Miami Hurricanes 2018 Senior Profile: S Sheldrick Redwine

There are some players who play for the Hurricanes that become known for their style of play. Others get award recognition, named to a watch list, and become the focus of conversation through much of their time at the U. However, there’s something special when your play, mannerism and overall swagger level make people say, “Oh yeah, he’s a 305 guy.” There might not be a better throwback in line with that Miami mentality than safety Sheldrick Redwine.

One of the more physical members of the Hurricanes’ defense, you don’t necessarily need to see the safety make the play — you can hear his collisions. Redwine’s support against the run and ability to create turnovers has sparked the Canes’ defense for much of his four years. Today’s Senior Profile Series focuses on Sheldrick Redwine, one of the Canes’ best insurance policies on the back half of UM’s defense.

Before the U

At 6’1, 183 pounds, Redwine was one of the taller, rangier cornerbacks in the 2015 recruiting class. As a senior, the cornerback put up big numbers for Miami Killian High School. With a stat line that saw Redwine collect 33 tackles, seven interceptions, 13 pass breakups and multiple blocks on special teams, it’s clear that Killian had yet another special talent on hand. Illustrating a knack for locating the ball in the air and leaping up to remove it from the South Florida night sky, Redwine’s playmaking ability was cultivated during his high school days. Nothing would make a defensive back coach smile quite like watching Redwine toss receivers aside when he was jamming. If you were going to block No. 2 for Miami Killian, you were assuredly going to be in for a battle. As a corner, Redwine showed good reaction and anticipation on plays. He was able to diagnose and react on pass plays.

Redwine was given a three-star rating by 247 Sports, and had his own heaping helping of offers from programs across the country. Some of the schools that came a-courting were West Virginia, Auburn, Miami and Minnesota. Early in the process, Redwine committed to West Virginia, only to decommit a few short months later with more offers coming in for the recruit. After his high school season was over, Redwine took a trip to the campuses of the University of Louisville, leading up to his second commitment in the recruiting process. If we’re writing a senior profile for State of the U, then you assumed right that Redwine would decommit from the Cardinals as well, not long after getting an offer and taking a visit to UM.

Redwine’s final commitment — let’s be honest, his best commitment — was made when he signed his letter of intent to play college football for the University of Miami.

Life as a Cane

Miami Killian High School has been very generous to the University of Miami. WR Randall “The Thrill” Hill, G Mark Cooper and Lamar Miller are some of the notable names to have gone from Killian to UM. Miami safety Jaquan Johnson is another in that rich pipeline and hosted Redwine on his visit to campus. With Redwine’s arrival on campus, the hope was that the Canes uncovered yet another diamond at a local high school. In his freshman year, Redwine worked primarily on special teams, with a sprinkle of snaps on defense. He was available for 12 games, racking up 14 total tackles as he tried to pick up Miami’s defensive system.

It wouldn’t really matter all that much, after the Hurricanes’ gutted the coaching staff in 2016, ushering in the Mark Richt Era. Redwine’s sophomore season was one of ebb and flow. Starting five games at corner, Redwine was a prominent feature for Miami’s secondary. Taking part in 12 games in his second year, he saw an uptick in production with 28 tackles, two pass breakups and one forced fumble. The corner was also a factor in the Russell Athletic Bowl at the end of the season, a game where Miami would put a halt to their dreadful bowl win drought.

With his successes and lessons learned as an underclassmen, the future was bright for the young defensive back, even if it meant that he would be making a change.

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

In the 2017 offseason, Redwine made the position switch from corner to safety. Possessing good technique and the innate ability to locate the ball, Redwine’s style of play was better suited to playing off-coverage deep in the middle of the field with a balanced view of the line of scrimmage and formations in front of him. The position switch paid immediate dividends, as Redwine reunited with Johnson as the Canes’ starting safety pairing. Redwine’s stat line of 59 tackles, two TFL, 0.5 sacks, six PBUs and two forced fumbles showcased the total spectrum that make Redwine such a valuable piece of UM’s defensive core.

The integral play of the Canes’ safety continued into 2018. Redwine has been one of the constants on top-shelf defense that has excelled regardless of the circumstances they’re put in by the Canes’ own offense or special teams. Now a leader among men, Redwine lets his play do most of the talking. The former Killian Cougar has set a new single-season high with three interceptions and three sacks to go along with 52 total tackles entering the week.

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The aspect of No. 22’s game that is most admirable has to be his personality. Whether it’s his physical play, the love that teammates have for him or his must-see moments with the whiteboard, Redwine certainly draws attention in whatever he does. Having balled out in high school and at UM, it won’t be a shock to see Redwine translate his patented style of play to the NFL. Today, we applaud the contributions of Sheldrick Redwine.

Salute to Sheldrick!