Class Impact: Chris Washington to Miami

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Stefan Adams

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2020 Overton (TN) OT Chris Washington committed to Miami after Paradise Camp on Saturday night.



The 6-7 270 pounder is currently a consensus 3-star recruit in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Washington is the #1,310 player nationally, #115 OT in the country, and the #40 player in Tennessee. His commitment keeps Category20 at the #8 class ranking on 247Sports and #4 on Rivals.


The Player

It didn’t take long for Washington to decide Miami was for him; he received an offer last week, scheduled a visit for Paradise Camp, then was given the green light to commit after impressing Butch Barry in the OL/DL drills. Clean, quick, and efficient recruiting job by the Canes for somebody that they see as a vastly underrated prospect. He chose Miami over Ole Miss, Indiana, Wake Forest, and Memphis among others.

On film, Washington shows a few things that are essential to be a LT at the Power 5 level: outstanding feet and length. His ability to sync his feet and his hands together in pass protection will make him above-average in this regard if he can gain some strength. He has the flexibility and movement to recover and push stunts either inside or wide. When he lets his base get off-balance or he exposes his chest, he is susceptible to power moves such as bull rushes. Shows great knee bend and knows how to use leverage to his advantage.

While Washington demonstrates that he is aggressive and will finish his blocks, he is not a people mover that has the raw power to dominate in the run game right now. He will excel much more when asked to run zone concepts rather than gap concepts. He is a position blocker in the running game and does a good job of hitting moving targets and redirecting at the second level. He could be a weapon on outside zone runs and in the screen game with his movement skills.

Of the few reps I saw Washington take at Paradise, he won them all. He proved he was a take against a tough DL field. Long, tall, and athletic, just the prototype of what Butch Barry is looking for. He looked much more filled out in his frame than his listed 270 pounds, so he’s already on his way to adding good weight. Miami did not run combine testing at Paradise, but he did clock a 5.43 40 time at the Opening Nashville Regional last month. I see him as a late riser in the rankings as he gains more exposure.


The Class

Washington’s commitment brings the total class numbers to 18 and he joins Oakleaf (FL) 4-star Jalen Rivers and Vanguard (FL) 3-star Antonio Smith on the OL in 2020. The Canes would like at least 4 offensive linemen in this class, but could easily end up with 5 if they are the right fit, so Miami is looking for 1-2 more.

The most likely remaining target to end up in the class at this point is South Dade (FL) 4-star Jonathan Denis, who Miami has pursued as a top target for over a year now. Denis elected to attend Paradise Camp this weekend instead of taking a planned official visit to Kentucky, a great sign for Miami. He recently told CIS that he is setting his decision date for August 9th, so he will have time to make more officials if he chooses to after the dead period ends on July 24th. He made his first OV of the cycle to Louisville in late May and followed it up with an OV to Indiana in mid-June; Kentucky and Oregon could still get officials as well. Either way, as I’ve said all along, I’m still strong on my Miami pick for Denis.

Adding Denis puts UM at four OL in this class, so Miami would really have to be sold on a fifth potential target to take that guy. They’d certainly take long-time Gamecocks commit Norland (FL) 4-star OT Issiah Walker, but he announced last night he was shutting down his recruitment coming off an unofficial visit to South Carolina. While that could be just something he said coming off a visit high and I don’t 100% buy this is over, it’s obviously not a good sign for Miami’s chances, especially after he just visited UM the two weekends prior to South Carolina. He’s unlikely to end up in the class at this point, but Miami will certainly keep tabs on him as the cycle progresses to see if there’s still a chance.

Another tackle that has been high on Miami’s board is Jesuit (FL) 4-star OT Connor McLaughlin. A developmental lineman in the mold of what Butch Barry is looking for, McLaughlin is long, lean, and athletic. After recently talking with McLaughlin, he said Miami is still in constant contact with him and that he would be making a visit "soon", although he was unable to make it for Paradise. He took his first official visit to Iowa and his second to Georgia Tech, both in June.

Further down the board at tackle, guys like Fort Myers (FL) 3-star Cayden Baker and Heritage Academy (MS) 3-star Eli Acker both visited for Paradise Camp. It seems like things went very well with Acker, who plans to make a return trip to Miami despite his commitment to Ole Miss. Miami looks to have Acker slightly more ahead on their board than Baker, and I think UM would have to miss on a few guys to settle on Baker at this point. It seems Washington took his spot as the developmental tackle in this class.

A guy that could earn an offer in the future if Miami decides they want an extra guard is American Heritage (FL) 3-star Khristopher Love. UM likes what they’ve seen out of him the past two weeks after watching him in person at the Manny Diaz Camps and Paradise. Love has offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Utah, Kentucky, and Syracuse among others, but the Canes would be hard to beat if they seriously pursued him.

