Top-75 Miami RB commit talks Alabama visit plans, has message for Hurricanes fans

Northport (Ala.) Tuscaloosa County four-star running back Kevin Riley, Miami’s top-75 running back commitment and the highest-rated running back to commit to the Hurricanes under head coach Mario Cristobal, confirmed his plans to take an official visit to Alabama in December despite remaining committed to the Canes. But he said it shouldn’t be cause for concern for Miami fans.

Why not?

“I’m still strongly committed to Miami,” Riley said. “They’ve been recruiting me the hardest out of everyone. So if the fans were to get worried and stuff, I’d just tell them, ‘There’s nothing to worry about.’”

Riley didn’t sugarcoat his recruiting battle is between Alabama and Miami, and Miami is fighting hard to keep him in Coral Gables. Other programs like USC and Georgia are still recruiting Riley, but the Hurricanes and Crimson Tide are his top two schools as he enters the final month before the Early Signing Period.

Miami still holds Riley’s commitment and has been his frontrunner thanks to a relentless recruiting effort by the Hurricanes’ offensive staff, including Cristobal. Miami still talks to Riley more than any other program despite a fall push from Alabama, and Riley says with the Tide’s campus a 15-minute drive from his house he felt he had to take an official visit.

Miami was the only program to receive an official visit from him this summer despite pushes from Auburn and Ole Miss as well.

“Bama, they recruit hard,” Riley said. “I wouldn’t say they talk to me more than Miami does, because Miami just talks to me more, but I’m right in their backyard. I live 15 minutes away from campus, but they still try to recruit hard. I like the way they do things in their program. … But I don’t really look at what school has the most championships and wins at all of that. On my end, it’s where I feel the most at home between those schools.”

Riley added he still feels the most at home at Miami, and the Hurricanes have continued to impress him on each trip to Coral Gables. He visited Miami earlier this season for the Hurricanes’ win over Clemson and planned to visit for Miami’s season finale against Louisville, although he told CaneSport his mother fell ill and he was unable to make the trip.

“I think Miami is not a bad team at all,” Riley said. “I think every team has their ups and downs, and I think that’s what affected Miami the most this season. They had a lot of mistakes. But with coach Cristobal and the OC there, I’m sure they’ll fix everything and have those mistakes covered up, because I can’t just look at one mistake and let that determine my whole decision toward a school. I’m still with Miami on that, because I know that everyone makes mistakes and they’re looking to fix those and cover those up as they move on.”

Riley said he’s partially taking his official visit to Alabama to see what else the program has to offer beyond just the school’s campus and athletic facilities. Alabama’s staff has emphasized their developmental capabilities and opportunities to compete for national championships.

He sees the recruiting battle between Miami and Alabama going well into December as well.

“I haven’t really been talking to a lot of schools, and I’m really just trying to keep it how it is now just between Miami and Alabama,” Riley said. “I really haven’t talked to any other schools since I committed and everything. Other schools still text me, but it hasn’t been like how it was when I was still a free recruit. So coming up to signing day, I’m really just sticking around with Miami and Bama to see what they have to offer.”

Riley is still working to set a date for his Alabama official visit but currently does not have any other visits scheduled for December. It’s still likely, however, that he returns to Miami at least once more before signing day.

CaneSport’s Take

The Alabama buzz around Riley is palpable, and the Tide are a very legitimate threat to Miami to swipe Riley away. Cristobal will have his chance to leave his mark on the program and win the types of recruiting battles he was brought to Miami to win if he can hold off Alabama’s late push for one of the Canes’ top recruiting targets in this cycle.

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