2020 JUCO DB Bennett planning on taking Miami official visit

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Stefan Adams

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2020 Hutchinson C.C. (KS) DB Jakorian Bennett has slowly become one of the more sought-after JUCO prospects in the country the past few weeks, earning offers from Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Ole Miss among others. Bennett had also been in touch with the staff at Miami for a few weeks before UM finally pulled the trigger on a verbal scholarship late last month.

“I had been talking to coach (DeMarcus) Van Dyke for awhile, he was asking how I was doing, said he liked my game. Then coach (Mike) Rumph called me and offered me. Said he liked my film, that I was versatile.

“It feels good, man. Miami is one of the most prolific schools in history, so to get that offer means a lot.”

In his talk with Rumph, the UM cornerbacks coach outlined how he sees Bennett’s role unfolding in the Miami defense.

“I would be playing corner, and since I have film of me playing the nickel position, he wants me to play some nickel too,” Bennett said.

Bennett has already taken officials to SMU and Louisville, and has one scheduled to Maryland on December 6th, but is comfortable saying that Miami will get one of his final two official visits of the process.

“Oh yeah definitely,” Bennett said of taking a Miami OV. “I’m trying to set one up, I’m not sure when, but it’s going to happen.”

What is it about the Canes that has him interested in the Miami program?

“Just the history of the program,” Bennett said. “I like the coaches, I like coach Rumph and what he had to say about me. I liked the way he handled things, I could see myself playing for him. Based on our talk we had, he seems like a pretty laidback coach that has a good relationship with his players. You can’t go wrong with the U in Miami. It’s just an offer I’ve always wanted.”

The 6-0 185 pound prospect has also paid more attention to Miami since he got the offer, watching the Pitt game on TV two weeks ago.

“The defense played pretty good, I saw they had a lot of turnovers,” Bennett said of UM’s win over the Panthers.

Hutchinson C.C. has a strong tradition of producing D-I athletes, and this isn’t the first time the Canes have tried to tap the Hutchinson program this year: Miami took Blue Dragon OL Ousman Traore over the summer as a late 2019 signee and recently offered CB Ronald Williams from the team as well.

“We haven’t talked recently, but we’re pretty cool,” Bennett says of Traore. “(Williams) is my boy. We’re going to do our own thing, but I’m sure me and him will take that Miami visit together.”

Coming out of HS in the class of 2018, Bennett originally played for McGill Toolen HS in Mobile, AL, but his size and his grades prevented most D-I schools from showing interest.

“I was a late bloomer in high school, so I wasn’t really expecting to play college football,” Bennett said. “My senior year, I hit a growth spurt, but my SAT score was late. So I had to come to JUCO and get my grades right.”

Bennett has played all over the defensive backfield thus far in his career. He mainly played corner in HS and in his first year at Hutchinson, but moved to safety this year and has played a lot of nickel as well.

“I have more experience at corner, but I like playing inside and sticking the slot receivers,” Bennett said. “I like playing all over the field honestly, I just like to make plays.”

While Bennett currently has no decision date in mind, he will be an early enrollee at his school of choice, so he will be signing early next month.

“I think I have a couple schools in mind that will be my top choices,” Bennett said. “Early playing time is a factor. I want a good relationship with the coaches, coaches that keep it real and keep good vibes around the team.”

 
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In terms of JUCO CB's, any interest in two former South Florida guys (Nadab Joseph and Brian George)?

Miami has been on George, but he hasn't set up an official visit yet and it is looking less likely he will, hence the offer to Bennett. TAMU and Auburn seem to be out in front.

No interest in Joseph last I heard
 
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Miami has been on George, but he hasn't set up an official visit yet and it is looking less likely he will, hence the offer to Bennett. TAMU and Auburn seem to be out in front.

No interest in Joseph last I heard
Disappointing with George thought he’d be a perfect fit for this defense with a very good shot at playing time
 
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Disappointing with George thought he’d be a perfect fit for this defense with a very good shot at playing time

Very disappointing. Maybe he wants more of a firm guarantee that he is coming in to start? Not sure what TAMU and Auburns depth charts look like going into next year but any CB coming on this team has their work cut out for them with Bandy, Blades, Ivey being the top 3 going into Spring. All 3 are getting better as the weeks go on.
 
Very disappointing. Maybe he wants more of a firm guarantee that he is coming in to start? Not sure what TAMU and Auburns depth charts look like going into next year but any CB coming on this team has their work cut out for them with Bandy, Blades, Ivey being the top 3 going into Spring. All 3 are getting better as the weeks go on.
Auburn secondary has not been that good this year so maybe he has his eye on them.
 
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In 2020 we return Bandy(SR),Blades(JR),Ivey(JR) and 2 sophs in Williams and Couch,the fact they seem so determined to bring in a JC cb makes me think the staff is not too crazy with the current cbs on the team,mainly the upper classmen.It made more sense to bring in a JC cb in 2019 than it does for next year when they will be a year older and have a ton of experience.Unless Bandy has let them know he's leaving.
 
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In 2020 we return Bandy(SR),Blades(JR),Ivey(JR) and 2 sophs in Williams and Couch,the fact they seem so determined to bring in a JC cb makes me think the staff is not too crazy with the current cbs on the team,mainly the upper classmen.It made more sense to bring in a JC cb in 2019 than it does for next year when they will be a year older and have a ton of experience.Unless Bandy has let them know he's leaving.

Quality depth. Manny knows next year this team will have quality depth across the board at every position. I have zero issues bringing in juco players.
 
In 2020 we return Bandy(SR),Blades(JR),Ivey(JR) and 2 sophs in Williams and Couch,the fact they seem so determined to bring in a JC cb makes me think the staff is not too crazy with the current cbs on the team,mainly the upper classmen.It made more sense to bring in a JC cb in 2019 than it does for next year when they will be a year older and have a ton of experience.Unless Bandy has let them know he's leaving.
You reading into that all the way wrong... You attributed to lack of talent. I look at it like MD wants more talent on the back end.
 
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Miami has been on George, but he hasn't set up an official visit yet and it is looking less likely he will, hence the offer to Bennett. TAMU and Auburn seem to be out in front.

No interest in Joseph last I heard

This is where the XFL will be good. Cant qualify to go D1 out of JUCO go to the XFL for a year or 2 and get drafted.
 
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