STATE OF THE U 2023: 2022 recruiting class analysis

Over the last three days, CaneSport broke down a 2019 Miami recruiting class and a 2020 class that each failed on numerous levels, with the 2021 class having some top end talent but not the kind of depth you want to help sustain a rebuilding program.

So today it’s on to our analysis of the 2022 class, which was recruited for the most part by Manny Diaz … but with Mario Cristobal getting hired in early December and helping hold together and put the finishing touches on. It was a class that ranked No. 13 in the nation, and a key with this group of second-year players is talent and development.

For so long we’ve seen players arrive at Miami and just not get a heck of a lot better.

This coming season we’ll get our first real taste of the jump up in ability level under Cristobal and his staff, as these are second-year guys who have only known the Cristobal system.

So how are things shaping up in the members of this class? Let’s take a closer look, with an analysis to follow:

GRADUATED MIAMI / LEFT FOR NFL EARLY (3)

* A 2022 arrival from UCLA, DE Mitchell Agude came in as a Pac-12 second team All-Conference pick. He wound up having a part-time starting role at Miami and ended with 39 tackles, seven for losses, with four sacks. He was signed as a free agent by the Miami Dolphins.

* UCLA MLB transfer Caleb Johnson arrived for the 2022 season with the idea he would supplant returning starter Corey Flagg. But Johnson faltered, and Flagg remained the starter – in all last year Johnson had 48 tackles and four TFL. He went undrafted but signed with the New York Jets as a free agent.

* DT Antonio Moultrie came in from UAB last year after earning honorable mention All-Conference USA honors. But he wasn’t able to get into the rotation regularly at Miami and ended with 14 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He went undrafted but was signed by the Green Bay Packers.

STATE OF THE U 2023: 2019 recruiting class analysis … 2020 analysis … 2021 analysis

TRANSFERS OUT FROM MIAMI / DEPARTED (NOT FOR NFL) WITH ELIGIBILITY REMAINING (2)

* Maryland DT transfer Darrell Jackson was a great portal addition last year, coming to Miami after playing in every game at Maryland as a freshman, starting one. He wound up starting next to Leonard Taylor last season and fared well with 27 tackles, 4 TFL and 3 sacks. But he transferred to Florida State this offseason due to an ailing family member and wanting to be closer to home.

* CB Khamauri Rogers was an early enrollee in 2022 and worked hard to come off a torn ACL suffered in high school but never made movement up the depth chart. He transferred to Mississippi State after the season.

Wesley Bissainthe (photo by Neil Gershman)

ANTICIPATED STARTERS (2)

* OLB Wesley Bissainthe made his mark as a true freshman last season, flashing at times and getting three starts late in the year. He ended with 30 tackles. While it appears he’s the likely starting this coming season, he has to prove himself in a new, more physical defensive system under Lance Guidry. And the team brought in Louisville veteran KJ Cloyd in the second portal window to help challenge him for reps.

* West Virginia DE transfer Akheem Mesidor arrived from West Virginia last year, and he had a standout first season with the Canes, ending with 38 tackles, 10.5 TFL and seven sacks. He’s one of the ACC’s top returning playmakers and with another year under his belt should be a real force that will cause all kinds of problems for opponents. Mesidor also has the size/strength combination to work inside on passing downs, giving him much-needed versatility.

BATTLING TO START (7)

* Anez Cooper started four of the final five games last season due to injuries up front, and held his own at guard. But that doesn’t guarantee him a job this season. The team’s added portal guard Javion Cohen and center Matt Lee, who will both start. Plus five-star tackles Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola are on board. With Jalen Rivers playing tackle in the spring it was Cooper as the first-team right guard … but that may change in the fall if Okunlola shows he’s ready (or if Zion Nelson is back off injury). That would let Rivers move back to his natural guard position, and Cooper could be the odd man out.

* WR Isaiah Horton is in Year 2, and while he didn’t get many chances as a true freshman he has the size and athleticism you want in an outside receiver. Horton looked good mainly working with the twos in the spring, and he’ll push to try and start when fall drills begin.

