The last local impact recruit for the ‘Canes was Winter Park defensive end Trent Harris, who signed in 2014.
UM landed players like Ray Lewis III of Lake Mary Prep, Lorenzo Lingard of Orange City, John Campbell of Dr. Phillips, Avantae Williams of DeLand and Marcus Clarke of Winter Park over the past decade, but those players eventually transferred. An injury ended the career of former Leesburg receiver D’Mauri Jones.
Current roster players, redshirt sophomore defensive back Markeith Williams out of Evans and sophomore linebacker Malik Bryant from Jones, have opportunities to make an impact this season
This comes off a season where Miami lost six of its last nine games to end up 7-6.
Last week, Miami landed its biggest Central Florida prize with the commitment of 4-star linebacker Gavin Nix, a former Lake Highland Prep star who is finishing his high school career at IMG Academy in Bradenton.
Cristobal is leaving the other Florida schools in the dust. FSU is No. 23 nationally and has two 2025 Central Florida commits in Seminole linebacker Ethan Pritchard and Cocoa defensive end Javion Hilson. The Florida Gators rank No. 67 in the 247 composite rankings.
UF has zero area commits for the 2025 class, a huge drop off from 2023, when Billy Napier landed five: defensive backs Jordan Castell of West Orange and Ja’Keem Jackson of Osceola, defensive lineman Kamran James of Olympia, receiver Aiden Mizell of Boone, and offensive lineman Bryce Lovett of Rockledge.
Not only is the current recruiting class paltry, but the 2024 schedule offers nothing easy. This season could be a struggle of historic UF proportions for Napier.
But back to Miami, the ‘Canes will need to turn these recruiting classes into victories or Cristobal could be looking at a similar fate. For now, the future is looks bright on paper.
Nix is the fifth area senior pledging to the ‘Canes in the past three weeks, and sixth since December. Those are offensive linemen Max Buchanan (Seminole), Jaden Wilkerson (Edgewater) and Demetrius Campbell (Orlando Christian Prep), and linebacker Elijah Melendez (Kissimmee Osceola), as well as 2026 quarterback Dereon Coleman (Jones).
“I think that says everything. It feels great,” Nix said. “With all of us being Florida guys, it’s good that we are staying in state. Miami is building a pipeline and they’ve been doing a great job in Central Florida, as well as the whole state.”
UM’s 17 current 2025 commits include 11 Floridians.
Miami coaches are selling exactly what these Orlando players are wanting to hear, and the talk about life outside of football seems to be a key pitch.
“It was more than just recruiting. They have done a great job of building a real relationship with me,” Nix said. “Any concerns I had or outside interests that I wanted to pursue; they were very intentional in fulfilling my needs. They have real life connections to get my life started outside of football.”
Nix did say it was a tough decision. He picked Miami over Oregon.
“That decision was definitely not easy, but there came a time when I was at peace with choosing Miami, and I just ran with it,” Nix said.
Cristobal and his staffers, in particular linebackers coach Derek Nicholson, were key to recruiting Nix, luring him away from the numerous other suitors. He held 24 Football Bowl Subdivision offers.
“It all starts with the consistency of the relationship Miami built with me and my family,” Nix said. “This entire process has been a journey and from the start, Miami has always made me and my family a priority.
“With the trajectory the program is going in, I think the U will be back where it needs to be pretty soon. Coach Cristobal has had back-to-back top five classes, and he’s working on this one. For him to do that with the seasons he’s had that’s a testament that people can see what’s going on inside those building at Miami. It’s real.
“We’re creating a monster and it’s going to be on display.”
Boone WR commits
It figured that Boone senior Isaiah Mizell would follow his brother to Florida, but there was a slight problem.
The Gators did not offer a scholarship to the 6-foot-2, 170-pound receiver. He is the brother of redshirt freshman Aiden Mizell, who held live little gators in a memorable commitment announcement in 2022.
There were no reptiles for Isaiah on Wednesday. He committed to Arizona over Kansas State, Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
“All of my visits were nice, the coaches were nice, the facilities were nice, but I didn’t want to base my decision on my position coach because coaches can leave and you could be stuck at a school where you don’t really want to be,” Mizell said. “So on that visit [to Arizona] it was really the players who stuck out to me. They’re a family.”
Mizell’s parents, Will Mizell and Ebony Robinson-Mizell, first met as members of the Gators track and field team. Ebony was a high-caliber sprinter and Will a decathlete and jumper.
“I’m a Florida fan so it was heartbreaking for me, but everything happens for a reason,” Isaiah said.
He led the area with 22 touchdown catches and had 1,057 receiving yards a year ago.
Chris Hays can be found on X @OS_ChrisHays. He can be reached via email at chays@orlandosentinel.com.
