Top 10 Prospects in South Florida

Apr 21, 2020

It's too early for a list like this, as we haven't had Opening testing and spring is canceled. But nobody is doing anything, so may as well get the discussion started. One thing that became apparent making this list is that '21 is an all-time class, locally. You could make another Top 15 with nothing but four-star, high-major prospects.

Note that this list is about college projection, not high school production. Size, athleticism and growth potential are major factors. Character is tricky for a bunch of reasons, but if there is something we know (like an Honor Roll or suspension) that is factored in, too.

1. Marcus Tate, OT, University (6'5, 326) - Massive dancing bear with advanced pass protection.
2. Leonard Taylor, DT, Palmetto (6'4, 255)- Martial artist/hooper with the hands and feet to dominate.
3. James Williams, S/LB, American Heritage (6'5, 218)- He's not on Sean Taylor's level, but he's the closest thing since Sean. High risk, huge reward.
4. Jaden Alexis, WR, Monarch (6'1, 180)- Catches like a WR, carries like a RB, runs like a track star.
5. Dallas Turner, DE/OLB, St. Thomas Aquinas (6'4, 235)- Clean prospect with his best football ahead of him.
6. Laurence Seymore, OL, Central (6'2, 293)- Has everything you want in an OL except height. Future Pro Bowl center.
7. Jacorey Brooks WR, Booker T (6'3, 185)- Prolific all-around athlete with rare ability to adjust to the ball.
8. Thad Franklin, RB, Chaminade (6', 225)- Rare combination of size, fluidity and production.
9. Jason Marshall, CB, Palmetto (6'2, 180)- Big corner who is athletic enough to house punts reminiscent of Pat Surtain, Jr.
10. Romello Brinson, WR, Northwestern (6'2, 180)- Long, lanky pass-catcher who can accelerate like a smaller man.

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Comments (140)

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MyKidIsLoggedIn2MyAccount

Apr 21, 2020

Gooner#44 said:
Your idea is backwards IMO, keep those kids home and you don't lose to bad teams. We need ELITE recruiters to walk in these kids living rooms and convince them Miami is the school.

We went 10-3 and were ranked #1 in 17 and still got poached by SEC schools......

We are talented enough to not lose to those trash programs already.

Gooner#44

Apr 21, 2020

RemainMack said:
We are talented enough to not lose to those trash programs already.

I agee, yet here we are, muddling around in a terrible division 3 coaches and 15 years later..... my point

No_Fly_Zone

Apr 21, 2020

Gooner#44 said:
I agee, yet here we are, muddling around in a terrible division 3 coaches and 15 years later..... my point

So your point is "15 years later, we still suck." Cool. Agreed.

For the record, I thought this was your point: "Until we stop the SEC from poaching the majority of So Fla 5 stars we will continue to struggle/lose to teams like Duke/FIU/Louisiana Technical School. it's that simple"

Hence my comments.

htownkidd

Apr 21, 2020

Gooner#44 said:
Until we stop the SEC from poaching the majority of So Fla 5 stars we will continue to struggle/lose to teams like Duke/FIU/Louisiana Technical School.
it's that simple

...shouldn’t need the 5*/top 10 players in state that the SEC schools annually poach to beat LT/FIU/Duke. That is where that argument dies IMO.

Gooner#44

Apr 21, 2020

No_Fly_Zone said:
So your point is "15 years later, we still suck." Cool. Agreed.

For the record, I thought this was your point: "Until we stop the SEC from poaching the majority of So Fla 5 stars we will continue to struggle/lose to teams like Duke/FIU/Louisiana Technical School. it's that simple"

Hence my comments.

Yes, I think we lose too many regardless of record. You do not?

MyKidIsLoggedIn2MyAccount

Apr 21, 2020

Gooner#44 said:
Yes, I think we lose too many regardless of record. You do not?

I think you're missing your own point. You said (again) "Until we stop the SEC from poaching the majority of So Fla 5 stars we will continue to struggle/lose to teams like Duke/FIU/Louisiana Technical School. it's that simple" .

Yet I said we are talented enough to beat these crap teams. So if you agree (referencing you saying 'I agee, yet here we are, muddling around in a terrible division 3 coaches and 15 years later..... my point ') that we are already talented enough to beat those crap teams, then what are you talking about?

RVACane

Apr 21, 2020

Canedog said:

No_Fly_Zone

Apr 21, 2020

Gooner#44 said:
Yes, I think we lose too many regardless of record. You do not?

Lose too many games, or lose too many South Florida blue chip recruits?
On the former, I wholeheartedly agree. On the latter, while I think we can and should recruit better locally, I know that we do better than most perennial 7 win teams when you consider that South Florida is one of, if not the most, highly recruited HS football regions on the planet. All that said, there have definitely been mistakes, poor decisions, messed up evaluations, and suspect (all-eggs-in-one-basket) strategies. Not sure how that would have ultimately impacted the decisions of many of these top rated kids, but I have to imagine we could have snuck an extra blue chip in every now and then with a better recruiting approach.

K
kanin81

Apr 21, 2020

Why are people sleeping on Patrick Payton? His film looks great. Off the edge he is too fast for people.

Let me add Keanu Koht to that list.

