The Miami Hurricanes are reintroducing themselves as an aggressive force on the football recruiting trail. The Hurricanes already reclassified a four-star wide receiver talent ahead of the December signing day. This time, an NFL Hall of Famer just flipped a high-profile recruit originally set to go to USC.
Jason Taylor worked his magic out on the west coast Wednesday. The legendary Miami Dolphins defensive end coaxed four-star USC edge rush commit Hayden Lowe to chose the Hurricanes instead. Lowe, who stars for Oaks Christian in Westlake Village, California, confirmed to Rivals Miami insider Marcus Benjamin that Taylor is a big reason behind his verbal decision.
“It feels like I can be developed in ways only he can develop me in, because he's been on the field,” Lowe said.
The powerful and quick 2025 edge rusher adds how Taylor and the coaches “ain't talking it. They've done it.”
Taylor on staff bolsters Miami's chances at landing impact pass rushers for the future. Future collegiate pass rushers now have the golden opportunity to learn from one of the NFL's greats in Coral Gables.
Taylor earned six Pro Bowls during his illustrious career. He collected 139.5 career sacks, including leading the league with 18.5 in 2002. While Taylor played for three franchises, he spent the bulk of his NFL journey in Miami.
Taylor is only in his second season of coaching collegiately. Head coach Mario Cristobal named him defensive line coach in 2023.
Cristobal has familiarity with Oaks Christian. He pilfered a prized five-star edge rush talent named Kayvon Thibodeaux when the coach led Oregon. This time, Cristobal has added Taylor in attempting to create a new Oaks Christian pipeline.
Lowe's commitment is huge with the early signing day period set from Dec. 4 to 6. Miami also scores a major recruiting win following its devastating loss to Georgia Tech last Saturday.
Jason Taylor impacting Hurricanes in recruiting and coaching
Taylor came to “The U” with zero ties to the university. Yet, he's already become impactful. Flipping Lowe from USC to Miami isn't Taylor's only major moment that won over the ‘Canes.
Miami's pass rush is responsible for its 27 sacks through 10 games — meaning its averaging nearly three sacks a game. The Hurricanes' top five pass rushers including leader Simeon Barrow all represent the defensive trenches, where Taylor coaches.
Taylor has helped earn four defensive lineman commits for this current recruiting cycle. Before Lowe, Taylor ran point on the recruitment of another four-star prospect in Herbert Scroggins of Savannah, Georgia. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound star from Benedictine Military School even turned down a long list that included Alabama, Auburn, North Carolina, even Georgia Tech to commit to Taylor and Miami.
The 2017 Hall of Famer swooped up a local edge rush talent too on the trail. Mykah Newton of Newberry, Florida is another recruiting find made by Taylor. The three-star Newton had Power 4 programs North Carolina State, Michigan State, and nearby Central Florida making a run before Taylor locked Newton in to the 305.
The 6-foot-4, 242-pound Lowe now catapults to Miami's highest ranked verbal commit thanks to Taylor. Miami also checks in with the Atlantic Coast Conference's top-ranked '25 class by 247Sports.
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