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2019 St. Thomas Aquinas 4-star LB Anthony Solomon committed to the Canes today, a little over two weeks after his Junior Day visit to Miami.
The 6-1, 200-pounder is currently a 4-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Solomon is the #175 player nationally, #12 OLB in the country, and the #24 player in The Sunshine State. His commitment leaves Miami’s #2 2019 class on both 247Sports and Rivals intact.
The Player
Solomon’s mother is a Miami alum, so the legacy is continuing with the STA LB’s pledge to the Canes. He plays at a powerhouse program at Aquinas, and now has ingrained within him a championship mindset and work ethic that he can bring to practice and workouts day in and day out. Solomon is an instant upgrade over the recently departed Diamante Howard at outside linebacker and, in a way, he’s kind of the player that the coaches were hoping Howard would develop into. Solomon plays great in space and has top level speed for a linebacker. He can make his drops with ease and be left alone in coverage; he’ll stick with any tight end or running back. Solomon can knife into the backfield and disrupt plays before they develop as well.
The most important aspect of Solomon’s game, though, is his Football IQ. It doesn’t take long for him to grasp concepts and he’s very coachable, something every coach loves. Manny Diaz really landed a stud today. While his body is currently more developed than Howard’s at 6’1” and just over 200 pounds, he’ll still need to put on some weight to be effective at the college level. However, that’s not really much of a concern at this point and Solomon has the frame to do just that.
The Class
Solomon's commitment brings the total class numbers to 11, and he is the Canes third take at LB. Mount Dora 3-star Jesiah Pierre can play both inside and outside linebacker and he is complemented by a pass-rushing specialist, Miami Northwestern 3-star Samuel Brooks, a pure OLB all the way. Coach Diaz was integral in getting Solomon into Surge19 and deserves the credit for landing the talented 4-star.
The Canes were light on LB in the 2018 class, taking only Patrick Joyner. Couple that with the fact that the 2019 crop of talent at the LB position is also extremely deep and we’re expecting the Canes to go hard after 4 LB’s; there is a chance they could even take 5, but, barring unexpected attrition, that seems less likely at this time.
With Solomon on board, there is one spot left for the taking, and there is heavy competition for it. Now that Miami has two outside linebacker-types in Brooks and Solomon, the Canes will likely look to take a bigger, inside linebacker-type to fill out the class and pair with Pierre. I believe Solomon's STA teammate, 4-star Avery Huff, is the next top target at LB, and our sources continue to feel very good about his chances to eventually land in this class on his decision date of July 21st. If Miami misses on Huff, Wekiva 3-star Rian Davis and Norland 3-star Darius Williams are there farther down the priority list at inside ‘backer.
STA 3-star Jahmar Brown, Deerfield Beach 4-star Ge’mon Eaford, and Grayson (GA) 4-star Kevin Harris are other candidates for Surge19, but, as outside linebackers, it’s hard to see where they can fit into the class numbers-wise. A wildcard to keep in mind is Chaminade-Madonna 4-star LB/S Keontra Smith, who I believe is being targeted for a Derrick Smith type, hybrid role in this defense. Smith, a Kentucky commit, is looking like a heavy bet to flip to Miami at some point soon. How the staff views Smith and his potential role could effect the number of takes at LB this cycle
The Team
Miami returns all three starters at the LB position going into the 2018 season, with Shaquille Quarterman, Michael Pinckney, and Zach McCloud all juniors, which also sets UM up to be in a pretty good spot in 2019 as well if all stay for their senior seasons. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz loves to rotate at every position, so having plenty of capable bodies at LB is preferred.
Next year, Miami loses Mike Smith, Charles Perry, and Terry McCray to graduation, while the possibility exists that Quarterman or Pinckney could leave early for the NFL. For now though, we’re operating under the assumption they will be back in 2019, and Solomon and his classmates will fight with Joyner and the 2017 signees at LB for backup reps as true freshmen. The starting lineup completely clears out after 2019 though, and there will be a battle royale in 2020 for all three positions. Solomon has as good a chance as anyone to win that competition and start as a sophomore.
