The headliner of Miami’s class, elite EDGE Lowe has first round pick potential and uncapped athleticism
In this installment of The Recruiting Notebook, we meet a uber talented EDGE rusher with incredible physical gifts and superstar potential: Westlake Village (CA) Oaks Christian 4-star EDGE Hayden Lowe.
Bio
In the effort to add elite edge rushing talent to the roster, the Miami Hurricanes turned their attention to and recruiting effort to Westlake Village (CA) Oaks Christian EDGE Hayden Lowe.
A dynamic edge rusher, Lowe is up around 6’5” 245lbs. Some initially had him smaller than that, but kids grow. Regardless of his actual measurements (which I assure you are within a half an inch and 10lbs of what I just wrote), he’s a game-breaking defender who has long been one of the top players in the country.
Lowe burst onto the scene for Oaks Christian as a freshman in 2021. 55 tackles, 9 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, 3 Hurries, 1 Forced Fumble, and 1 PBU. Those are solid numbers for a senior, but the fact that Lowe had that kind of production as a freshman on a very competitive Oaks Christian team immediately put him on the radar as a potential superstar recruit. Arizona and Michigan were the first teams to offer Lowe after his freshman year, but they would not be the last by any stretch of the imagination.
Looking to follow up that breakout freshman year, Lowe started his 2022 season as a sophomore with a bang. With 16 tackles, 8 TFLs, 3 sacks, 7 Hurries and a PBU through Oaks Christian’s first 3 games, Lowe was on track for a massive season. Unfortunately for him, however, he sustained a season-ending injury and missed the remainder of the season.
Even with only playing 3 games as a sophomore, Lowe began collecting scholarship offers from teams all lover the country. Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Texas, Cal, Arizona State, Washington, Utah, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, UCLA, and Alabama all extended offers to Lowe through the winter and spring heading into his junior year.
Again, Lowe looked to put his elite talent on display as a junior. Early on, Oregon, Georgia, and Miami jumped into the fray with scholarship offers for the talented defender. And Lowe looked the part of the big time recruit everyone billed him to be.
With 25 tackles, 5 TFLs, 3 sacks, 7 Hurries and 3 Forced Fumbles through Oaks Christian’s first 3 games, Lowe once again looked every bit the superstar recruit he was billed to be. But, once again, injury woes curtailed his season. Lowe broke his thumb and missed the next 6 games before coming back against Chaparral. Lowe then missed the final game of the year, a playoff loss to Mission Viejo. In total, he had 29 tackles, 7 TFLs, 3 sacks, 7 Hurries, and 4 Forced Fumbles.
At this point, Lowe was known as a big time recruit, even with 2 years of injury-shortened seasons. And, to that end, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Ohio State all extended him scholarship offers to go along with the previously listed group (and several others whose scholarship offers were purely speculative for a player of this caliber).
In the spring of 2024, Lowe started to narrow down his recruitment, and took several visits to teams across the country. An Unofficial Visit to Miami, was followed by Official Visits to UCLA, Georgia, Miami, USC, and Oregon. And, though Lowe said he struggled with the decision and the draw of Miami, he committed to the local USC Trojans on June 9th.
Despite his commitment to USC, Miami continued to recruit Lowe throughout his senior season. And, after 2 years cut short by injury, Lowe showed his skill and potential in equal measure. Through the regular season, he posted the following stat line: 52 tackles, 13 TFLs, 12 sacks, 10 Hurries, a PBU, a Fumble Recovery, and 2 blocked kicks.
As I said before, Miami was undeterred by Lowe’s decision to commit to USC before his senior season, and continued to recruit the elite talent throughout the 2024 season. Those efforts paid off 3 weeks before Early Signing Day when Lowe flipped his commitment to the Miami Hurricanes, giving Miami a new headline player to the 2025 recruiting class.
Recruiting Ranking
On the 247sports composite, Lowe is a 4-star prospect, the #17 EDGE nationally, #18 in the State of California, and #189 player overall in this class. 247 has Lowe much, MUCH higher on their individual rankings, with the EDGE rusher checking in at #3 at his position, #3 in the State of California, and #44 overall in this class, just outside 5-star status.
Lowe flipped his commitment to Miami after a previous pledge to USC, and over a robust list of 29 scholarship offers from around the country.
As A Player
While his measurements aren’t confirmed from a camp or recruiting service, Lowe has good size for and EDGE rusher. At 6’4”-6’5 with a positive wingspan, he has the physical traits you look for in an edge rusher. He’s already added some weight to his frame, up to somewhere around 245-250lbs. Lowe could play at that weight, or he could add a bit more size (and likely the accompanying strength) moving forward.
One thing that is easily noticeable about Lowe is his quickness. He routinely splits double teams with speed, or goes around OL with a nice first step and good bend around the edge. He will continue to have impact and success with that as the foundation of his pass rush moves, and adding others along the way as he develops.
Lowe shows solid traits as a run defender as well. He sets the edge well, and is forceful at the point of contact with ball carriers. This is an area of his game that will need to see continual development to turn him into a 3-down defender at the college level.
The comparison that nearly everyone in the recruiting industry is using for Lowe’s build, traits, and potential is Kayvon Thibodeaux. He, like Lowe, attended Oaks Christian before playing for Mario Cristobal at Oregon, and then turning into a top 5 NFL Draft Pick. Lowe’s built the same, plays nearly the same, and has similar, if not identical, potential. Much like Penei Sewell was the blueprint for Miami recruiting and developing Francis Mauigoa, so is Thibodeaux the blueprint with Lowe.
For another look at Lowe, here’s an eval from 247sports Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins. Bear in mind this is from about a year ago:
Lowe is one of the top edge rushers in the ’25 class. He has a ton of long term upside and is an easy player to project. He has a prototype 6-4, 240 pound frame and in terms of his long-term potential, there’s a lot to like there. He has long arms, is a plus athlete and shows the ability to play just about anywhere along the defensive line. He has the frame to easily add another 20-25 pounds with ease without losing any of his athleticism. He’s a naturally strong kid who can take on double teams and still get up the field. He’s equally strong playing the run or rushing the quarterback and has a nice edge in his game. He has an explosive first step and has the ability to dip and turn the corner to beat most tackles with ease. He hails from the same program that produced former Oregon and NY Giant 1st round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux and his coaches at Oaks feel his upside is just as high.
Strengths
- Height/Length
- Speed/Quickness
- Productivity
- Potential
Weaknesses
- Needs to add size
- Needs to add strength
- Can develop more pass rush moves
- Injury history
Miami Outlook
Note: changed this up from just a freshman-season outlook to a career outlook for each player a few years ago and we’re continuing that style this year as well.
If the apt comparison for Lowe as a prospect is Kayvon Thibodeaux, then extending that comparison to his collegiate career also fits. If Miami is able to get even 75% of Thibodeax’s career and development out of Lowe, that would have to be considered an unqualified win.
Miami is not at all averse to playing freshmen, especially early enrollees like Lowe. He should challenge for playing time as a freshman, with his role on this team moving forward anything from rotation player to superstar.
At a minimum, I would expect Lowe to be a top of the roster player in the future, and challenge for All-ACC honors. But, if Miami’s able to unlock the full breadth of his potential, then he could be up for All-American and/or national individual awards before his time in Coral Gables is over.
That’s it for this installment of The Recruiting Notebook.
Go Canes