Boca Raton (Fla.) West Boca four-star 2026 running back Javian Mallory had considered Miami one of his top programs since the start of the new year and was one of the Hurricanes’ top running back targets in this year’s cycle. On Saturday Miami sealed the deal with the No. 269 overall prospect.
Mallory announced his commitment Saturday evening after visiting Miami’s campus that morning and afternoon, becoming the sixth pledge in the Canes’ 2026 class and first running back commit this cycle. Mallory told Miami’s staff he was ready to commit shortly after practice during a meeting with head coach Mario Cristobal, running backs coach Matt Merritt and several off-field recruiting staff members.
The staff erupted in celebration.
“From day one Miami has been one of the schools that had the best relationships with and they kept it real with me,” Mallory told CaneSport. “They kept it real with me and I kept it real with them. It felt like a family. Every time I came down here, the way they treated me and my family, it just felt perfect. Going through this process I was waiting on the time to figure out when I wanted to commit, and today was that day and I knew where I wanted to go. I’m home.”
Mallory said there wasn’t a specific reason why he wanted to commit Saturday but felt the time was right to pull the trigger. Mallory was also being pursued by Michigan, Notre Dame and Clemsonbut had kept Miami as his frontrunner for much of the new year. He said Miami’s staff was waiting for him to commit for a little while, so when he announced it, he said the staff acted almost relieved.
Everybody just started screaming out there,” Mallory said. “Coach Cristobal, coach Merritt, Frank (Tucker), coach (Stephen) Field, D-Train (Dennis Smith), everyone. There was a whole bunch of excitement and happiness.”
Mallory’s commitment is expected to give the Hurricanes the No. 15 ranked class, and Miami is still hoping to sign one additional running back this class. Players like Derrek Cooper, Jae Lamar and Henry Ohlinger are other names Miami is pursuing.
CaneSport’s Take
This is a commitment we’ve been expecting for awhile, but that doesn’t make the moment any less special. Mallory is one of the top prospects in South Florida and a blue-chip player Miami fans have come to expect the Hurricanes to land, so fans can still get excited about his pledge.
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