2020 Defensive Back Recruits That Miami Needs To Make A Push At

As we’re now into mid-October, that means several things for the Miami Hurricanes. One of which is that recruiting is coming down to the wire for the 2020 class, and Manny Diaz and his staff still have some work to do.

A few weeks ago I listed some offensive lineman recruits in the 2020 cycle that Miami should go out and make a push at.

Today, I'm going to take a look at some defensive backs in the 2020 class that the Hurricanes would love to pick up. Reason I'm doing this, Miami has had two DB’s decommit from UM in the past two weeks, Jaiden Francois and then Justin Hodges.

So as it stands now, Miami has four defensive backs committed: South Dade 3-star DB Keshawn Washington, Amite (LA) 3-star DB Daran Branch, Winter Park (FL) 3-star ATH Marcus Clarke and Miramar (FL) 3-star Brian Balom.

Now, as Cam Underwood talked about in his Recruiting Radar: Class Breakdown article, Miami should aim to get 5-6 defensive backs in this 2020 class, so in the next few months, UM needs to add at least one more commit for that position group. Ideally, the Canes would like to land a 4-star commit, but Miami coaches have a knack for developing a great secondary no matter what the star ranking.

Highland (KS) C.C. 4-star CB Brian George:

George is the first player I wanted to talk about, and I've been very intrigued by him, and feel that he could be great for the Canes. Miami offered the JUCO cornerback back in April, and the South Florida native attended Paradise Camp in June.

He has great size for a cornerback at 6’2 190lbs, and also possesses exceptional speed. Plus he has experience, already having played at the college level, which would be extremely beneficial if Trajan Bandy decides to leave for the NFL early. Its been said that George has the most upside of any CB in the 2020 class.

I think George should be top priority when it comes to DB’s, and he plans on visiting Miami again. Another positive, he could start taking classes in January. He took an official visit to Texas A&M this past weekend, and holds over 20 offers from schools like Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, as well as other top programs.

DeLand (FL) 4-star Avantae Williams:

This is a name that should be familiar to most Miami fans, especially since he was at one time committed to UM. Though at the moment, Williams is committed to the Oregon Ducks, but he said in June that his recruitment was still open. He’s also cousins with Canes running back Lorenzo Lingard.

Williams is a game changer, and 247Sports has him ranked as the no.2 safety in the country. He’s one of the most all-around complete players in the nation, with the ability to be a great college safety. The last time he was on Miami’s campus was in June at Paradise Camp, where Avantae was one of the top performers. Good for UM, many recruiting analysts believe that Williams will end up staying in Florida for school, and Miami could be that landing spot. Though, he’s been committed to Oregon for over a year, and this could be a situation where it goes down to the wire. Williams is one of my favorite players in the entire 2020 cycle, and I think Miami has a real shot to flip him.

4-star CB (St. Thomas Aquinas, FL) Jahvante Royal:

A product of South Florida and Broward County, Royal is committed to Pitt, but started to get some noise when Miami offered him over the summer, noting he was a big fan of coach Mike Rumph.

A former wide receiver, Royal switched to defensive back and is transitioning quite smoothly, and impressed Miami coaches in the spring when they were evaluating him. He hasn’t said whether he’s going to visit UM, but hopefully Rumph and the staff will make sure that Royal is a priority.

4-star CB (Champagnat Catholic) Jalen Harrell:

Yes, Harrell is a hard-commit to Florida State, but something tells me Miami could have a chance to flip this South Florida native. Harrell attends the same high school that Gregory Rousseau went to, and Ephraim Banda went and saw Jalen play in late September. Very unlikely, but just remember this name.

4-star S (Ensworth, TN) Keshawn Lawrence:

Another player who Miami fans know well, as he is the cousin of former UM CB Corn Elder. And yes, I'm aware that he’s a hard-commit to Tennessee, making his announcement right after he attended Paradise Camp in June. He enjoyed his visit to UM, spending time with Mike Rumph and Demarcus Van Dyke. Just like Harrell, flipping Lawrence to Miami is a far fetched dream, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Volunteers end the 2019 season.

4-star S (Stephenson, GA) Javier Morton:

Morton decommitted from Alabama in late August, and named Miami as one of the schools that was on his list. At the moment, 247Sports has a crystal ball prediction with Morton going to Georgia Tech, living only 30 minutes away from their campus.

Miami hasn’t offered Morton yet but you have to think it’s coming, and maybe they can use their Georgia connections like DeeJay Dallas to hype up UM. 2020 commit 4-star edge rusher Romello Height is also from the state of Georgia as well.

3-star CB (Jones, FL) Dominick Hill:

This South Carolina commit is from Orlando, and received a Miami offer in February. The Canes were in his top-5 schools when he committed to the Gamecocks in the summer. There hasn't been too much conversation between Hill and Miami since then, but he’s one of the best players in Central Florida who plays with a chip on his shoulder.

CB (Palmetto, FL) Daemon Hill:

Last but certainly not least, we have Hill, who just picked up an offer from his hometown Hurricanes at the end of September.

An unranked prospect, Hill is definitely more unknown than the other names on this list, but Miami coaches like him. However, they’re holding off on a commitment from Hill at the moment. Daemon is also going to visit Louisville the weekend of October 25th, and is also planning on visiting Iowa State and Kansas State, the Wildcats being especially high on him.