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Alabama EDGE Cole McConathy signs with Miami Hurricanes after other programs pushed to the bitter end

Stephen Wagner covers recruiting for the University of Miami for On3 Sports and CaneSport. He can be found on Twitter at @stephenwag22 and reached at Stephen.Wagner@On3.com.by:Stephen Wagner•12/20/23•

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Photo by Jeremy Johnson/On3

Spanish Fort (Ala.) three-star EDGE Cole McConathy’s Miami recruitment was a largely clandestine operation, but once he committed, he didn’t hold back his excitement about being a Hurricane.

And now he’s confirmed signing his UM papers.

McConathy, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound EDGE whose Miami recruitment began thanks to a tip from former NFL quarterback Philip Rivers to the Hurricanes’ staff, was initially committed to Louisville before flipping to Miami in mid-November following a secret visit to Coral Gables in late October. McConathy and his father snuck down to Miami for an unofficial visit during the Hurricanes’ nail-biting win over Virginia, and he promptly committed a few weeks later.

McConathy still had a handful of programs pushing for him after he flipped to Miami, and a few staffs told him to “expect a call” on signing day. But McConathy didn’t have any interest in entertaining any programs beside Miami once December began.

“I’ve had all kinds of crazy stuff,” McConathy told CaneSport after his in-home visit the first weekend of December. “I’ve had schools from Alabama to Auburn reach out and say, ‘Please just hold off committing until after the portal closes.’ Stuff like that has happened. I’ve had people call and say, ‘Expect for me to call you on signing day.’ All of this is very last-minute, and there’s nothing that’s gonna pull me away from Miami. I’m committed to them, so that’s where I’m going to school.”

Indeed.

It’s now a done deal.

McConathy took his official visit to Miami Dec. 15 to put the finishing touches on his recruitment, amd once he committed he quickly became one of the Hurricanes’ most enthusiastic pledges. McConathy regularly talked about wanting to be the best he can be and his excitement to be coached by Miami co-defensive line coach Jason Taylor, and he thinks the Hurricanes are only trending up given the talent being injected into the program.

“They’re stacking some really good recruiting classes,” McConathy said. “I mean right now, they have a top class that I’ll be joining, and that’s really big. The class before me, they were at least a top 10 class, and the 2025 class that they’re building now, you stack three classes, that’s big. You’ll have a chance to compete for championships — I don’t care what conference you play in.

CaneSport’s Take

McConathy could be a major sleeper candidate in this year’s class and could be one of the more underrated defensive prospects in the cycle. McConathy is versatile enough to command massive attention off the edge but occasionally drop into coverage, and his high school defense had some similar philosophies to Miami defensive coordinator Lance Guidry’s. McConathy’s ceiling is through the roof, and his decision to enroll early should pay dividends this fall.

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