Miami climbing for 4-star IOL Jason Zandamela, but work still to be done

Miami is taking steps in the right direction in the recruitment of Clearwater (Fla.) Clearwater Academy International 2024 four-star interior offensive lineman Jason Zandamela, but a lot of work lies ahead for the Hurricanes if UM is going to land him.

Zandamela, the No. 299 overall prospect in the On300 and No. 19 interior offensive lineman in the class, visited Miami last week but isn’t sure if the Hurricanes will receive an official visit yet. The 6-foot-2.5, 260-pound lineman, who the Canes are recruiting at center, already has an official visit scheduled to Florida State and plans to schedule an official visit to USC this weekend, and Florida State is the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine’s heavy favorite to land the four-star.

Zandamela said he needs to see the offensive line improve between his most recent visit — last Saturday — and his next visit, whenever that may be, even though Miami is taking positive steps forward.

“I just have to go back to campus and really see how much they’ve developed over the time I wasn’t there, if that makes sense,” Zandamela said. “(But) the visit definitely affected me in a positive way. I really liked the way they coached, I really liked the way the practice was structured and just the overall experience being on campus and everything.”

The Hurricanes have high interest in Zandamela after not taking a center in the 2023 class following Connor Lew’s last-minute flip to Auburn, and the staff has emphasized transfer center Matt Lee, the expected starter this season, will only be in Coral Gables for a season. Miami is also recruiting Clearwater (Fla.) Cavalry Christian three-star interior offensive lineman Joseph Ionata at center, and both have visited campus in the last two weeks.

But seeing head coach Mario Cristobal’s involvement in the offensive line is encouraging to Zandamela, who also has tremendous respect for offensive line coach Alex Mirabal. He was impressed by Miami’s practice energy and discipline during his most recent visit and said Lee “dominated” for most of the practice.

“They’re great about holding their players accountable,” Zandamela said. “When they started off practice, the o-line wasn’t putting in effort so coach Mirabal made them run, which I really like. I like discipline and holding each other accountable for everything. Overall, he’s not too intense, but he’s intense to the point where it’s enjoyable, if that makes sense.”

But Zandamela has realistic expectations for the progression of his college career. He said while he’d like to, he anticipates he likely won’t play much his freshman year, much like most true freshman interior linemen.

Cristobal, Mirabal and quality control analyst Edwin Pata continue to be heavily involved in his recruitment and want to bring him back to south Florida for the Hurricanes’ spring game April 14, but Zandamela said he’s 50-50 on if he’ll make the trip down.

He’ll take an unofficial visit to USC this weekend.

CaneSport’s Take

It feels like much of Miami’s hope to nab Zandamela rests on getting the four-star back for a visit before or during the spring game as he continues to value progress and development in his recruitment. FSU has been pushing for Zandamela for some time, and USC will be a major player once he schedules his official visit with the Trojans on his trip to Southern California this weekend.

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