2020 Rockledge (FL) 3-star ATH Ladarius Tennison committed to the Canes on Sunday afternoon during his junior day visit to Miami.
The 5-9, 195-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Tennison is the #450 player nationally, the #36 ATH in the country, and the #73 player in the Sunshine state. His commitment moves Miami’s 2020 class ranking to #3 on 247Sports and #3 on Rivals.
The Player
At first glance, Tennison seemed like he may be a tweener without a position at the next level, but he impressed the coaching staff in person playing DB at Paradise Camp in July. After his performance, he was told an offer could be coming soon from safeties coach Ephraim Banda, and that offer finally came in November. Tennison named the Canes his leader the same day, and it seemed like only a matter of time before he wound up committing to the U. At Junior Day over the weekend, Tennison couldn’t wait any longer and pulled the trigger for Miami in a wild day that saw 4 other recruits give pledges to UM as well.
As one of the best athletes on his team, Tennison plays on both sides of the field for his Rockledge High squad. Tennison has played running back, linebacker, and defensive back as a junior this season for the Raiders and has shown off his versatility. Tennison was quite simply a beast on both sides of the ball for Rockledge this past season. He recorded 1,055 yards rushing on 8.1 yards per carry and 12 TD’s as a running back, while adding another 356 yards and 5 TD’s through the air. Tennison was arguably even more impressive on defense and stuffed the stat sheet every week, totaling 124 tackles, 38 TFL, and 10 sacks, along with 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 blocked kicks.
Tennison was taken as a safety by Miami, so I will focus on his evaluation from that perspective. On film, Tennison is a devastating hitter and is not afraid to violently attack the ballcarrier. Despite being only 5’9”, he is extremely well-built at 195 and is a physical presence at the back end of a defense that will make a receiver think twice about coming across the middle. Tennison is well equipped to be a star in run support inside the box, as he recognizes and diagnoses quickly, and doesn’t hesitate to explode through the line and make the stop. Tennison an excellent form tackler and also allows the QB’s eyes and pattern recognition to carry him around the field in coverage. Ideally, he’d be a little taller and is a bit undersized height-wise, but that shouldn’t hold him back much at the college level if he develops the rest of his game properly.
The Class
Tennison is the 8th commit overall (at the time) in the 2020 class and the first safety in Category20. It’s likely UM will try and take at least two here, and possibly 3. The Canes have offered plenty of new names at the position in recent weeks. Out of state, the Canes have sent recent offers to Bowling Green (KY) 4-star Vito Tisdale, Duncanville (TX) 4-star Chris Thompson, and Bergen Catholic (NJ) 4-star Jordan Morant. It’s hard to say just how good of a spot UM is in with these players seeing as they are outside of Miami’s typical recruiting grounds and the relationships are so new, but they are names to keep tabs on to see if anything develops.
In South Florida, the Canes have put out an offer to a local star in Miami Palmetto’s Robert Hanna. He earned his bid at Junior Day, and also has offers from North Carolina and Rutgers. I think Hanna will likely be treated as a Plan B type for now as the coaches continue to formulate their board.
As for a wildcard at the position, look no further than 3-star ATH Xavier Restrepo from St. Thomas Aquinas (FL). The two-way athlete has lit up the camp scene mainly at WR, but his tape screams safety in college. Restrepo is keeping things open for now, but the Canes were his childhood favorite and will be tough to beat here if they push for him.
The Team
By the time Tennison hits campus in 2020, Miami will have four other safeties on campus in senior Amari Carter, juniors Gurvan Hall and Bubba Bolden, and sophomore Keontra Smith. That seems like a solid group, depending on if everyone develops properly. If the position group delivers on its talent level, it’s safe to say that Tennison will take an apprentice role as a freshman at Miami, and has a good chance to play some nickel in certain situations as well. After Carter leaves in 2021, there’s a spot in the rotation open for Tennison or whoever else Miami recruits. With his ability, there’s no reason Tennison shouldn’t be starting in the defensive backfield by the time he’s an upperclassman.