For those wondering, there’s zero traction going on right now with St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 4-star OT Marcus Dumervil. He didn’t show up to Paradise Camp and, after talking to a source close to the recruitment, there doesn’t seem to be much mutual interest between the parties. I’m expecting him to end up elsewhere at this point.


The Team

Washington is a clear tackle all the way, and UM only loses senior tackle George Brown, who has been a non-factor in his three seasons at Miami, after 2019. While it’s safe to say DJ Scaife will be entrenched at one tackle spot by the time Washington hits campus in 2020, nobody has locked down the second tackle job as of yet heading into fall camp. The Canes have struggled for years now to find consistent play at the offensive tackle position, so while I’m sure Miami would prefer to redshirt Washington and develop his body in the S&C program for a season, similar to Zion Nelson this spring, they will certainly put him in the rotation if he proves to be one of the top few linemen on the team. More likely, Washington takes a year or two to develop, and is competing for starters minutes by his second or third season.

 
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No other way to say it other than to say my opinion is that missing on both Walker and Dumervil is a big miss.

Like this kid, in fact, I like all the OL commits this year, it’s just not the two elite T’s in this area this year.

It’ll be a great OL class in my view. It could’ve been elite.
 
No other way to say it other than to say my opinion is that missing on both Walker and Dumervil is a big miss.

Like this kid, in fact, I like all the OL commits this year, it’s just not the two elite T’s in this area this year.

It’ll be a great OL class in my view. It could’ve been elite.

Oh yeah so we just assume the bag man commitment null hypothesis in recruiting top talent is true.

Go Canes
 
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Great write-up Stefan. Really am liking Coach Barry’s approach to OL recruiting. If he can teach them technique, along with Feeley’s S&C program, our OL play will look vastly different, and in a better way, than it has the last 15yrs.
 
2020 Overton (TN) OT Chris Washington committed to Miami after Paradise Camp on Saturday night.



The 6-7 270 pounder is currently a consensus 3-star recruit in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Washington is the #1,310 player nationally, #115 OT in the country, and the #40 player in Tennessee. His commitment keeps Category20 at the #8 class ranking on 247Sports and #4 on Rivals.


The Player

It didn’t take long for Washington to decide Miami was for him; he received an offer last week, scheduled a visit for Paradise Camp, then was given the green light to commit after impressing Butch Barry in the OL/DL drills. Clean, quick, and efficient recruiting job by the Canes for somebody that they see as a vastly underrated prospect. He chose Miami over Ole Miss, Indiana, Wake Forest, and Memphis among others.

On film, Washington shows a few things that are essential to be a LT at the Power 5 level: outstanding feet and length. His ability to sync his feet and his hands together in pass protection will make him above-average in this regard if he can gain some strength. He has the flexibility and movement to recover and push stunts either inside or wide. When he lets his base get off-balance or he exposes his chest, he is susceptible to power moves such as bull rushes. Shows great knee bend and knows how to use leverage to his advantage.

While Washington demonstrates that he is aggressive and will finish his blocks, he is not a people mover that has the raw power to dominate in the run game right now. He will excel much more when asked to run zone concepts rather than gap concepts. He is a position blocker in the running game and does a good job of hitting moving targets and redirecting at the second level. He could be a weapon on outside zone runs and in the screen game with his movement skills.

Of the few reps I saw Washington take at Paradise, he won them all. He proved he was a take against a tough DL field. Long, tall, and athletic, just the prototype of what Butch Barry is looking for. He looked much more filled out in his frame than his listed 270 pounds, so he’s already on his way to adding good weight. Miami did not run combine testing at Paradise, but he did clock a 5.43 40 time at the Opening Nashville Regional last month. I see him as a late riser in the rankings as he gains more exposure.


The Class

Washington’s commitment brings the total class numbers to 18 and he joins Oakleaf (FL) 4-star Jalen Rivers and Vanguard (FL) 3-star Antonio Smith on the OL in 2020. The Canes would like at least 4 offensive linemen in this class, but could easily end up with 5 if they are the right fit, so Miami is looking for 1-2 more.

The most likely remaining target to end up in the class at this point is South Dade (FL) 4-star Jonathan Denis, who Miami has pursued as a top target for over a year now. Denis elected to attend Paradise Camp this weekend instead of taking a planned official visit to Kentucky, a great sign for Miami. He recently told CIS that he is setting his decision date for August 9th, so he will have time to make more officials if he chooses to after the dead period ends on July 24th. He made his first OV of the cycle to Louisville in late May and followed it up with an OV to Indiana in mid-June; Kentucky and Oregon could still get officials as well. Either way, as I’ve said all along, I’m still strong on my Miami pick for Denis.

