The Canes have landed their first defensive lineman commit in nearly two months, securing key target Ezekiel Ayangbile.



A 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive tackle, the four-star product has played across the line for his high school, Langham Creek, but projects as a tackle at the next level with his strength and frame.

The Houston native powers through opposing offensive lineman with impressive punch power, using his length to generate separation at the line.

Ayangbile also moves well for his frame as he uses his impressive football IQ to adjust to leverage and get in the backfield.



Ayangbile’s the son of former five-time Pro Bowler and 16-season veteran Duane Brown, and track athlete Ciera Ayangbile. Both parents are Virginia Tech alumni, making it even more impressive that the Canes were able to pull off this recruitment over the Hokies and LSU Tigers.

One key factor in this recruitment was the effort of defensive tackle coach Damione Lewis, who made multiple visits to Houston to get this recruitment over the line — and notably played with Brown on the Texans.

“The coaches down here really know what they're doing,” said Ayangbile following his spring visit. “They have great ideas and great teaching that they do on these kids, and I feel like they're really developing to be NFL talents.”



“Everybody that I met down here in terms of coaching has a great soul and a great spirit, and I think it's really just awesome because you don't have to connect with one specific person — you can be cool with the entire staff if you wanted to.”

Ayangbile pushes Miami to double digits in its 2027 class, becoming the tenth commitment this cycle.

He joins a defensive line room with Key West product Josh Johnson, as the room will continue to develop across the next few months.

 

He's gonna look like these guys after a year in the s&c...i think he is gonna get to 300..cause he appears close to that 280 now.

He might. Didn’t realize he was already that heavy.

 

Yea it’s clear
We have the best dline
Because we have the most at minimum top 5 amount of 5 stars along the dline
After this year we have 0 and only 1 counting Bryant it’s concerning

concerning for whom actually?.

Stars count for us fans not for coaches and once they are enrolled they have no stars.

We just played 10 dl against Clemson. Yall really need to stop star gazing.

We have 5 dl committed right now. Im expecting another edge n maybe another dt.

Also im fully expecting a portal guy as well maybe 2 depending how rest of the year plays out...we are a portal destination on the dl.

Our best dt currently wasnt a '5 star" , our state doesnt really produce those so we have to make due and our current dc and hc seems to want a particular body type at that spot

 

True I’m projecting worse case scenario
But regardless the drop off in dt recruiting is concerning given the limited amount I understand you can’t get a 5 star yearly and that’s why u need high upside guys like zeke but still need more 5 stars been 3 cycles since we signed one that’s not acceptable if we want to stay at the level we’re currently at

The coaches are going after guys that they likely believe are your version of "5 stars"

You think we are taking commitments from kids in feb, march, April from kids we don't absolutely love?

 

We just played 10 dl against Clemson. Yall really need to stop star gazing.

Exactly. They are absolutely clueless.

 

concerning for whom actually?.

Stars count for us fans not for coaches and once they are enrolled they have no stars.

We just played 10 dl against Clemson. Yall really need to stop star gazing.

We have 5 dl committed right now. Im expecting another edge n maybe another dt.

Also im fully expecting a portal guy as well maybe 2 depending how rest of the year plays out...we are a portal destination on the dl.

Our best dt currently wasnt a '5 star" , our state doesnt really produce those so we have to make due and our current dc and hc seems to want a particular body type at that spot

Is Charles injured,I can't recall seeing him play and even Lafayette has played.

 

True I’m projecting worse case scenario
But regardless the drop off in dt recruiting is concerning given the limited amount I understand you can’t get a 5 star yearly

How many of the DL the last 2-3 years were true DT? 1? Scott… The rest are DE/Edge players. And we are still reeling those types in.

Stancil is a top 100 type player, rated higher than Moten.

 

True I’m projecting worse case scenario
But regardless the drop off in dt recruiting is concerning given the limited amount I understand you can’t get a 5 star yearly and that’s why u need high upside guys like zeke but still need more 5 stars been 3 cycles since we signed one that’s not acceptable if we want to stay at the level we’re currently at

i think your underselling zeke he is listed at top 20 at his position based off of 247....he isnt a long term project interior dl.

We landed stancil last year to who got a few plays already this year on a deep dl.

Im with you though i want to allocate alot of funds to the dl yearly and try to get atleast one high 4 star-5 star each class...an when missed i need em in the portal.

