2020 Belen Jesuit (FL) 4-star RB Don Chaney Jr. committed to the Canes on Sunday afternoon during his junior day visit to Miami.
The 5-11, 195-pounder is currently a consensus 4-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Chaney is the #50 player nationally, the #8 RB in the country, and the #7 player in the Sunshine state. His commitment moves Miami’s 2020 class ranking to #3 on 247Sports and #3 on Rivals.
The Player
Chaney had been pegged as UM’s top target at the RB spot in 2020 for what seems like years now and may have been the top offensive target overall for Manny Diaz and Co., so there’s no doubt this is a big win for the staff. Chaney has been hyper-productive in his time at Belen and has scored a total of 43 TD’s over a span of three seasons, adding over 3,000 rushing yards as well. The high 4-star back has been recruited like a true blue chipper, with offers from pretty much everywhere around the country.
On film, Chaney is as much of a big play threat you’ll ever see. Every time he touches the ball, Chaney has eyes on the endzone and is looking to take it to the house. Chaney has the type of acceleration where when he gets to top speed, it doesn’t seem like he is running that fast, yet he is gliding by the entire second and third level of the defense. Chaney is a natural running back that shows instincts for the position, and he reads and follows his blocks well. With his solid build of 5’11” 195, Chaney is tough to bring down on first contact and is a powerful runner through arm tackles. He demonstrates the ability to be a weapon out of the backfield in the passing game and must be accounted for by the defense at all times. Quite simply, Chaney is a complete back and has star potential the moment he steps on campus at UM.
The Class
Chaney is the 7th commit (at the time) overall in the 2020 class and the first running back in Category20. Of course, Chaney was the top target, but Miami is expected to take two running backs in the class. It will be interesting to see how the board changes with new OC Dan Enos and new RB coach Eric Hickson in the mix, but the Canes aren’t lacking for talented options in the state, and plenty of offers are already out.
In terms of others on the board, 5-star Lakeland back Demarkcus Bowman is certainly a huge want for UM. Being from the school and area he is from, though, Bowman is going to be a tough pull away from the magnet of the Gators. 4-star Deerfield Beach back Jaylan Knighton just recently decommitted from Oklahoma and told CIS that he is interested in taking a visit to Miami. However, Knighton has publicly named Clemson his new leader, so UM is going to be working from behind the Tigers. Over at Columbus, UM loves what Henry Parrish can bring to the table. Although Parrish is currently unranked, that won’t last much longer, and he is coming off a huge junior season that saw him open a lot of eyes and earn national offers from schools like Michigan, Oregon, and Tennessee.
Out of state, an intriguing name is 4-star Tirek Murphy from New York. Murphy is teammates with Surge19 members Jared Harrison-Hunte and Adam ElGammal at Christ the King HS and he came down to Coral Gables on a visit with the pair in December. With Harrison-Hunte and ElGammal in tow, Miami is sure to be a player with Murphy if they want to be and he seems pretty open right now. Other targets are sure to emerge as the cycle goes on as well.
The Team
The Canes have some very talented frontline guys on the roster right now, but UM would prefer more overall numbers. Of the returnees from last season, DeeJay Dallas is sure to be the first man up and will have every chance to replace Travis Homer as the lead back in Miami’s offense; however, if Dallas has the type of season many expect, he won’t be around when Chaney gets on campus for the 2020 season. Chaney will compete with guys like Cam Davis, Lorenzo Lingard, Robert Burns, and Asa Martin for playing time and he will have every opportunity to make an impact early at UM. With his talent level, it’s not hard to see Chaney coming in right away and making his presence felt as a freshman. He’s the type of back that doesn’t last more than 3 years on campus.
The 5-11, 195-pounder is currently a consensus 4-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Composite, Chaney is the #50 player nationally, the #8 RB in the country, and the #7 player in the Sunshine state. His commitment moves Miami’s 2020 class ranking to #3 on 247Sports and #3 on Rivals.
The Player
Chaney had been pegged as UM’s top target at the RB spot in 2020 for what seems like years now and may have been the top offensive target overall for Manny Diaz and Co., so there’s no doubt this is a big win for the staff. Chaney has been hyper-productive in his time at Belen and has scored a total of 43 TD’s over a span of three seasons, adding over 3,000 rushing yards as well. The high 4-star back has been recruited like a true blue chipper, with offers from pretty much everywhere around the country.
On film, Chaney is as much of a big play threat you’ll ever see. Every time he touches the ball, Chaney has eyes on the endzone and is looking to take it to the house. Chaney has the type of acceleration where when he gets to top speed, it doesn’t seem like he is running that fast, yet he is gliding by the entire second and third level of the defense. Chaney is a natural running back that shows instincts for the position, and he reads and follows his blocks well. With his solid build of 5’11” 195, Chaney is tough to bring down on first contact and is a powerful runner through arm tackles. He demonstrates the ability to be a weapon out of the backfield in the passing game and must be accounted for by the defense at all times. Quite simply, Chaney is a complete back and has star potential the moment he steps on campus at UM.
The Class
Chaney is the 7th commit (at the time) overall in the 2020 class and the first running back in Category20. Of course, Chaney was the top target, but Miami is expected to take two running backs in the class. It will be interesting to see how the board changes with new OC Dan Enos and new RB coach Eric Hickson in the mix, but the Canes aren’t lacking for talented options in the state, and plenty of offers are already out.
In terms of others on the board, 5-star Lakeland back Demarkcus Bowman is certainly a huge want for UM. Being from the school and area he is from, though, Bowman is going to be a tough pull away from the magnet of the Gators. 4-star Deerfield Beach back Jaylan Knighton just recently decommitted from Oklahoma and told CIS that he is interested in taking a visit to Miami. However, Knighton has publicly named Clemson his new leader, so UM is going to be working from behind the Tigers. Over at Columbus, UM loves what Henry Parrish can bring to the table. Although Parrish is currently unranked, that won’t last much longer, and he is coming off a huge junior season that saw him open a lot of eyes and earn national offers from schools like Michigan, Oregon, and Tennessee.
Out of state, an intriguing name is 4-star Tirek Murphy from New York. Murphy is teammates with Surge19 members Jared Harrison-Hunte and Adam ElGammal at Christ the King HS and he came down to Coral Gables on a visit with the pair in December. With Harrison-Hunte and ElGammal in tow, Miami is sure to be a player with Murphy if they want to be and he seems pretty open right now. Other targets are sure to emerge as the cycle goes on as well.
The Team
The Canes have some very talented frontline guys on the roster right now, but UM would prefer more overall numbers. Of the returnees from last season, DeeJay Dallas is sure to be the first man up and will have every chance to replace Travis Homer as the lead back in Miami’s offense; however, if Dallas has the type of season many expect, he won’t be around when Chaney gets on campus for the 2020 season. Chaney will compete with guys like Cam Davis, Lorenzo Lingard, Robert Burns, and Asa Martin for playing time and he will have every opportunity to make an impact early at UM. With his talent level, it’s not hard to see Chaney coming in right away and making his presence felt as a freshman. He’s the type of back that doesn’t last more than 3 years on campus.