* DE Nyjalik Kelly is a guy many think will really emerge and enjoy a breakout second year at Miami. He had 4 sacks off the bench as a true freshman, and has shown enough that you can see he has a very bright future. With Akheem Mesidor starting on one side it appears that Kelly or Jahfari Harvey, who has starting experience, will be the main guy on the other side. So this is a fall drills battle that will be very interesting to watch.

* WR Frank Ladson transferred in from Clemson last year, and the former top recruit’s best year with the Tigers was in 2020 when he had 18 receptions for 281 yards while starting four games. Ladson got his chance at Miami last season with nine starts but just never emerged as a reliable playmaker – he had 27 catches for 298 yards. With a wide open outside receiver depth chart heading into fall drills, Ladson hopes he can emerge. But we think it’s most likely Tyler Harrell, Colbie Young and perhaps even Jacolby George will be ahead of him.

* RB Henry Parrish arrived from Ole Miss last January, and while he was down the depth chart there he wound up earning the starting job at Miami. With that said, he was just so-so behind a not-real-good offensive line. Parrish wound up running for 616 yards and averaging 4.7 yards per carry while starting five games. His experience may give him a leg up in a running backs room that doesn’t have other proven depth, but freshman Mark Fletcher and Nebraska transfer Ajay Allen are likely to give him a run for the starting job in fall drills.

* CB Daryl Porter Jr. arrived prior to the 2022 season with the expectation he would start opposite Tyrique Stevenson (he’d started at West Virginia previously). But DJ Ivey wound up beating out Porter, who when he did get reps didn’t play particularly well. But this year the two starting boundary corners are gone, and Porter spent the fall with the first team opposite Davonte Brown. Since then, though, the team’s added more portal corners – Jaden Davis, Ja’Dais Richard and JUCO arrival Demetrius Freeney. So there’s no guarantee Porter will have a major role this season.

* WR Colbie Young was a JUCO arrival out of Lackawanna (Pa.) Junior College last year. A tall, rangy receiver, Young had a couple of back-to-back 100-yard games at the midway point of the year, looking like a star in the making. But he never passed 50 yards in a game after that, ending with 32 catches for 367 yards (starting six of the final seven games). Now he has a lot to prove with the team adding Tyler Harrell and Shemar Kirk out of the second transfer portal window and with others like Jacolby Georgie and Isaiah Horton looking to win the starting job at one of the outside spots. It’ll be major competition in fall camp for spots.

Jacurri Brown

ANTICIPATED BACKUPS (12)

* QB Jacurri Brown wound up starting two of the final three games as a true freshman last year after starter Tyler Van Dyke was hurt and backup Jake Garcia faltered. While Brown made plays with his legs he had accuracy issues passing the ball, throwing for 230 yards with three TDs and three INTs. Now in a QB-friendly system under Shannon Dawson, Brown showed improved accuracy in spring drills but took a step back with a rough Spring Game. Off the summer he has to show more strides this fall and be consistent or true freshman Emory Williams could pass him by. Van Dyke will be the starter.

* Hopes were high that RB TreVonte’ Citizen could emerge as that combo power/speed back Miami was seeking last year as a four-star signee. But he suffered a devastating preseason knee injury and still isn’t all the way back. It’s unlikely he will compete in fall drills but could return at some point this season.

* Interior OL Jon Denis transferred in from Oregon last year, following Alex Mirabal and Mario Cristobal. He was a backup with the Ducks and was pretty much the same at Miami, although he did start two games in the middle of the year when it was necessitated by injury. He will be a depth guy this coming season across the interior of the line.

* CB Chris Graves came into Miami as a true freshman with hopes of earning an immediate role, but injury ended that. And now this season – at least based on the spring depth chart – it looks like he’ll be in a depth role.

* CB Jaden Harris struggled last year when he got some limited reps, and this spring the team also used him at STAR/nickel behind Te’Cory Couch. So he’s versatile but will be a depth piece in 2023.

* DL Jacob Lichtenstein came in from USC last year but never made much of an impact. He was buried down the depth chart and had four tackles with a sack. He’ll again be a depth piece this coming season.

* OL Matthew McCoy redshirted last year and is still battling to work his way up the depth chart.

* DE Cyrus Moss arrived as a highly touted true freshman and worked hard to overcome a big size deficiency. That’s still an ongoing process, and to really be effective he needs to pack on more muscle.

