Hurricanes, Hoosiers blend portal, high school recruiting for championship mix

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The proliferation of transfers and their success at new programs has made college football pundits wonder if high school recruiting is becoming unimportant when building rosters.

But Miami and Indiana, the two participants in Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship, show that blending high school recruiting with key transfer additions is likely the best path to constructing a competitive team.

“We’ve been successful doing it,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. “College football’s changed a lot, obviously, still changing. You’ve got to adapt, improvise, be light on your feet if you’re going to survive.”

Miami has 29 transfers from other FCS or FBS schools on its 109-player roster. Of those 29 players, 15 played 100 or more snaps on offense or defense this season. UM’s kicker, Carter Davis, is also a transfer.

Indiana has 34 transfers from FCS or FBS schools on its 100-man roster. Of those 34 transfers, 21 played 100 or more snaps this season. The Hoosiers’ primary punter is also a transfer.

But the Hoosiers are in a different situation; Cignetti has been at Indiana for two years, and seven of those transfers — six of which played significant time this season — are players who followed their coach from James Madison to Indiana. Those transfers include star cornerback D’Angelo Pond (a Chaminade-Madonna alum), standout wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, key running back Kaelon Black and starting defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker.

“I think they’ve been a big part of what’s transpired here, especially Year 1 in the transition,” Cignetti said. “We had a lot of guys decide to stay. They had to write stuff. A lot of new guys, the JMU guys, probably represented about half of the transfers we brought in in December. They were probably able to answer some questions for the new guys, the returners, too, in terms of how we do things and about me and the other coaches.

“So, in terms of their legacy, I don’t think that book’s final chapter has been written yet.”

Both the Hurricanes and Hoosiers have star transfers. Both teams have transfers at quarterback: Carson Beck (Georgia) for Miami and Fernando Mendoza (Cal) for Indiana.

But both programs have also recruited some of their top players from the high school ranks. The Hurricanes signed stars like Mark Fletcher Jr., Malachi Toney, Francis Mauigoa and Rueben Bain Jr. out of high school. Hoosiers standouts Omar Cooper and Carter Smitth signed with IU under a previous coach and stayed when Cignetti was hired. Standout wide receiver Charlie Becker and star linebacker Rolijah Hardy were part of Cignetti’s first recruiting class at Indiana.

Cignetti’s high school recruits are in just their second year with the program, so only a few have started contributing.

“We’re always going to bring in 20 — give or take one or two — high school guys. I think we brought in 23 this year,” Cignetti said. “Some of those guys are ready to help us right away in some capacity. But the portal guys, you’re bringing them in because you have a critical need, where (you need) to fill a hole on your football team.”

Cristobal said his focus is less on whether a player comes from the transfer portal or the high school ranks. In addition to being talented, the player has to fit in with the mindset of the team.

“I think it’s been a great blend because the portal pick-ups combined with the players that have been here for three and four years … it comes down to the fact that they’re like-minded individuals,” Cristobal said. “And the young talent we recruited they are, from a DNA standpoint, they’re hard-working guys. They’re high achievers. And the way that we work here, the blueprint here, the regimen here, it’s very demanding. If that’s not your thing, it’s not going to work.

“The fact that we had all these like-minded individuals from all over the place — I mean, we’re as national as Miami has ever been from a roster standpoint, all positions — but, again, it doesn’t matter if you’re from one mile away or 1,000 miles away, if you’re made of the right stuff, you’ve got the right heart and the right mindset, it works.”

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