2021 Booker T. Washington DE Donell Harris announced he was decommitting from Miami this afternoon, as well as his intentions to reclassify to the 2020 class.



The 6-4, 210-pounder is currently 4-star prospect according to 247Sports, the only service with 2021 rankings at this point. According to 247, Harris is the #4 player nationally, the #1 WDE in the country, and the #1 player in the Sunshine state. His decommitment does not change Miami’s #1 2021 class ranking on 247Sports.


The Background

Harris has been committed to the Canes for nearly a year now, committing to the staff after Paradise Camp in July 2018, and he was Miami’s third commitment in the 2021 class, which came just one month after receiving his offer. Harris had been considered a solid commitment and leader in the class, proving to be very active on social media recruiting other players and posting pro-Miami material. However, after today’s events, I’m told from a program source that Miami was not caught off guard by this and have been anticipating a likely decommitment for about a month now. In addition, a source close to the Harris recruitment does not expect him to end up with the Hurricanes.

Harris’ recruiting profile has really exploded this spring, and interested programs now include national powers Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia among many others. He also visited Alabama and FSU this past weekend. That, along with other factors, was enough to get Harris to take a step back and open things up, and his timeline for a decision has now been radically sped up with his intentions to reclassify to 2020. Harris’ departure is no doubt a big blow to the Hurricanes’ recruiting efforts to lock down South Florida.


Future of the Class

Harris’ exit leaves 9 commits in the 2021 class, but what is intriguing here is his intention to reclassify to 2020. I’m going to use this opportunity to discuss how Harris would stack up to the rest of Miami’s 2020 DE targets, and how the rest of the 2020 DE board shakes out.

First off, Miami has a commitment from McDougle Technical Institute (FL) 4-star DE Samuel Anaele, and would like to add at least one, maybe two in addition to Anaele. If Miami continues to pursue Harris, he would easily be the top target at DE in 2020 from here on out. Previously, Miami had been treating both Berkeley Prep (FL) 4-star Jaylen Harrell and Columbus (FL) 3-star Elijah Roberts as priorities at DE. To me, Harrell seems very open right now, but some believe Miami has built a slight lead for him. The Canes are telling Roberts he could play either DE or DT, and he just put UM in his top 5. I put in a Miami pick for him over a year ago and have heard nothing to move me off that at this point.

In a tier just below that, you have guys such as Mallard Creek (NC) 3-star Quentin Williams, St. Lucie West Centennial (FL) 3-star Jamari Stewart, and Chamberlain (FL) 3-star Johnny Walker. Williams comes from a big Miami family up in North Carolina and raved about his unofficial visit to UM in April. He has since put Miami in his top 5 and stated his intent to take an OV to Coral Gables. After pushing initially, things have really slowed with both Stewart and Walker. It seems like UM wants to wait on some other names before potentially taking their commitment, although either could become a take if they show out at Paradise Camp next week.

There are two current wildcards at the position to keep in mind as well, and both are committed to other schools. Shadow Creek (TX) 4-star Alec Bryant is committed to LSU, but received an offer from Blake Baker a month ago and told CIS shortly after he wants to take an OV to Miami. Lake Gibson (FL) 3-star Morven Joseph is committed to UF, but made a visit to UM last weekend for a Manny Diaz Camp event. A lot is still unclear with both Bryant and Joseph and they should be considered unlikely to end up in the class until more develops there.

As for what it means for 2021, UM is now left with zero DE commits in the class. Diaz and Co. spent the spring evaluation period offering a ton of DE's, and the Canes have now offered upwards of 15 defensive ends in 2021. Of those, only Vanguard (FL) 4-star Bryce Langston and Tompkins (TX) 4-star Tunmise Adeleye have reciprocated that interest with visits to campus. It's too early to tell how the board will shake out in 2021, but both prospects are going to be nationally recruited on a huge scale, and obviously Miami would love to have both.