Manny Diaz's tenure at Miami is over and there are plenty of reasons he didn't have the success Canes fans were hoping for but probably the biggest reason he failed in Coral Gables was not signing enough top players from South Florida. Here are the five biggest recruiting misses that doomed his tenure with the Hurricanes.
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Neal is a South Florida native but the Canes didn’t do a good enough job of maintaining that relationship after he transferred to IMG Academy. At Alabama, Neal has turned into a high NFL Draft pick and anchors their offensive line at left tackle. Offensive line certainly wasn’t one of Miami’s strengths under Diaz and Neal would have helped significantly in that area.
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Like Neal, Dumervil was from a powerhouse program and is a South Florida native. Miami didn’t give up recruiting him but it was obvious they weren’t doing enough to leverage their relationships with him to bring him into the fold. Miami’s offensive line has struggled in recent years and Dumervil would have helped significantly even though he hasn’t contributed much at LSU.
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Williams stepped right into Oklahoma’s high powered offense and became a major playmaker for the Sooners. The South Florida native had some interest in Miami but Lincoln Riley's offensive system was too attractive. If Manny Diaz and his staff had been able to field a more explosive offense and put the full court press on Williams, who knows what could have happened.
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Another South Florida five-star, Turner had early interest in Miami and the Canes were doing a nice job but that momentum quickly fell off as his recruitment exploded. Turner, now at Alabama, looks like a star in the making. He's seen action in every game this season, totaling 25 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, and five and a half sacks so far. Manny Diaz's defense would have looked a lot different with Turner on the field.
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Just like Neal, Brooks is a South Florida prospect that transferred to IMG Academy. He had a lot of interest in the Canes but chose the Crimson Tide instead. Florida looked like it finished as the runner-up in his recruitment. Miami needed more big time receivers like Brooks during Diaz's tenure and now it looks like Brooks will play a big role in the College Football Playoff filling in for John Metchie.
