“Like everybody else in the country, I like this class,” Martin said. “Nobody’s going to say they don’t like their class, but we have the most size and the most athleticism than we’ve ever had since I’ve been here. We have better size and speed and raw material.”
Miami’s 11-3 record, MAC Championship and bowl appearance, a 13-9 loss to Appalachian State during a relentless rainstorm in Orlando on Saturday, helped the program land what Martin considers to be a quality class. It includes five defensive backs, three each of defensive linemen, linebackers, running backs and offensive linemen, two tight ends, one wide receiver and one quarterback.
Perhaps the most highly regarded recruit is 6-foot-1, 195-pound Josh Ringer, who rushed for 2,880 yards and 55 touchdowns while leading East Central (Ind.) High School to a second straight Class 4A state championship. He also gained 278 yards and scored five touchdowns receiving this past season, one year after rushing for 2,368 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2022. Ringer was named first-team all-state as a junior and Indiana’s Mr. Football as a senior.
“His family wants him to play safety,” Martin said. “He did that some in high school. We’re fortunate that he decided to come hang out with us for a while.”
Other notable numbers include the 25 tackles for losses and four forced fumbles by 6-2, 290-pound defensive lineman Oyeka Alexander from Providence Christian Academy in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, the 140 tackles, including 25 for losses, of 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker Jayden Fuller from Silver Bluff High School in Aiken, S.C., the 2,740 yards and 33 touchdown passes logged by 6-1, 190-pound quarterback Thomas Gotkowski of Indianapolis Ben Davis High School and the 131 tackles piled up by 6-1, 210-pound linebacker Carter Herriman of Davison (Mich.) High School.
Also signing was 6-2, 170-pound Kaleb Martin, listed as a defensive back even though he threw for 2,629 yards and 31 touchdowns and ran for 958 yards and 20 touchdowns for Cleveland, Tenn., Bradley Central High School.
“A lot of these kids did things I haven’t seen before,” Martin said.
Ringer, Gotkowski, Herriman, 6-2, 185-pound defensive back Jackson Pons of North Huntington, Pa., Norwin High School and 6-1, 225-pound tight end Hunter Teal of Marietta, Ga., Walton High School were listed as mid-year enrollees, which means they’ll be available for spring practice — due to start sometime in mid-March with a projected Spring Game on April 20, Martin said.
Martin was gratified that the recruits who verbally committed before signing day honored their commitments and felt that RedHawks’ late-season success led to a couple changing their plans and joining the program after participating in recruiting activities on Dec. 9.
“We did add a few names that weekend at the 11th hour,” he said.
He’s come to learn that teams such as Miami, which continues to focus more on recruiting high school players rather than depending heavily on players in the transfer portal, can benefit from teams in conferences such as the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference focusing more on transfers. That allows mid-major schools such as Miami to attract players of higher caliber than in previous years.
Martin described on unnamed player who at first turned down the RedHawks before calling back.
“Times change, and there are pros and cons to that,” he said. “There are less high school kids being taken. We’re getting kids we wouldn’t have gotten before.”
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