2019 Poly Prep (NY) DT Jason Blissett committed to the Canes this afternoon after earning an offer at Paradise Camp in July.
The 6-4, 270-pounder is currently a 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Blissett is the #552 player nationally, #31 DT in the country, and the #2 player in New York. His commitment gets Surge19 to #18 overall in the team rankings on 247Sports and #20 overall on Rivals.
The Player
Recruiting a player from an area not known for football like New York that offers little in the way of on-field competition is always a dicey proposition, which is why it is absolutely necessary to see that prospect work out in front of you with your own eyes. That’s exactly how the situation played out with Blissett, who came down to Paradise Camp in July and earned his offer by impressing the staff in drills against top level South Florida competition. Jess Simpson had been evaluating him since the spring and just fell in love with his game at Paradise.
Blissett actually plays mostly end in high school, but he’s the type of jumbo end at 6’4” 270 that UM loves to move inside to take advantage of their quickness and athleticism against slower guard types. And Blissett certainly brings that quickness, as he has tested extremely well this off-season for a big man, clocking a 4.40 shuttle time.
On tape, Blissett plays with good pad level and leverage. He fires off the ball and dips under blocks with ease. Blissett’s hands are fast and powerful and he shows the type of strength and balance that allows him to fight through blocks.
I’d like to see his quickness show up on tape more, as many times it seemed he’d lose his rep off the snap and get into a stalemate with his blocker. However, his high motor allows him to finish and make the play more often than not. This issue will also partially be remedied when he moves to the interior.
A player that has spent the past year or so rapidly improving, Blissett has landed recent offers from SEC schools like Florida, Texas A&M, and Tennessee. He’s another in a long line of Surge19 commits where the staff is trusting their own evaluations over recruiting hype, but Blissett certainly has the potential to make Simpson look good in a few years.
The Class
Blissett's commitment brings the total class numbers to 17 and he joins St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 3-star Jason Munoz and Buford (GA) 3-star Jalar Holley at DT in Surge19. As a die-hard Cane, Munoz’s pledge seems like one of the most solid in the class and Holley just recently committed after Paradise Camp; he is a firm pledge as well.
The Canes just signed 2 DT’s in a 2018 class where they could have easily taken 4, so DT has become a huge need in 2019. With two of Miami’s DT’s also set to graduate in 2018, taking three DT’s this cycle is almost necessary, with four not out of the question.
With really only one spot left, at the top of Miami’s list would be St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 4-star Braylen Ingraham, who is a bit of a swingman as a jumbo end/defensive tackle hybrid that will likely take the RJ McIntosh and Patrick Bethel route and grow into a defensive tackle at the next level. Manny Diaz and Jess Simpson love his potential as an interior guy and the staff is feeling good about their chances to eventually land Ingraham, who has named Miami his public leader multiple times. He is announcing next month and I don’t see a legitimate challenger to UM for his services as of now.
If Miami misses on Ingraham, loses a commit, or decides to take another DT, they have set themselves up well with high caliber options. Also on the radar is FSU commit and Lehigh Acres (FL) 4-star Quashon Fuller. He has flirted with Miami a lot, coming to campus multiple times during the off-season and showing up for "Miami Nights".
However, after slow playing him for a few months, FSU has picked up their pursuit of Fuller again lately and it will be tough to pull him from Tallahassee; I feel as if Miami is trending down here. However, a source told CIS that a big deciding factor for Fuller will be how the season’s play out for the respective teams and that the D-Lineman wants to see if Willie Taggart can make some noise in the ACC this year. A similar down year for the Seminoles and another big year for Miami could get Fuller to flip.
As I’ve always said, I’ve never gotten a good vibe from Wekiva (FL) 4-star Tyler Davis and I don’t believe he will ultimately end up in this class. However, he pushed back his planned summer decision and is now talking up a potential Miami OV, leaving a glimmer of hope. If he takes that visit, anything can happen.
The Team
Defensive line recruiting, particularly in balancing the numbers, has been the single biggest flaw from this staff as a whole the past few years. RJ McIntosh and Kendrick Norton leaving early for the NFL hurt, sure, but the shear misses at these spots in past years were starting to mount. Manny Diaz loves to rotate on the line, so having plenty of capable bodies at DT is a must for his defense to function.
Next season, Miami loses Gerald Willis and Tito Odenigbo from the position to graduation, while Tyreic Martin is a likely attrition candidate that has done nothing in 3 years at Miami. That leaves only 4 DT’s on the current roster that would be on the 2019 roster, and playing time will absolutely be up for grabs.
The Canes are banking heavy that Jon Ford, Nesta Silvera, and Jordan Miller will all develop properly and become a solid trio to complement Patrick Bethel. Behind them, Blissett will compete with fellow 2019 commits Munoz and Holley for a spot in the DT rotation as true freshmen, with the hopes he can develop into a starting-level player by his sophomore season in 2020.