The 6-1, 200-pounder is currently a 4-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Solomon is the #175 player nationally, #12 OLB in the country, and the #24 player in The Sunshine State. His commitment leaves Miami’s #2 2019 class on both 247Sports and Rivals intact.
The Player
Solomon’s mother is a Miami alum, so the legacy is continuing with the STA LB’s pledge to the Canes. He plays at a powerhouse program at Aquinas, and now has ingrained within him a championship mindset and work ethic that he can bring to practice and workouts day in and day out. Solomon is an instant upgrade over the recently departed Diamante Howard at outside linebacker and, in a way, he’s kind of the player that the coaches were hoping Howard would develop into. Solomon plays great in space and has top level speed for a linebacker. He can make his drops with ease and be left alone in coverage; he’ll stick with any tight end or running back. Solomon can knife into the backfield and disrupt plays before they develop as well.
The most important aspect of Solomon’s game, though, is his Football IQ. It doesn’t take long for him to grasp concepts and he’s very coachable, something every coach loves. Manny Diaz really landed a stud today. While his body is currently more developed than Howard’s at 6’1” and just over 200 pounds, he’ll still need to put on some weight to be effective at the college level. However, that’s not really much of a concern at this point and Solomon has the frame to do just that.
The Class
Solomon's commitment brings the total class numbers to 11, and he is the Canes third take at LB. Mount Dora 3-star Jesiah Pierre can play both inside and outside linebacker and he is complemented by a pass-rushing specialist, Miami Northwestern 3-star Samuel Brooks, a pure OLB all the way. Coach Diaz was integral in getting Solomon into Surge19 and deserves the credit for landing the talented 4-star.
The Canes were light on LB in the 2018 class, taking only Patrick Joyner. Couple that with the fact that the 2019 crop of talent at the LB position is also extremely deep and we’re expecting the Canes to go hard after 4 LB’s; there is a chance they could even take 5, but, barring unexpected attrition, that seems less likely at this time.
With Solomon on board, there is one spot left for the taking, and there is heavy competition for it. Now that Miami has two outside linebacker-types in Brooks and Solomon, the Canes will likely look to take a bigger, inside linebacker-type to fill out the class and pair with Pierre. I believe Solomon's STA teammate, 4-star Avery Huff, is the next top target at LB, and our sources continue to feel very good about his chances to eventually land in this class on his decision date of July 21st. If Miami misses on Huff, Wekiva 3-star Rian Davis and Norland 3-star Darius Williams are there farther down the priority list at inside ‘backer.
STA 3-star Jahmar Brown, Deerfield Beach 4-star Ge’mon Eaford, and Grayson (GA) 4-star Kevin Harris are other candidates for Surge19, but, as outside linebackers, it’s hard to see where they can fit into the class numbers-wise. A wildcard to keep in mind is Chaminade-Madonna 4-star LB/S Keontra Smith, who I believe is being targeted for a Derrick Smith type, hybrid role in this defense. Smith, a Kentucky commit, is looking like a heavy bet to flip to Miami at some point soon. How the staff views Smith and his potential role could effect the number of takes at LB this cycle
The Team
Miami returns all three starters at the LB position going into the 2018 season, with Shaquille Quarterman, Michael Pinckney, and Zach McCloud all juniors, which also sets UM up to be in a pretty good spot in 2019 as well if all stay for their senior seasons. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz loves to rotate at every position, so having plenty of capable bodies at LB is preferred.
Next year, Miami loses Mike Smith, Charles Perry, and Terry McCray to graduation, while the possibility exists that Quarterman or Pinckney could leave early for the NFL. For now though, we’re operating under the assumption they will be back in 2019, and Solomon and his classmates will fight with Joyner and the 2017 signees at LB for backup reps as true freshmen. The starting lineup completely clears out after 2019 though, and there will be a battle royale in 2020 for all three positions. Solomon has as good a chance as anyone to win that competition and start as a sophomore.