Last edited: Apr 21, 2020

WR Cane

Apr 21, 2020

Go Canes!! said:
This could be a unique offseason. Games may not be played. Visits could be limited. Mom's may want their sons to stay close to home more than ever.

Could change 2020 recruiting in our favor a bit. Hopefully.

Until the check clears...then it's "you need to see if you can find a ride to Athens".

Gooner#44

Apr 21, 2020

htownkidd said:
...shouldn’t need the 5*/top 10 players in state that the SEC schools annually poach to beat LT/FIU/Duke. That is where that argument dies IMO.

Agree, I should have been more clear on that, my mistake. We SHOULD beat them without the poachers and the rosters we have now. BUT that doesn't mean we don't need to slow down the poachers. STA is the #1 NFL producing HS 30 miles away and we get beat out for kids there all the time, that's a HUGE PROBLEM.

Beating average teams and getting 5 stars to stay home are not mutually exclusive or inclusive. Hope that helps.

Last edited: Apr 21, 2020

Y
YUMU

Apr 21, 2020

great list

#1 win, win big and dominate. = 10/11 wins this season, Coastel and take Clemson to a dog fight to the end
#2 score plenty of points. Make the offense appealing to the local offensive players. We have been missing on more offensive key players.. especially the stud WR. I hear you Lashlee....
#3 quietly... drop some specific nice bags.... this town has lots of $$$ dammit

and...they will come ..we need the studs

Last edited: Apr 21, 2020

AlexCane

Apr 21, 2020

Gooner#44 said:
Your idea is backwards IMO, keep those kids home and you don't lose to bad teams. We need ELITE recruiters to walk in these kids living rooms and convince them Miami is the school.

We went 10-3 and were ranked #1 in 17 and still got poached by SEC schools......

This is misleading though. The 10-0 start and all the goodwill created with the ND beatdown was likely entirely eroded by the awful showing at Pitt, getting blasted by Clemson, and then getting manhandled by Wisconsin. 0-3 to end the year is what HS kids remembered that season. (And let's not pretend that that offense was ever at any time of the season fun either.)

Gooner#44

Apr 21, 2020

AlexCane said:
This is misleading though. The 10-0 start and all the goodwill created with the ND beatdown was likely entirely eroded by the awful showing at Pitt, getting blasted by Clemson, and then getting manhandled by Wisconsin. 0-3 to end the year is what HS kids remembered that season. (And let's not pretend that that offense was ever at any time of the season fun either.)

Actually Rosier had one **** of a season relative to what we have had for the past 15 years. He combined for 3600 total yards and 31 TDs. What a mirage though..... we were very lucky that year.

K
KSCanes

Apr 21, 2020

Seymour-"future pro-bowl center".

Are you ******* kidding me?

grover

Apr 21, 2020

If we end up with 6-8 kids from the Top 25-30, there's still another 17-19 schollies to give out. Will we be able to land that many from rest of the state and FL who are good as these guys? We need depth and consistency as much as we need play-makers. I really hope this class is one where we take a only a couple high-ceiling flyers and no obvious JAGs.

BeachCanes

Apr 21, 2020

@DMoney hey DMoney why is James Williams a risk? Character? Thanks

B
big40

Apr 21, 2020

DMoney said:
It's too early for a list like this, as we haven't had Opening testing and spring is canceled. But nobody is doing anything, so may as well get the discussion started. One thing that became apparent making this list is that '21 is an all-time class, locally. You could make another Top 15 with nothing but four-star, high-major prospects.

Note that this list is about college projection, not high school production. Size, athleticism and growth potential are major factors. Character is tricky for a bunch of reasons, but if there is something we know (like an Honor Roll or suspension) that is factored in, too.

1. Marcus Tate, OT, University (6'5, 326) - Massive dancing bear with advanced pass protection.
2. Leonard Taylor, DT, Palmetto (6'4, 255)- Martial artist/hooper with the hands and feet to dominate.
3. James Williams, S/LB, American Heritage (6'5, 218)- He's not on Sean Taylor's level, but he's the closest thing since Sean. High risk, huge reward.
4. Jaden Alexis, WR, Monarch (6'1, 180)- Catches like a WR, carries like a RB, runs like a track star.
5. Dallas Turner, DE/OLB, St. Thomas Aquinas (6'4, 235)- Clean prospect with his best football ahead of him.
6. Laurence Seymore, OL, Central (6'2, 293)- Has everything you want in an OL except height. Future Pro Bowl center.
7. Jacorey Brooks WR, Booker T (6'3, 185)- Prolific all-around athlete with rare ability to adjust to the ball.
8. Thad Franklin, RB, Chaminade (6', 225)- Rare combination of size, fluidity and production.
9. Jason Marshall, CB, Palmetto (6'2, 180)- Big corner who is athletic enough to house punts reminiscent of Pat Surtain, Jr.
10. Romello Brinson, WR, Northwestern (6'2, 180)- Long, lanky pass-catcher who can accelerate like a smaller man.

1. Leonard Taylor
2. Jacory Brooks
3. Marcus Tate
4. Jason Marshall
5. Thad Franklin
6. Jaden Alexis
7. James Williams
8. Dallas Turner
9. Laurence Seymour
10. Romello Brinson