 

Is Charles injured,I can't recall seeing him play and even Lafayette has played.

ive seen him play....
Did you see Lafayette play...that dude looks like all hellt o deal with in the fourth quarter...he is the quintessential Virginia Tech Edge/de. I didnt understand the Lafayette take but clearly he has a place on this DL...

Stancil even got in at edge in a game i think as well.

Damione/JT just have to develop their units and us bringing in cherry on the top draft rated transfer portal guys yearly in my opinion will keep us stocked at this level.

 

i think your underselling zeke he is listed at top 20 at his position based off of 247....he isnt a long term project interior dl.

We landed stancil last year to who got a few plays already this year on a deep dl.

Im with you though i want to allocate alot of funds to the dl yearly and try to get atleast one high 4 star-5 star each class...an when missed i need em in the portal.

I'm not sure the exact process, or the numbers...and maybe landing some of these edges are a combo of JT's legend to go a long with the NIL. (do we get a small discount due to JT/Baine/Mes)

But there also may be (MAY, again I don't know) that when push comes to shove we may go the extra dollar on edges, and not quite on DT. Don't get me wrong I'm sure the Jalen Brewster offer was a healthy one, but we may just think the Lowe, Bryant, Jacobs, etc… are worth just a little more. Or that the gap between a Jenkins/J.Johnson and the top 3-4 DT is a lot smaller than say (just throwing out a name), the gap between Wittenberg kid who committed to Wake or Tevaris Finley and Jaiden Bryant. JUST A THOUGHT.

We may offer top 7-10 DT $$…. But are going to make sure NO ONE is going to outbid us for the right Edge/Pass rusher (or corner apparently looking at this year's class lol). Who knows.

 

The coaches are going after guys that they likely believe are your version of "5 stars"

You think we are taking commitments from kids in feb, march, April from kids we don't absolutely love?

It is odd that a couple years back we seemed obsessed with signing 5* DL,we got Blount,Lightfoot,Lowe,and Scott and went hard after a few other DTs like Stone and the dude who went to Oregon.We haven't come close since on signing a 5* DT and have signed a bunch of 3* and low 4* except for Stancil.If Scott declares after this season we will be desperate in the portal for a top DT or there will be a significant drop off at the position with Davis and Carter plus the youngins.

 

Oregon.We haven't come close since on signing a 5* DT and have signed a bunch of 3* and low 4* except for Stancil.If Scott declares after this season we will be desperate in the portal for a top DT or there will be a significant drop off at the position with Davis and Carter plus the youngins.

Staff may just disagreed with the rankings

Also, Ayangbile is not a "low 4*"…Top 200 player if you like star rankings.

And also…It's ok to be desperate/aggressive in the portal. It's how it works nowadays.

 

Staff may just disagreed with the rankings

Also, Ayangbile is not a "low 4*"…Top 200 player if you like star rankings.

And also…It's ok to be desperate/aggressive in the portal. It's how it works nowadays.

Hope so,we'll see in couple years what we got in Carter,Stancil,Nagle and a couple others.

 

It is odd that a couple years back we seemed obsessed with signing 5* DL,we got Blount,Lightfoot,Lowe,and Scott and went hard after a few other DTs like Stone and the dude who went to Oregon.We haven't come close since on signing a 5* DT and have signed a bunch of 3* and low 4* except for Stancil.If Scott declares after this season we will be desperate in the portal for a top DT or there will be a significant drop off at the position with Davis and Carter plus the youngins.

you have to pay those same guys for retainment. lol

Also our {fans} value on players arent what their big board may be. For example locally i like the dt at West Boca Jamar Thompson and they passed...hes a good player with a pretty solid ranking too....but then his body type/development potential they may not like.

Also the Key west kid is for sure a steal living in key west and being hurt his jr year. He wasnt campining...his ranking would be much more higher had he maybe transferred up to say a columbus for sr year and had the ability to camp.

 

Hope so,we'll see in couple years what we got in Carter,Stancil,Nagle and a couple others.

i think we gonna be in the portal regardless at dl cause i see some of our guys hitting that draft if their play continues...and we are a portal destination i see guys wanting in.....like how Damon Wilson came over.

 

Not worried about DL rankings when you see these body types and film. Then you get to see the development of guys and you just trust Mario.