Five Hurricanes targets whose Miami interest rose this spring

Spring workouts are in the books following Miami’s spring game April 14, marking the end of recruits’ opportunities to watch the Hurricanes practice live until the start of fall camp.

Miami brought dozens of priority targets to Coral Gables during the month-and-a-half of practices between the start of March and mid-April, and multiple prospects’ interest in Miami rose as a result. More than a dozen prospects have locked in official visits to Coral Gables this summer including the Hurricanes’ seven verbal commits, and Miami is well in the running for four and five-star prospects like defensive tackles David Stone and Justin Scott.

Here are five Miami targets whose interest in the Canes rose during the spring. All recruit rankings are from the On300.

Justin Scott, DL, Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius | 5-star prospect | No. 8 overall prospect, No. 2 DL, No. 1 Ill. prospect

Scott locked in an official visit to Miami before the spring, but a weeklong unofficial visit to Coral Gables ahead of the spring game put the Canes in a comfortable position with the five-star prospect. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine lists Miami with the third-best chance to land Scott behind Notre Dame and Georgia. On3’s Chad Simmons reported the Irish are trending again for Scott, and Blue and Gold’s Kyle Kelly said he believes Notre Dame is a slight favorite over Miami. But Miami made it clear this spring it plans to be a serious contender for the elite defensive tackle and isn’t afraid of a little bit of competition.

David Stone, DL, IMG Academy | 4-star prospect | No. 19 overall prospect, No. 4 DL, No. 5 Fla. prospect

Stone visited Miami back-to-back weekends in March and said after he “definitely” wants to take an official visit to Coral Gables, although momentum has since shifted back to Oklahoma — where he is originally from — and Michigan State, another major contender. Still, the Hurricanes made a strong impression on Stone and his family on his two Miami visits, even getting his kid brother to start throwing up the ‘U.’ Miami is firmly in the mix and will have its chance to land the top 20 prospect, and he made it clear this spring he likes the Canes as well.

Jerrick Gibson, RB, IMG Academy | 4-star prospect | No. 43 overall prospect, No. 2 RB, No. 6 Fla. prospect

Miami suddenly came out of nowhere to land an official visit from Gibson, who visited Coral Gables for the third time in late March. Gibson told CaneSport Miami is “climbing in a good direction right now” following his visit and has built an encouraging relationship with running backs coach Tim Harris, who has recruited him relentlessly since his time as the running backs coach at UCF. Head coach Mario Cristobal has also been heavily involved in his recruitment. Texas still appears to be the frontrunner, although there’s no debate Miami took a significant step forward this spring by securing one of Gibson’s official visits.

Artavius Jones, DL, Blountstown (Fla.) 4-star prospect | No. 174 overall prospect, No. 16 DL, No. 28 Fla. prospect

Jones quickly became enamored by the Canes following his trip to Coral Gables, and Miami has become the RPM favorite to land the four-star defensive lineman. The Hurricanes have shown Jones serious attention, which he reciprocated by saying he was considering giving Miami an official visit. He’s eager to return to return to Coral Gables, and Hurricane fans have plenty of reason to be optimistic about Jones’ recruitment.

T.A. Cunningham, DL, Miami (Fla.) Central | 4-star prospect | No. 290 overall prospect, No. 23 DL, No. 38 Fla. prospect

Miami has become the RPM’s heavy favorite to land Cunningham, who will transfer to Miami Central from Los Alamitos (Calif.). Cunningham visited Miami twice this spring — once for the Hurricanes junior day March 4 and once for Miami’s spring game April 14. Cunningham said he wanted to return for Miami’s spring game to make sure his first visit wasn’t a fluke, and he now feels Miami is a place he could see himself playing. He’s liked the idea of being coached by co-defensive line coach Jason Taylor and has build a genuine relationship with the coaching staff. Penn State, LSU, Texas A&M and UCLA are also making pushes for the four-star.

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