2020 South Dade (FL) OG Jonathan Denis decommitted from Miami on Wednesday afternoon.
The 6-3, 270-pounder is a 4-star ranked #312 overall nationally, the #11 OG, and #53 in the Sunshine State in the 247Sports Composite. His decommitment does not change Miami’s #1 class in 2020 on 247Sports or Rivals.
The Background
Denis had been committed to UM since July and pulled the trigger on an exciting Paradise Camp weekend that landed Miami six commitments. In a sequence of events that lasted a little more than two hours, UM landed all three of the South Dade Canes on the Friday night before the camp. First it was CB Jaiden Francois announcing on Twitter for the orange and green, followed shortly after by S Keshawn Washington. Denis then capped off the excitement with his decision to stay home at Miami, but today he reversed course from that and opened things up
In general, I’m a subscriber to the belief that one game does not impact a recruit’s ultimate decision; there’s just too many unique factors that goes into every recruitment to throw all that out the window over one game. I believe this decommitment is more about being able to give every school a fair shot and to evaluate all his options, rather than something Miami did or didn’t do. That being said, the timing of Denis’ decommitment sure doesn’t look good after Miami’s Virginia loss, as he just told CIS how excited he was to be at the game when Miami toppled FSU 2 weeks back.
Future of the Class
Denis’ decommitment brings the total class numbers down to 11 and leaves Miami without an offensive lineman in Category20. Miami will continue to recruit Denis and UM wants him in this class badly. The Canes already have a bit of a head start with both his teammates and close friends Francois and Washington in the class, so I expect UM to be involved here until the very end.
In terms of other OL prospects, so far, the Canes have focused their efforts on bringing in some top-notch tackles to the equation in 2020, and have set their sights on three guys in particular.
4-star OT Jalen Rivers from Oakleaf (FL) is probably the top target for the Canes at this point. He’s considered a top 50 prospect in the country that’s been seen as a Miami-lean for awhile now. Rivers was competing out at Paradise Camp in July and was a top performer, burying most of his opponents. We’ve heard some really positive chatter from sources close to the Rivers recruitment and, as of now, I expect him to be a Hurricane in the end.
Next up is St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 4-star Marcus Dumervil, who went to every Miami event possible for an underclassman this off-season. Dumervil also showed up to Miami’s last home game, the comeback thriller against FSU. The local product has played both offense and defense at STA, but the Canes like him at OT. Dumervil grew up a fan of UM and is always talking highly of the team and the staff. I think it’s only a matter of time before he hops on board with UM; it can only help being on a high school team with so many Miami commits.
At nearly 6-4 and 300 pounds, Vanguard (FL) 4-star Miller Merriweather-Lewis has been pursued by the Canes since landing an offer in the fall of 2016 during his freshman season of high school. N’Kosi Perry’s former teammate has already named Miami to his top 3, along with LSU and UGA. UM is going to have to battle a little bit more to land Merriweather-Lewis, but they’re certainly in a prime position to eventually land his commitment if they keep pushing.
Outside of South Florida, Miami has current offers out to Suwannee (FL) 4-star OT Joshua Braun and Lennard (FL) 3-star OT Michael Rankins, but it’s too early to tell where Miami stands with those two as of now.
In terms of future offers you could see go out, look no farther than Jovens Janvier, a 4-star OT from Champagnat-Catholic. Although Janvier is currently committed to Louisville, he is still showing high Miami interest. Janvier attended Miami-FSU 2 weeks back and was told by Stacy Searels that an offer may be coming soon. The Canes would be an instant player with Janvier if they did pull the trigger as, like Dumervil, Janvier showed up to most of the off-season events on campus at UM.
The 6-3, 270-pounder is a 4-star ranked #312 overall nationally, the #11 OG, and #53 in the Sunshine State in the 247Sports Composite. His decommitment does not change Miami’s #1 class in 2020 on 247Sports or Rivals.
The Background
Denis had been committed to UM since July and pulled the trigger on an exciting Paradise Camp weekend that landed Miami six commitments. In a sequence of events that lasted a little more than two hours, UM landed all three of the South Dade Canes on the Friday night before the camp. First it was CB Jaiden Francois announcing on Twitter for the orange and green, followed shortly after by S Keshawn Washington. Denis then capped off the excitement with his decision to stay home at Miami, but today he reversed course from that and opened things up
In general, I’m a subscriber to the belief that one game does not impact a recruit’s ultimate decision; there’s just too many unique factors that goes into every recruitment to throw all that out the window over one game. I believe this decommitment is more about being able to give every school a fair shot and to evaluate all his options, rather than something Miami did or didn’t do. That being said, the timing of Denis’ decommitment sure doesn’t look good after Miami’s Virginia loss, as he just told CIS how excited he was to be at the game when Miami toppled FSU 2 weeks back.
Future of the Class
Denis’ decommitment brings the total class numbers down to 11 and leaves Miami without an offensive lineman in Category20. Miami will continue to recruit Denis and UM wants him in this class badly. The Canes already have a bit of a head start with both his teammates and close friends Francois and Washington in the class, so I expect UM to be involved here until the very end.
In terms of other OL prospects, so far, the Canes have focused their efforts on bringing in some top-notch tackles to the equation in 2020, and have set their sights on three guys in particular.
4-star OT Jalen Rivers from Oakleaf (FL) is probably the top target for the Canes at this point. He’s considered a top 50 prospect in the country that’s been seen as a Miami-lean for awhile now. Rivers was competing out at Paradise Camp in July and was a top performer, burying most of his opponents. We’ve heard some really positive chatter from sources close to the Rivers recruitment and, as of now, I expect him to be a Hurricane in the end.
Next up is St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 4-star Marcus Dumervil, who went to every Miami event possible for an underclassman this off-season. Dumervil also showed up to Miami’s last home game, the comeback thriller against FSU. The local product has played both offense and defense at STA, but the Canes like him at OT. Dumervil grew up a fan of UM and is always talking highly of the team and the staff. I think it’s only a matter of time before he hops on board with UM; it can only help being on a high school team with so many Miami commits.
At nearly 6-4 and 300 pounds, Vanguard (FL) 4-star Miller Merriweather-Lewis has been pursued by the Canes since landing an offer in the fall of 2016 during his freshman season of high school. N’Kosi Perry’s former teammate has already named Miami to his top 3, along with LSU and UGA. UM is going to have to battle a little bit more to land Merriweather-Lewis, but they’re certainly in a prime position to eventually land his commitment if they keep pushing.
Outside of South Florida, Miami has current offers out to Suwannee (FL) 4-star OT Joshua Braun and Lennard (FL) 3-star OT Michael Rankins, but it’s too early to tell where Miami stands with those two as of now.
In terms of future offers you could see go out, look no farther than Jovens Janvier, a 4-star OT from Champagnat-Catholic. Although Janvier is currently committed to Louisville, he is still showing high Miami interest. Janvier attended Miami-FSU 2 weeks back and was told by Stacy Searels that an offer may be coming soon. The Canes would be an instant player with Janvier if they did pull the trigger as, like Dumervil, Janvier showed up to most of the off-season events on campus at UM.
