When Miami announced that then-head coach Mark Richt was retiring on Dec. 30, the Hurricanes' top-ranked commit in the 2019 class, wide receiver Jeremiah Payton, found out along with everyone else through Twitter.
Payton had been committed to Miami since February 2018 and was blindsided by Richt's decision to leave Miami only 10 days after the early signing period ended. Payton, No. 61 in the ESPN 300 out of Neptune Beach, Florida, signed with Miami on Dec. 19 and is locked in to his national letter of intent no matter who Miami's coach is.
"I was a little surprised, because of what I was hearing," Payton said. "My dad asked Coach Richt about his future on our official visit in December and he had talked to us about how he was here and just got an extension."
Payton was one of the 252 ESPN 300 prospects who decided to sign early in December and lock into a program before the bulk of coaching changes even began.