Deerfield Beach's Brandon Powell will no longer enroll at Miami, now heading to Florida
What a difference a few days can make.
Deerfield Beach running back Brandon Powell, who was supposed to enroll at the University of Miami on Wednesday but was waiting on a transcript from his school to finish the process, decided Friday to commit to the University of Florida after receiving a scholarship offer to play for the Gators on Monday.
Powell's father, Brian, confirmed the move in text message to the Miami Herald on Friday morning while the two were heading to Gainesville to complete his enrollment.
"This came about unexpectedly," Deerfield Beach coach Allen Jackson said. "He had a desire to go to UF in his junior year. He wanted [an offer] and it never came. When this came in on Monday, it kind of threw a wrench in everything.”
“[UF] was probably the top school that he wanted to go to out of them and Florida State, and Florida State never came around.”
Powell -- rated a four-star prospect by Rivals and ESPN who has been committed to UM in August after pledging to Tennessee -- was slated to join Miami's backfield alongside Duke Johnson and early enrollee Joseph Yearby from Miami Central, and help cushion missed opportunities in securing commitments from Central's Dalvin Cook (Florida State) and Plantation American Heritage's Sony Michel (Georgia).
Instead, he has become the third UM decommitment in the last week, following Hialeah Champagnat Catholic defensive lineman Travonte Valentine and Miami Booker T. Washington cornerback Nigel Bethel.
Powell will now be a featured part of Florida's offense, which struggled mightily last season and hopes to have new life under recently hired offensive coordinator Kurt Roper from Duke.
Powell rushed for 1,339 yards on 141 carries for 20 touchdowns during his senior season, the third-most yards total in Broward County. He also had 21 catches for 289 yards and two touchdowns, as well as 452 yards and a touchdown on kick and punt returns.
Moving away from home to attend a school with a traditional college experience was something Powell wanted to experience. He took official visits to Nebraska on Sept. 14, West Virginia on Oct. 19 and Tennessee on Dec. 6. There was also some doubt he wanted to attend Tennessee after his visit, but reaffirmed his commitment to UM after visiting Coral Gables on Dec. 13.
After UM's loss to Louisville in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 28, Powell told the Miami Herald the next day he was excited to enroll at UM, play for coach Al Golden, and learn from Johnson and backup Dallas Crawford despite being disappointed with the Hurricanes' play.
"I was pumped up, but they couldn’t move the ball on offense and I thought ‘what’s happening?’" Powell said. "I thought they were going to crank it up after halftime but they just couldn’t do anything."
With the recent reductions, UM's 2014 football recruiting class now has 26 commits, including two signed defensive tackles from junior colleges (Calvin Heurtelou and
Michael Wyche), and four early enrollees (Kc McDermott, Trent Harris, Braxton Berrios and Juwon Young).
Powell sought advice from UF cornerback commit Quincy Wilson of Davie University School in recent days, sending his number to Wilson in a tweet in efforts of learning more about the Gators' program.
--Safid Deen
