Miami (FL) football could shake up the college football recruiting world to start June. One 2026 visitor is hinting at commitment — following his meeting with Mario Cristobal.
Four-star running back Derrek Cooper reopened his recruiting process one year ago, decommitting from Georgia. But he delivered a glowing review of Miami via Hayes Fawcett of On3 on Sunday. Including chatting with running backs coach Matt Merritt.
“Sitting down with Coach Merritt and Cristobal was great. I was shown how I would be used in the offensive scheme. It would mean a lot to put on for the crib especially since I grew up in it,” Cooper said.
The RB’s last sentence reveals his ties to South Beach. He’s a native of Fort Lauderdale and stars for Chaminade-Madonna Prep, which annually pumps out college football talent including for the Hurricanes. Cooper paints the verbal picture that he’s a high priority for Miami.
Miami, Mario Cristobal has offensive stars to replace
Cristobal has multiple spots to fill ahead of 2025. It’s more than Cam Ward and Elijah Arroyo too.
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The ‘Canes need a new lead running back for the future. Damien Martinez is off to the Seattle Seahawks, landing in the seventh round of the April draft.
Cooper can’t attend the Coral Gables campus until 2026. Or any university in general since that’s his high school graduation year. But he’d add to a growing and intriguing ’26 class if he chooses Miami.
Cristobal and his staff have put together a top 10 recruiting class already. They sit at ninth nationally per 247Sports. Miami bolstered the class by landing prized five-star tackle Jackson Cantwell. But the ‘Canes have other future cornerstones coming.
The Hurricanes landed Camdin Portis (son of Hurricanes RB legend Clinton) in the current recruiting cycle. Miami also flipped Georgia cornerback commit Jontavius Wyman in April. The ‘Canes even added a potential Martinez replacement already. Four-star Javion Mallory verbally committed back in March.
Adding the local talent Cooper, though, likely changes Miami’s recruiting ranking. That’ll mean the ‘Canes will threaten to shake up the top five — plus field the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top class.
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