CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Miami's poor finish may have cost it a chance at the Atlantic Coast Conference title. It did not, however, cost the Hurricanes with college prospects as they finished atop the league Wednesday at the start of the early signing period.
Miami lost to Georgia Tech and Syracuse over its last three games to fall from contention for a league crown. It did much better with its latest signing class, its group of 19 finishing 14th nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Georgia Tech was second (18th overall), Florida State third (22nd) with ACC title game participants Clemson (26th) and SMU (30th) fourth and fifth in the league.
Miami landed edge rusher Hayden Lowe from Los Angeles. He was pledged to Southern Cal before signing with the Hurricanes. The 6-foot-4, 242-pound Lowe had offers from across the country, including Alabama, Notre Dame, Oregon and Texas.
They also bought in Elite 11 passer Luke Nickel from Alpharetta, Georgia, considered one of the nation’s top passers. He was ranked 22nd overall at the position by 247Sports.
Georgia Tech was next in line behind Miami as Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key continues building his young program. Key landed four-star cornerback Tae Harris, who was committed to Georgia and then Clemson before flipping to join the Yellow Jackets in recent weeks.
SMU was the only undefeated team in league play this season, the Mustangs' first in the ACC, and capitalized on that. The Mustangs signed quarterback Ty Hawkins, the 17th-best passer in the nation, according to 247Sports.
Andrew Ivins 247Sports' director of scouting said it will be the first time since the organization began that Clemson won't have a top-25 class. Ivins said the Tigers' 15-member class has some potential NFL players in it, but the team's depth will take a hit.
Clemson's group included offensive lineman Brayden Jacobs, son of former NFL running back Brandon Jacobs. The younger Jacobs is ranked as the eighth-best offensive lineman in the country by 247Sports.
Florida State, which went from defending ACC champion to last place in the league at 1-7 and 2-10 overall, began its climb back up with a class ranked 31st overall by 247Sports. The group included highly rated kicker/punter Brunno Reus from Sarasota, Florida. ... Duke, after its third straight season with eight or more wins, added a strong class that includes linebacker Bradley Gompers, its highest ever 247Sports signee at 104th in the country. ... Louisville, despite eight wins, was ranked 15th out of 17 ACC teams. ... North Carolina, seeking a new coach with Mack Brown not returning, was ranked last in league recruiting.
Despite losing a handful of commitments, Clemson was able to land one of the country's best in defensive lineman Amare Adams of Florence, South Carolina. Adams, at 6-3, 290 pounds, is a five-star prospect ranked as the 23rd-best player nationally by 247Sports. Adams had offers from Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee before picking the Tigers.
Cal, which went 6-6 overall and 2-6 in its first year in the ACC, had hoped to land highly regarded quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele from Hawaii after he had been committed to the Golden Bears since July. But Sagapolutele, Hawaii's top player, decided to sign with Oregon. Sagapolutele is rated as the No. 8 quarterback, according to 247Sports. He finished with 10,653 career passing yards, most in Hawaii state history and surpassing the mark held by Oregon's Dillon Gabriel (9,848).
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