Miami Hurricanes strengthening Chicago ties after hosting top-100 DL: “I’m able to resonate with them”

Historically, Miami has had few or no ties to the Chicago area and had little reason to target elite midwest prospects. But that hasn’t been the case in head coach Mario Cristobal’s three recruiting cycles in Coral Gables.

Miami has continued to target Chicago-area recruits in the 2026 class after landing a pair of midwest five-star prospects in the 2024 cycle and continuing to chip away at four-star Chicago-area Michigan commit Nate Marshall in 2025. The Hurricanes most recently hosted four-star 2026 defensive lineman McHale Blade , a friend of 2024 five-star signee Marquise Lightfoot , at Miami’s end-of-summer recruiting cookout for his first visit to The U and made a splash, Blade said.

The No. 88 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking is keeping a close eye on the Hurricanes, who was the first program to offer him, and made it a priority to visit Coral Gables before the start of the August dead period. Miami’s staff has picked up communication with the 6-foot-5, 230-pound defensive lineman since coaches became permitted to directly call and text 2026 prospects last month and convinced the four-star prospect to make a summer trip to campus, although Blade needed little convincing.

“They were the first school to offer me, and that really separated them from everybody,” Blade said. “That really meant a lot, so of course I had to come back and show love. That really meant a lot.”

Co-defensive line coaches Joe Salave’a and Jason Taylor have found ways to stay in touch with Blade over the last month and helped the Hurricanes capture his attention. Blade has also communicated with Michigan, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Nebraska and Tennessee and has visited Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Illinois. He said he’s heavily considering each school, along with Miami, and wants to visit more schools in the coming months.

Miami’s early interest in him, and Lightfoot’s positive reviews, helped the Hurricanes pique his interest early.

“They were the ones to really get the ball rolling,” Blade said of Miami’s staff. “Especially since I know Marquise Lightfoot down here. I was speaking to him on the phone on the way down here. He’s kind of like a mentor to me. We spoke about it. (Lightfoot talk about) just how cool the culture is, the relationships they have, this overall area. It’s kind of like a resort.”

Blade said Taylor and Salave’a are down-to-earth coaches and likes their demeanor and coaching styles too.

“I can tell they’re real coaches,” Blade said. “I can see them coaching me one day. I’m able to resonate with them.”

CaneSport’s Take

Proximity to home may play a minor factor here, but as we saw with Lightfoot and five-star Chicago-area defensive tackle Justin Scott last season, the Hurricanes are pretty good at making Coral Gables feel like home to midwestern recruits.

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