Mario Cristobal is getting another shot to make his case to five-star edge rusher DJ Jacobs, and the timing lines up with a weekend trip to Hard Rock Stadium that could keep Miami squarely in the race.
Jacobs will be in town for the Hurricanes’ home game against Pittsburgh with his younger brother, Dawson Jacobs, who is also drawing plenty of attention as a top 2028 prospect. The visit adds another layer to a recruitment that has already taken more twists than most.
For a while, Miami looked like the team to beat for Jacobs. He was considered a Miami lean until a late phone call from Ryan Day altered his thinking just hours before his announcement in late December, sending him to Ohio State.
Even after that commitment, the Hurricanes never seemed completely out of the mix. But after the summer, the gap between Jacobs and Miami’s staff appeared to grow.
Still, the edge rusher has kept moving around the country and checking out programs for himself. He has already been to Nebraska, Georgia and Tennessee, and he also visited Ohio State earlier this season. He is expected back in Columbus for games against Oregon and Michigan.
The big question now is whether Miami can get this thing moving again. Jacobs does not give much away publicly, and his father has repeatedly talked about his son’s strong commitment to the Buckeyes. Even so, the recruitment has never felt locked up.
Dawson Jacobs makes this visit even more interesting. The younger brother is a real prospect, not just a passenger on the recruiting trail.
Both 247Sports and Rivals/On3 rate him as a four-star and place him inside the top 200 nationally, along with the top 20 defensive line prospects in his class. That naturally raises the question of whether the brothers are headed toward a package deal.
If that is the case, though, it is worth asking why Dawson Jacobs would not have already joined Ohio State as well. The family has been tight-lipped throughout, and that silence has only added to the mystery. They show up, take in the game, and leave everyone guessing.
There was also buzz about Tennessee being in position to flip Jacobs about a month ago, and nothing the Vols have done on the field since then appears to have changed that line of thinking.
Miami, meanwhile, still has room in its 2027 class. The Hurricanes had been sitting at 21 commitments since A'mir Sears pledged at the end of July, but the decommitment of four-star offensive lineman Jatori Williams dropped that total to 20. Miami had already been holding space for a few key targets, including Jacobs and five-star offensive tackle Mark Matthews.
Williams’ departure also gives Cristobal more flexibility, so he does not have to be overly aggressive with Matthews, who committed to Texas A&M in the late spring. There is still room for another athlete, too, and FSU commit Za'Kari Johnson has been openly urging Miami to make him that addition.
Now it comes down to what the Hurricanes can do with the Jacobs brothers on campus this weekend. If Miami can make a real move, it could set up a huge finish for a class that would land among the best in school history.
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