The 6-4, 270-pounder is currently a 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Blissett is the #552 player nationally, #31 DT in the country, and the #2 player in New York. His commitment gets Surge19 to #18 overall in the team rankings on 247Sports and #20 overall on Rivals.
The Player
Recruiting a player from an area not known for football like New York that offers little in the way of on-field competition is always a dicey proposition, which is why it is absolutely necessary to see that prospect work out in front of you with your own eyes. That’s exactly how the situation played out with Blissett, who came down to Paradise Camp in July and earned his offer by impressing the staff in drills against top level South Florida competition. Jess Simpson had been evaluating him since the spring and just fell in love with his game at Paradise.
Blissett actually plays mostly end in high school, but he’s the type of jumbo end at 6’4” 270 that UM loves to move inside to take advantage of their quickness and athleticism against slower guard types. And Blissett certainly brings that quickness, as he has tested extremely well this off-season for a big man, clocking a 4.40 shuttle time.
On tape, Blissett plays with good pad level and leverage. He fires off the ball and dips under blocks with ease. Blissett’s hands are fast and powerful and he shows the type of strength and balance that allows him to fight through blocks.
I’d like to see his quickness show up on tape more, as many times it seemed he’d lose his rep off the snap and get into a stalemate with his blocker. However, his high motor allows him to finish and make the play more often than not. This issue will also partially be remedied when he moves to the interior.
A player that has spent the past year or so rapidly improving, Blissett has landed recent offers from SEC schools like Florida, Texas A&M, and Tennessee. He’s another in a long line of Surge19 commits where the staff is trusting their own evaluations over recruiting hype, but Blissett certainly has the potential to make Simpson look good in a few years.
The Class
Blissett's commitment brings the total class numbers to 17 and he joins St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 3-star Jason Munoz and Buford (GA) 3-star Jalar Holley at DT in Surge19. As a die-hard Cane, Munoz’s pledge seems like one of the most solid in the class and Holley just recently committed after Paradise Camp; he is a firm pledge as well.
The Canes just signed 2 DT’s in a 2018 class where they could have easily taken 4, so DT has become a huge need in 2019. With two of Miami’s DT’s also set to graduate in 2018, taking three DT’s this cycle is almost necessary, with four not out of the question.
With really only one spot left, at the top of Miami’s list would be St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 4-star Braylen Ingraham, who is a bit of a swingman as a jumbo end/defensive tackle hybrid that will likely take the RJ McIntosh and Patrick Bethel route and grow into a defensive tackle at the next level. Manny Diaz and Jess Simpson love his potential as an interior guy and the staff is feeling good about their chances to eventually land Ingraham, who has named Miami his public leader multiple times. He is announcing next month and I don’t see a legitimate challenger to UM for his services as of now.
If Miami misses on Ingraham, loses a commit, or decides to take another DT, they have set themselves up well with high caliber options. Also on the radar is FSU commit and Lehigh Acres (FL) 4-star Quashon Fuller. He has flirted with Miami a lot, coming to campus multiple times during the off-season and showing up for "Miami Nights".
However, after slow playing him for a few months, FSU has picked up their pursuit of Fuller again lately and it will be tough to pull him from Tallahassee; I feel as if Miami is trending down here. However, a source told CIS that a big deciding factor for Fuller will be how the season’s play out for the respective teams and that the D-Lineman wants to see if Willie Taggart can make some noise in the ACC this year. A similar down year for the Seminoles and another big year for Miami could get Fuller to flip.
As I’ve always said, I’ve never gotten a good vibe from Wekiva (FL) 4-star Tyler Davis and I don’t believe he will ultimately end up in this class. However, he pushed back his planned summer decision and is now talking up a potential Miami OV, leaving a glimmer of hope. If he takes that visit, anything can happen.
The Team
Defensive line recruiting, particularly in balancing the numbers, has been the single biggest flaw from this staff as a whole the past few years. RJ McIntosh and Kendrick Norton leaving early for the NFL hurt, sure, but the shear misses at these spots in past years were starting to mount. Manny Diaz loves to rotate on the line, so having plenty of capable bodies at DT is a must for his defense to function.
Next season, Miami loses Gerald Willis and Tito Odenigbo from the position to graduation, while Tyreic Martin is a likely attrition candidate that has done nothing in 3 years at Miami. That leaves only 4 DT’s on the current roster that would be on the 2019 roster, and playing time will absolutely be up for grabs.
The Canes are banking heavy that Jon Ford, Nesta Silvera, and Jordan Miller will all develop properly and become a solid trio to complement Patrick Bethel. Behind them, Blissett will compete with fellow 2019 commits Munoz and Holley for a spot in the DT rotation as true freshmen, with the hopes he can develop into a starting-level player by his sophomore season in 2020.