Adding Denis puts UM at four OL in this class, so Miami would really have to be sold on a fifth potential target to take that guy. They’d certainly take long-time Gamecocks commit Norland (FL) 4-star OT Issiah Walker, but he announced last night he was shutting down his recruitment coming off an unofficial visit to South Carolina. While that could be just something he said coming off a visit high and I don’t 100% buy this is over, it’s obviously not a good sign for Miami’s chances, especially after he just visited UM the two weekends prior to South Carolina. He’s unlikely to end up in the class at this point, but Miami will certainly keep tabs on him as the cycle progresses to see if there’s still a chance.

Another tackle that has been high on Miami’s board is Jesuit (FL) 4-star OT Connor McLaughlin. A developmental lineman in the mold of what Butch Barry is looking for, McLaughlin is long, lean, and athletic. After recently talking with McLaughlin, he said Miami is still in constant contact with him and that he would be making a visit "soon", although he was unable to make it for Paradise. He took his first official visit to Iowa and his second to Georgia Tech, both in June.

Further down the board at tackle, guys like Fort Myers (FL) 3-star Cayden Baker and Heritage Academy (MS) 3-star Eli Acker both visited for Paradise Camp. It seems like things went very well with Acker, who plans to make a return trip to Miami despite his commitment to Ole Miss. Miami looks to have Acker slightly more ahead on their board than Baker, and I think UM would have to miss on a few guys to settle on Baker at this point. It seems Washington took his spot as the developmental tackle in this class.

A guy that could earn an offer in the future if Miami decides they want an extra guard is American Heritage (FL) 3-star Khristopher Love. UM likes what they’ve seen out of him the past two weeks after watching him in person at the Manny Diaz Camps and Paradise. Love has offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Utah, Kentucky, and Syracuse among others, but the Canes would be hard to beat if they seriously pursued him.

For those wondering, there’s zero traction going on right now with St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 4-star OT Marcus Dumervil. He didn’t show up to Paradise Camp and, after talking to a source close to the recruitment, there doesn’t seem to be much mutual interest between the parties. I’m expecting him to end up elsewhere at this point.


The Team

Washington is a clear tackle all the way, and UM only loses senior tackle George Brown, who has been a non-factor in his three seasons at Miami, after 2019. While it’s safe to say DJ Scaife will be entrenched at one tackle spot by the time Washington hits campus in 2020, nobody has locked down the second tackle job as of yet heading into fall camp. The Canes have struggled for years now to find consistent play at the offensive tackle position, so while I’m sure Miami would prefer to redshirt Washington and develop his body in the S&C program for a season, similar to Zion Nelson this spring, they will certainly put him in the rotation if he proves to be one of the top few linemen on the team. More likely, Washington takes a year or two to develop, and is competing for starters minutes by his second or third season.


Outstanding article Stefan! Thank very much for your contribution!!
 
No other way to say it other than to say my opinion is that missing on both Walker and Dumervil is a big miss.

Like this kid, in fact, I like all the OL commits this year, it’s just not the two elite T’s in this area this year.

It’ll be a great OL class in my view. It could’ve been elite.

Lance:

True. Those are misses. But Dumervil in particular was not coming here without a bag.

Everyone knows/knew it. Nothing to be done, if that's the case. As Liberty City El said, there are certain kids you will not get unless you pay, up front.

It is, what it is.
 
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This kid has more love for Miami than Miami kids already. I have no problem with Manny and staff going out of state if these south Florida kids want to play games.
88578
 
This kid has more love for Miami than Miami kids already. I have no problem with Manny and staff going out of state if these south Florida kids want to play games. View attachment 88578


MIA should be going out of state for OL & QBs every single yr, regardless if FL kids play games or not. The U is a national brand. MIA has to recruit nationally..period
 
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This guy is huge. He is going to be a lean 315 with long arms.

Think you mentioned it on the latest pod and I’ve been saying it for years, but, besides QB, offensive line is without a doubt the hardest position to project from one level to the next. I could write a thesis as to why, but IMO when it comes to OL recruiting, you just have to trust the staff and see what happens. It’s such a crapshoot at that position. The rankings really mean so little, even more so at this point in the year. This kid could end up as a better player than Walker or Dumerville and it shouldn’t surprise a soul. So if the kid is good enough to be a take immediately, let’s see what happens. You just really have no clue how these OL will progress and develop.
 
Really like this commit. The OL class is coming together. Lots of holes to fill. Need more ballers, and this kid has a football attitude on top of great athleticism.
 
This kid has only been committed for a couple of days and he has already been more vocal recruiting for his class than the kids committed for months. He's a leader and we need that badly on the offensive side of the ball. He and TVD have hopped on a lot of social media posts recruiting...
 
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