A year ago, the conversations were different. The pitches were different. Everything was different.
When Mark Richt and his staff landed in Coral Gables, Fla., they faced one of the most difficult challenges newly hired football coaches face: locking down a recruiting class in minimal time.
Last January, the Hurricanes coaches were still learning their way around campus, still navigating their own new lives in Miami while trying to sell top-notch prospects on joining them in their journey.
It wasn't easy, not with rival coaches who had already established relationships with those same recruits trying to poach them away from a Hurricanes program in transition.
"Last year, you were really trying to make up a lot of lost ground and try to get to know who they were as individuals, let alone as football players," Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. "When it comes to Signing Day, it's such a long process in terms of all the different chances you have to communicate with the kids _ the unofficial visits, the camps, the junior days. It's really the culmination of quite a long process, and we hadn't had that."
That's hardly the case for Miami this year.
As the Hurricanes continue their final recruiting push ahead of National Signing Day on Wednesday, Miami is positioned to land one of its best recruiting classes in recent memory. They have verbal pledges from more than 20 highly rated prospects. Ten members of the recruiting class are already enrolled and attending classes. And the Hurricanes are expected to pick up a few more verbal commitments before Wednesday.
Some of the biggest reasons? Richt and his staff have had a full year to get to know the prospects. They've built relationships. And after the Hurricanes capped a 9-4 season with their first bowl win in a decade, Miami's coaches have their own UM resumes to show those recruits, tangible proof the program is improving.
And if young players have questions about playing time or whether they can make an impact early in their potential Miami careers, Richt and his staff need only point out that receiver Ahmmon Richards and linebackers Shaq Quarterman and Mike Pinckney earned freshman All-American honors this past season, while fellow freshmen Joe Jackson and Zach McCloud saw significant playing time.
All of that helps make a difference on the recruiting trail.
"Right now, Mark Richt and Miami are in a better place," said St. Thomas Aquinas coach Roger Harriott, who also has experience as a college recruiter after his time on the staff at Florida Atlantic. "The program is moving in the right direction, and his coaches are in a healthy position to help. They've done an extraordinary job representing Miami in a positive light."
Added Hurricanes cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph: "We were telling the kids what the dream is, now we have proof, we have stats. ... We've got film to show you what we do. That's changed the game a lot. Before, it was 'Let's see what they do.' Now they're starting to see what the future might entail."
Just how much better this Hurricanes recruiting class will be than others remains to be seen.
A handful of prospects just wrapped up their official visits. National letters of intent won't be signed until Wednesday. And how well those prospects pan out won't be known until this fall, or later.
But entering the final weekend of this recruiting cycle, Rivals has Miami's class ranked 11th in the nation.
Last season, the site ranked Miami's final class 21st. In 2015, the class was ranked 26th.
Looking forward, the Hurricanes have also used this recruiting cycle to start meeting 2018 and 2019 prospects. That's where national analysts say Miami is still behind, especially considering how much recruiting has changed over the last decade.
"It's a little less forced for (Miami) this year, but obviously, (Richt) is still behind," said Mike Farrell, the national recruiting director for Rivals. "Recruiting is now, with eighth-grade and freshmen offers, a four-year game. But he's playing a lot less catch-up than he was last year. Last year, he was scrambling to introduce himself, secure a staff, and keep commitments. Now, he knows most of these kids and it changes that living room visit. There's a familiarity that makes those in-home and official visits better."
Added Richt: "I think it's always good to have a whole year during the recruiting process, and it's even better to have two or three years ahead of it because you're locating kids in the ninth, 10th, and 11th grades. We're creating relationships with young kids that will pay off further down the road."
For now, that will have to be enough.
The Hurricanes' work on the recruiting trail will continue long past this first full year. But the Hurricanes remain as encouraged about that as they are about the class they expect to sign Wednesday.
"In recruiting, you never know and it's not done until it's done," Diaz said. "But certainly, I think there's what we feel _ going into the schools and the homes _ is a buzz on the streets about the University of Miami and Mark Richt. You start to see it pop up with some of the different guys we're talking to. That momentum will, hopefully, carry us through to Wednesday morning and beyond."
