruits in Florida will make the trek from Lakeland to Miami Gardens on Saturday, per Chad Simmons of On3.
Tyler Williams, the SI99 wide receiver and Lakeland High School star, has cancelled a previously-scheduled trip to Ole Miss for this weekend in order to see The U open up the Mario Cristobal era at home.
Miami didn't make the initial top group for Williams, and it has not received an official visit from the 6'5" standout, but it has a major need at the position and figures to recruit Williams beyond his September 27 verbal commitment date.
At this stage, Georgia appears to be the industry favorite to land the long prospect, though Miami's
AUGUST 29, 7:40 PM UPDATE
One of the top uncommitted offensive line recruits in the country, Monroe Freeling has come off the board.
On Monday evening, he announced a verbal commitment to Georgia over Miami, Florida, Alabama and Clemson, among his listed finalists.
Freeling is tabbed as the No. 4 offensive tackle recruit and a top 50 overall recruit in the SI99 rankings for the class of 2023.
AUGUST 28, 10:45 AM UPDATE
The Miami Hurricanes are among five finalists for Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Oceanside Collegiate Academy offensive tackle Monroe Freeling, alongside Georgia, Clemson, Florida and Alabama. Freeling has locked in a commitment date of Monday, Aug. 29 at 7:30 P.M. ET.
Freeling is one of two priority offensive tackle prospects for the Hurricanes that remain on the recruiting market, the other being Brockton (Mass.) Thayer Academy's Samson Okunlola. Freeling paid Miami three visits this year, including on an official basis in June.
The Canes hope to add one of these prospects to their 2023 haul in order to compile, arguably, the best offensive line class in the country, as Miami already possesses five commitments in the trenches including elite interior projection Francis Mauigoa from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy.
AUGUST 20, 9:00 AM UPDATE
There is room for more talent in Miami's haul of 2023 wide receivers, which has led the Hurricanes to check in on several pass-catchers from across the country committed elsewhere in recent weeks.
The latest to generate waves is LSU commit and local Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep receiver Jalen Brown, who told CanesCounty.com that he continues to hear from Miami's coaching staff despite his pledge to the Tigers in July.
"Pretty much, even though I'm committed there's a lot of schools including Miami saying that they're not gonna stop until signing day," Brown said on Friday. "So, they've been texting me, hitting me up weekly. Right now it's just talking, just checking in, yelling me [to] have a good season, just let it come to me, just play hard. And then, hopefully, I become a Miami Hurricane, but I don't know."
At this point, Brown doesn't appear interested or at least ready to commit to visiting Miami again during the 2022 season, stating "I don't think so, I don't know" when asked specifically. But should the Canes become more aggressive with their pitch as the year creeps toward its end, perhaps Brown would consider the short trek to Coral Gables and contemplate a flipping of his services.
AUGUST 18, 10:00 PM UPDATE
When the Miami Hurricanes landed talented twin brothers Robby and Bobby Washington, that did not mean that other programs were not going to continue to recruit the talented prospects.
Quite the contrary.
The Miami (Fla.) Palmetto prospects have been targeted by multiple programs, with Louisville being the program that was reportedly trending with them. During Thursday night’s high school action at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons, though, both brothers put that information to rest.
“Got to stick with The Crib,” linebacker Bobby Washington answered when asked. His brother Robby was also pretty blunt about the situation, too.
“No, done,” Robby said of his college decision. He also added “yes sir” when asked if he and Bobby were headed to play football for Miami.
There was a sense that that decision had been made because Robby was rocking Miami gloves and orange cleats during the game.
Further, Robby was in a great mood from the time he stepped on the field, talking up Miami and flashing “The U” to several different people.
AUGUST 10, 7:30 PM UPDATE
Hurricanes class of 2023 target and Sports Illustrated's No. 1 running back Cedric Baxter Jr. has committed to Texas over Miami and other programs.
Baxter, hailing from Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater, is widely regarded as one of the top backs in the class and clinched SI's No. 1 spot at his position on Tuesday. His power-speed combo led to big numbers during his junior season, posting over 1,700 yards and 26 touchdowns.
The senior ball carrier had narrowed down his college choices to four, but ultimately chose the Longhorns over Florida, Miami, and Texas A&M, although he interestingly had a UCF hat at his commitment table. He’ll join an already star-studded Texas class alongside elite quarterback prospect Arch Manning.
Baxter was a major target for Miami, but they’ll now likely shift their full focus to Christopher Johnson, another highly ranked ball carrier in the cycle. Johnson may not be quite as sought after according to recruiting rankings, but the local Dillard High back could be an ideal fit and another solid get for the Hurricanes.
