Miami picked up a massive recruiting win Monday when 5-star 2027 running back Kemon Spell included the Hurricanes in his final five schools. The McKeesport, Pennsylvania, star dropped a list of Georgia, Miami, USC, Notre Dame and Ohio State, setting up a heavyweight fight for the nation’s top junior tailback.
Spell, a former Penn State commit, now headlines one of the first true national battles of the 2027 cycle. He committed to the Nittany Lions, then reopened his recruitment after James Franklin’s firing, a move that instantly kicked programs like Miami, Georgia and Notre Dame into overdrive for the No. 1 back.
Recruiting services across the board rank Spell as the No. 1 running back in the 2027 class and a Top-10 overall prospect. Production backs up the hype: He already stacked multiple 1,700-plus–yard seasons at McKeesport, including a junior year that featured 1,755 rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns despite time lost to injury.
Miami fans already know Spell’s name. The Hurricanes hosted him for a fall gameday visit as part of a five-school swing, and buzz from that weekend painted Miami as a serious contender. Reporting from that trip highlighted how strongly Spell and his family connected with the staff and the Hard Rock Stadium atmosphere, a combo that tends to stick.
Miami, however, enters this chase as an underdog on paper. Georgia and Notre Dame draw the most national smoke, with multiple outlets framing those two as the programs to beat while Miami, USC and Ohio State push from slightly behind. Cristobal’s program now rides a 10-2 season and its first College Football Playoff berth into this recruitment, giving the staff plenty of ammo in living rooms and on official visits.
The pitch practically writes itself: Spell can learn behind a veteran room, grab early special teams and package touches, then take over the backfield once the current core moves on. His physicality fits short-yardage and four-minute situations, while his vision and acceleration match the stretch, counter and inside-zone menu that’s already carried Miami.
Spell plans to take all five official visits before a decision, so this recruitment likely stretches well into next year. Miami already secured one visit window and will push hard for a return trip.
Landing the No. 1 running back in the country never comes easy, especially against blue bloods with recent hardware. Still, Miami sitting in Kemon Spell’s Top 5 underscores something bigger: when the very best prospects trim their lists, the Hurricanes belong in that conversation again.
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