The 5-9, 195-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Tennison is the #450 player nationally, the #36 ATH in the country, and the #73 player in the Sunshine state. His commitment moves Miami’s 2020 class ranking to #3 on 247Sports and #3 on Rivals.
The Player
At first glance, Tennison seemed like he may be a tweener without a position at the next level, but he impressed the coaching staff in person playing DB at Paradise Camp in July. After his performance, he was told an offer could be coming soon from safeties coach Ephraim Banda, and that offer finally came in November. Tennison named the Canes his leader the same day, and it seemed like only a matter of time before he wound up committing to the U. At Junior Day over the weekend, Tennison couldn’t wait any longer and pulled the trigger for Miami in a wild day that saw 4 other recruits give pledges to UM as well.
As one of the best athletes on his team, Tennison plays on both sides of the field for his Rockledge High squad. Tennison has played running back, linebacker, and defensive back as a junior this season for the Raiders and has shown off his versatility. Tennison was quite simply a beast on both sides of the ball for Rockledge this past season. He recorded 1,055 yards rushing on 8.1 yards per carry and 12 TD’s as a running back, while adding another 356 yards and 5 TD’s through the air. Tennison was arguably even more impressive on defense and stuffed the stat sheet every week, totaling 124 tackles, 38 TFL, and 10 sacks, along with 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 blocked kicks.
Tennison was taken as a safety by Miami, so I will focus on his evaluation from that perspective. On film, Tennison is a devastating hitter and is not afraid to violently attack the ballcarrier. Despite being only 5’9”, he is extremely well-built at 195 and is a physical presence at the back end of a defense that will make a receiver think twice about coming across the middle. Tennison is well equipped to be a star in run support inside the box, as he recognizes and diagnoses quickly, and doesn’t hesitate to explode through the line and make the stop. Tennison an excellent form tackler and also allows the QB’s eyes and pattern recognition to carry him around the field in coverage. Ideally, he’d be a little taller and is a bit undersized height-wise, but that shouldn’t hold him back much at the college level if he develops the rest of his game properly.
The Class
Tennison is the 8th commit overall (at the time) in the 2020 class and the first safety in Category20. It’s likely UM will try and take at least two here, and possibly 3. The Canes have offered plenty of new names at the position in recent weeks. Out of state, the Canes have sent recent offers to Bowling Green (KY) 4-star Vito Tisdale, Duncanville (TX) 4-star Chris Thompson, and Bergen Catholic (NJ) 4-star Jordan Morant. It’s hard to say just how good of a spot UM is in with these players seeing as they are outside of Miami’s typical recruiting grounds and the relationships are so new, but they are names to keep tabs on to see if anything develops.
In South Florida, the Canes have put out an offer to a local star in Miami Palmetto’s Robert Hanna. He earned his bid at Junior Day, and also has offers from North Carolina and Rutgers. I think Hanna will likely be treated as a Plan B type for now as the coaches continue to formulate their board.
As for a wildcard at the position, look no further than 3-star ATH Xavier Restrepo from St. Thomas Aquinas (FL). The two-way athlete has lit up the camp scene mainly at WR, but his tape screams safety in college. Restrepo is keeping things open for now, but the Canes were his childhood favorite and will be tough to beat here if they push for him.
The Team
By the time Tennison hits campus in 2020, Miami will have four other safeties on campus in senior Amari Carter, juniors Gurvan Hall and Bubba Bolden, and sophomore Keontra Smith. That seems like a solid group, depending on if everyone develops properly. If the position group delivers on its talent level, it’s safe to say that Tennison will take an apprentice role as a freshman at Miami, and has a good chance to play some nickel in certain situations as well. After Carter leaves in 2021, there’s a spot in the rotation open for Tennison or whoever else Miami recruits. With his ability, there’s no reason Tennison shouldn’t be starting in the defensive backfield by the time he’s an upperclassman.