AUGUST 5, 9:00 AM UPDATE
It's decision day for Connor Lew.
The Kennesaw (Ga.) Mountain offensive line recruit is set to come off the board Friday night, to be streamed on Instagram as well by a local Fox television affiliate, the rising-senior recruit announced Friday morning.
On August 1, Lew announced a final four of Miami, Auburn, Georgia and Clemson ahead of his expected verbal commitment. The 6'3", 280-pound interior offensive lineman, who projects as a center at the next level, took official visits to each finalist in what was a busy month of June.
“I like Miami because of what Coach (Mario) Cristobal and (Alex) Mirabal are building there," Lew told 247Sports in June. "The opportunity to be a part of ‘OL Paradise’ is something that is intriguing to me. Miami has a top OL coach in Coach Mirabal and is one of the only schools in the nation with an offensive-minded head coach.
"On my official visit, you could tell that everyone looks out for each other and genuinely wants the best for you. Miami is an exciting place to be for an offensive lineman and the recent hype surrounding the program is for good reason.”
JULY 30, 4:05 PM UPDATE
Local Northwestern (Fla.) High School 2023 wide receiver Andy Jean announced his pledge to Florida on Saturday, opting for the Gators over Miami, Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M.
Jean's commitment came as somewhat of a surprise, as the talented rising senior announced his intentions to make a decision a little over two hours before doing so.
The Hurricanes have two wide receivers committed to their 2023 recruiting class in Robby Washington and Nathaniel Joseph.
The next UM target at wideout that is set to pledge to a school is Miami native William Fowles, who is expected to declare on August 3.
JULY 26, 9:00 PM UPDATE
Three days after postponing his announcement, Orlando (Fla.) Jones linebacker Malik Bryant has rescheduled his commitment for Saturday, July 27 at noon ET.
Originally set to make his decision on July 23, Bryant chose to push things back on Saturday. At the time, AllHurricanes reported that Bryant was seemingly down to two schools — Miami and Florida — and that he was expected to quickly reschedule his commitment.
That he did, and we'll find out in 15 hours where Bryant intends to play his college ball.
JULY 15, 3:45 PM UPDATE
Cormani McClain doesn't have an official group of top schools, but Miami is among those in the mix the most, he confirmed Friday at Under Armour Future 50 check-in.
"'Bama, Florida, Miami..." he said. "Those are really the schools right now."
Of The U, the Lakeland (Fla.) High School star looked back on his June official visit.
"It was a great visit," McClain said. "Being around a lot of Florida dudes, it's home. Miami is a great school, too.
"I'm watching everyone commit and they're waiting on me. Miami is up there now."
McClain, who singled out assistant coach Jahmile Addae after his title run with Georgia last year, says he could visit Florida next, though his next trip isn't quite locked in. Georgia, LSU and other programs are in the mix as well.
Arguably the top uncommitted recruit in America, McClain says he is in no rush to make a decision. The commitment could extend all the way to Early Signing Day on December 14.
JULY 11, 11:30 AM UPDATE
One of Miami's early verbal commitments in the class of 2023 just came off the board elsewhere in the ACC.
Lamar Seymore, Miami (Fla.) Central wide receiver and younger brother of Hurricane offensive lineman Laurence Seymore, announced a verbal commitment to the Pitt Panthers on Monday.
Seymore was committed to UM from April of 2020 through June of 2022 and he included the program within a top five announced earlier in July. In addition to UM and Pitt, Penn State, Auburn and UCF were also named finalists by the rising-senior recruit.
As a junior, Seymore helped Central make another state championship with 550 yards and seven touchdowns to his name.
JULY 8, 4:40 PM UPDATE
The Miami Hurricanes are building a strong recruiting class and it could take another step forward with the following elite prospect including them in his final seven:
Sam M'Pemba is a naturally gifted edge rusher with the ability to bull over an opponent or go right by him with a speed rush move. Even a tackle like Miami commitment Francis Mauigoa, one of the best players in the country, sometimes loses reps to M'Pemba when he comes after the quarterback during an IMG Academy practice.
The three programs that have been considered the most likely landing spots (no order) have been Georgia, Miami and Notre Dame, but there's a long way to go with this young pass rusher's recruitment. He still has official visits to take. In fact, he has only one official visit set for the upcoming season, and that's to Notre Dame on Nov. 5 when Clemson goes to South Bend, Ind.
Miami needs pass rushers so M'Pemba is going to continue to be a priority for the Miami coaching staff.
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