Jhavonte Dean is a local product.
Despite spending the last two seasons at Blinn College playing JUCO football in Texas, Dean has Miami roots out of South Dade High School. The same high school that 2018 Miami commit DJ Ivey attends, and former receiver Tyre Brady graduated from.
But Dean’s role in 2017 will transcend the impact made at his high school, as he is projected to be Miami’s starting outside cornerback in August. Malek Young has been projected to take a Corn Elder caliber leap as well, but at 6’2”, Dean presents more size than Young on the outside.
More than any measurable, however, Dean will bring much needed experience to the secondary.
“Experience,” cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph said on National Signing Day. “We have a young secondary now and Jhavonte is a guy that’s gonna come in from Blinn College over there in Texas, and [is] just a talented young man.”
Rumph said that Dean is a driven player who knows what he wants to do, and will fit in well with Miami’s cornerback room.
Dean was an Alabama commit before choosing the ‘Canes on signing day, and ultimately chose to return home to the team he grew up watching.
“He’s a South Florida man coming back home,” Rumph said. “Coach Banda, Coach Diaz, and I we all really were on him -- high on him. [We] just stayed persistent with him till the final end.”
Miami’s persistence paid off and Dean will enter camp along with two other corners expected to get a large amount of playing time -- Trajan Bandy and Dee Delaney.
At 6’1” Delaney will bring height to Coral Gables, but other than him, Dean brings the most size to the team.
He will be invaluable because of his height and length, and should be physical at the line of scrimmage as well. Dean will most likely add weight to his 180 pound frame, but even at his current measurables, he will make an impact on the outside.
According to 247sports.com, Dean runs a 4.30 forty yard dash time, and ranked as the number two junior college cornerback in the nation last year. His speed is a large draw for fans, and Dean put it on display on this kick return in high school
Although Miami has a multitude of defensive backs committed for 2018, the failure to sign Christopher Henderson and Brian Edwards on signing day resulted in a lack of depth on this year’s roster.
Dean will have to be a rock on the outside for Miami because there are limited players to turn towards off the bench. Dean’s measurables and intangibles suggest that he will have success at the next level, and was a vital asset for Miami throughout the recruiting process.
With an experienced front seven Miami’s defensive backs may hold the key to the ‘Canes defensive potential, and Jhavonte Dean will have to be a driving factor in the group's success.