Hurricanes coach Mark Richt praises 2017 signing class

16 Miami newcomers hail from Florida

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami football coach Mark Richt spoke about his second signing class during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

The Hurricanes, who finished Richt's first season on a five-game winning streak with a No. 20 national ranking, signed 14 players on National Signing Day.

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Seven of them -- defensive backs Trajan Bandy and Jhavonte Dean, defensive lineman Jonathan Ford, offensive linemen Corey Gaynor and Kai-Leon Herbert, wide receiver Mike Harley and linebacker De'Andre Wilder -- hail from South Florida.

"We've signed or we got 24, I think it is, in the house right now, counting the guys that are already here at mid-year, and I think it's 16 out of 24 are from the state of Florida," Richt said.

Among the notables from this year's signing class are punter Zach Feagles, whose father is former New York Giants and Hurricanes punter Jeff Feagles, and wide receiver Evidence Njoku, who is the younger brother of former Miami receiver David Njoku.

Harley is a consensus four-star prospect from St. Thomas Aquinas High School. He helped guide the school to a state championship, catching three touchdown passes in the championship game.

The Hurricanes also added two quarterbacks in this year's class -- N'Kosi Perry, from Vanguard High School in Ocala, and Cade Weldon, whose father is former Florida State quarterback Casey Weldon.

Perry is a dual-threat quarterback who totaled 24 touchdowns and completed 64 percent of his passes during his senior season in high school. He chose Miami over offers from Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State and West Virginia.

Weldon is one of 10 early enrollees for the Hurricanes in 2017. The Tampa product threw for 3,135 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School. Richt was his father's position coach at Florida State in 1991, when the elder Weldon was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

Richt said his coaching staff met all the team's position needs with this signing class. The Hurricanes landed a total of two quarterbacks, three receivers, one running back, one tight end, five offensive linemen, three defensive linemen, four defensive backs, one punter and one athlete.

Richt said there is a space or two left for the possibility of a graduate transfer.

"I thought we nailed it," Richt said.

Click here to see a complete breakdown of the 2017 signing class.


About the Author:

Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.