Miami’s torrid run on the recruiting trail continued on Wednesday with the addition of in-state Class of 2026 blue-chip quarterback Dereon Coleman to its list of summer commitments.
The 6-foot-1, 165-pound rising junior from Orlando Jones High School is ranked No. 302 overall and the No. 21 QB in the 247Sports Composite. He picked the Hurricanes over offers from UCF and TCU. South Carolina also tried to make a late push.
“I told him when he was 10 years old, I was training him to be a Miami Hurricane,” said Orlando-area quarterbacks coach Baylin Trujillo.
“I’m excited for him. If you saw all my elite kids in training, you would be blown away with the arm talent Dereon has. When he gets into that mode of really competing, there’s not a quarterback in the country that throws better than that kid. The only problem is he doesn’t match the measurables right now. But once that kid grows — his dad is 6-3 and his mom is 5-11 — I think he’ll be the No. 1 quarterback in the country.”
2026 four-star QB Dereon Coleman is announcing tomorrow night. Watched him at Elite 11 regional earlier this year. Love his athleticism, confidence and touch. pic.twitter.com/hWBuG4scod
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) July 3, 2024
Coleman, who turned 17 on Wednesday, silently committed to Oklahoma in April, Trujillo said. But when the Sooners took a pledge last month from Jaden O’Neal, the sixth-ranked quarterback in the 2026 cycle, Coleman decided to pivot.
The Hurricanes, led by offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, had been making a strong push, and after Coleman excelled at a recent Miami camp, the quarterback decided it was time to lock in with the Hurricanes.
Coleman has already proven to be quite the star. Last year, he beat out Trever Jackson, an Elite 11 Finalist now at Florida State, for the starting job at Jones High School. He went on to complete 63.4 percent of his attempts for 2,236 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions and ran for 247 yards and four touchdowns in leading his team to a 10-3 record and the state semifinals.
He can fling it more than 70 yards and had the most “live arm” of the participants at April’s Elite 11 Regional camp in Winter Garden, Fla., according to Andrew Ivins, the national scouting director for 247Sports.
Coleman joins four-star linebacker Jordan Campbell of Miami Carol City and four-star receiver Malachi Toney of Plantation American Heritage — both top-200 recruits in the 247Sports Composite — as Miami pledges in the 2026 cycle.
Mario Cristobal’s 2025 recruiting class has been on an upward trajectory over the last month — with nine pledges since the start of June — and ranks No. 15 in the 247Sports Composite.
The Hurricanes could soon be inside the top 10 if they land two top-100 recruits in the coming days.
Four-star safety Hylton Stubbs, a former USC commitment who is ranked No. 56 nationally, will announce his choice between the Hurricanes and rival Gators on Thursday.
On Friday, four-star offensive lineman Seuseu Alofaituli of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, ranked No. 77 overall and considered to be the top center in the 2025 cycle, will choose between Miami, Nebraska and Michigan.
Miami signed the No. 4 class in 2024 and the No. 7 class in 2023.
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(Photo of Baylin Trujillo and Dereon Coleman: Manny Navarro / The Athletic)