* Ahmad Moten redshirted last year and showed some nice things this spring but is on the borderline to be in the defensive tackle rotation this coming season. The team added Branson Deen, Thomas Gore and Anthony Campbell in the portal, which makes Moten’s rise to the top that much more difficult (Leonard Taylor is a returning starter at DT and ends that can also work inside are Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain).

* OG Logan Sagapolu was a backup at Oregon and played in five games off the bench last year with one start (necessitated by injury) against Virginia Tech. He’ll be in a depth role this season.

* TE Jaleel Skinner is a threat as a receiver but still has to work on his ability as a blocker. And he struggled to hold onto the ball last year as a true freshman, which didn’t help him get on the field a lot. He ended last season with nine catches for 129 yards and a TD. As of now it appears most likely that the main every down tight end will be Elijah Arroyo with Oregon transfer Cam McCormick the power blocking tight end. Skinner will get chances to make plays in the passing game, but he’s a bit one-dimensional at this point.

* Safety Markeith Williams will work in behind All-American Kam Kinchens and returning starter James Williams, and he should get a decent amount of reps … but in a backup capacity. Last year he played in four games off the bench.

SOUTH FLORIDA TOP-RATED PLAYERS THAT GOT AWAY (5)

* DE/OLB Marvin Jones, Jr. American Heritage. Miami was never high in his picture and he signed with Georgia. Last season he was a reserve linebacker and had one sack and a QB hurry.

* DL Shemar Stewart, Monsignor Pace. The Canes pushed hard down the stretch with Mario Cristobal trying to make up for lost ground, but he signed with Texas A&M. Stewart wound up starting six games and made the SEC All-Freshman team. He ended with 23 tackles, 3.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks.

* DE Kenyatta Jackson, Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna. Signed with Ohio State, and Miami was never high in his picture down the stretch. He played in three games last year, redshirting, and had two tackles.

* OL Julian Armella, Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas. Signed with FSU after Miami made up a lot of ground with Mario Cristobal pushing in a very small timeframe between being hired and signing day. Armella slightly delayed his signing as he weighed his UM option, but ultimately signed with the Seminoles. He played in four games off the bench last year, redshirting.

* CB Earl Little II, American Heritage. Little, whose father played for the Canes, signed with Alabama. Cristobal pushed hard after being hired, but ‘Bama already had its hooks into Little. He missed the first half of last season injured, then played in three games off the bench and redshirted.

ANALYSIS

Miami only signed 14 in this recruiting class, but then added 11 out of the portal plus a JUCO addition. So it was a pretty small group when you just look at the high school prospects coming on board that can be developed over a 3-5 year time frame.

There is still, of course, a lot to determine about this group given they just got on campus a year ago.

As you look at the three transfers that departed, none were major difference makers (Mitchell Agude, Caleb Johnson, Antonio Moultrie). Losing DT Darrell Jackson to FSU was a blow, especially considering Miami’s situation on the interior of the defense.

A great transfer portal addition was Akheem Mesidor, who is one of the top DL returning in the ACC, and we also project second-year LB Wesley Bissainthe as a starter in year 2, although he’ll have to stave off some competition.

Then there are other second-year signees with a lot of upside like DE Nyjalik Kelly, OL Anez Cooper and WR Isaiah Horton. Plus transfer/JUCO adds like Colbie Young, Frank Ladson, Daryl Porter, Jr. and Henry Parrish could have a positive influence on the 2023 season.

Then you look at the future with guys like QB Jacurri Brown (if he fixes accuracy issues), RB TreVonte’ Citizen (when he gets healthy), CB Chris Graves and Jaden Harris (with more development) plus DE Cyrus Moss (needs to keep gaining weight), TE Jaleel Skinner (has to bulk up, work on his hands) ans S Markeith Williams (will work behind James Williams/Kam Kinchens).

There are many guys who are entering Year 2 in the Miami program, and the hope is several of them emerge as bigtime playmakers.

So this class really remains a bit of an unknown right now. It was Mario Cristobal’s first signing class, but he had to piece it together/hold it together after just taking the job a couple of weeks before the early signing day.

If some of the players in this class can really progress this year, that would speak volumes about the direction of this program overall.

The post STATE OF THE U 2023: 2022 recruiting class analysis appeared first on On3.