In this installment we meet the vocal ambassador for the Canes’ 2017 recruiting class who has the talent to be an impact player on either side of the ball: ATH DeeJay Dallas.

Bio

BY FAR the most outspoken recruit in Miami’s 2017 recruiting class, 4-star ATH DeeJay Dallas is a player with a wealth of talent. The Brunswick (GA) Glynn Academy standout has the talent to be a contributing — and top line — player on either offense or defense.

Dallas played all over the field for the Terrors, lining up at QB (his main HSFB position), WR, RB, and DB as well. When you look up Dallas’ highlights (later on in this piece), you can see many of his athletic talents on full display.

As far as his recruitment, Dallas earned offers from many top teams. Alabama and Georgia were once thought to be the top teams to sign Dallas, but he instead bonded with HC Mark Richt and decided to take his talents to Coral Gables back in May 2016.

Since he announced his commitment to Miami, Dallas has been all Cane. He has been the vocal leader of the recruiting class, openly recruiting other talented players to Miami in the hopes that they would join him on the Hurricanes.

A multiple time All-State player, Dallas has the mentality of an old-school Cane, and the on-field performance to back it up. He’s one of my favorite kids in this class, and I’m sure several people reading this piece share that opinion.

Recruiting Ranking

On the 247sports composite, Dallas is a 4-star prospect, the #13 ATH in this class, the #27 player in the State of Georgia, and the #265 player in this class overall.

Dallas committed to Miami over 31 other offers including Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, and Michigan.

Dallas as a player

Dallas is stockily built at 5’10” 191lbs. He looks a bit bulky in his HUDL highlights, but that’s because he’s wearing a flak jacket to protect his ribs for the times he played QB. Dallas is well developed physically, but can benefit from a college weight and nutrition program, much like all HSFB kids.

One of the things that I notice when watching the film is Dallas’ ability to change directions. He is frequently seen using this skill to avoid defenders when playing offense and because of it made some very long highlight runs. Dallas also shows good acceleration and decent straight line speed on film.

Dallas has the ability to play DB because he’s done it (both on film and at camps) with good success as well. He lacks elite height for the position, and has average but not great speed. Dallas’ technique is a work in progress, which is understandable by the fact that he’s played so many positions in his HSFB career that he hasn’t had the chance to really focus in on becoming a top tier technician at any of them.

Dallas also has the ability to play on offense. He played QB for Glynn Academy, while also logging snaps at RB and WR. Dallas ran the zone-read and option run games to perfection from the QB spot, which could be a small package too if he stays on offense. With Miami needing WRs on the team, Dallas could play in the slot as well, where his athleticism and strong hands could be a major bonus.

Dallas has “IT”, tho. That intangible ability to make a play when his team needs it most. No, that’s not a measurable skill, but it’s something that factored into games many times in his HSFB career.

2017 Outlook

Miami needs WRs. Miami needs DBs. DeeJay Dallas is a player who can excel at either or both of those spots, and he has a chance to do just that in the 2017 season.

Chances for a redshirt: 0/10

Miami needs game-ready players at WR and CB, the 2 positions that Dallas is best suited to play at the college level. Whether on offense or defense, Dallas should be able to earn his way into rotational playing time in 2017, with a chance that he could grab a bigger role as the season progresses.

That’s it for this installment of the Recruit Notebook.

Go Canes