How #Category20 Came Together, Stayed Together
By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It had been, no doubt, as tough a night as they’d endured all year.
The Hurricanes had just closed out the regular season with a disappointing, rain-soaked loss at Duke and weathered a late flight that brought them back to Miami in the wee hours of the morning.
But for better or worse, because the start of the Early Signing Period was looming and the college football calendar had shifted, Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz found himself back on the recruiting trail mere hours after he and his players had walked off the field at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham.
There may have been questions about how some of Miami’s top prospects would receive Diaz’s message now, given how the regular season had ended, but it turned out Donald Chaney, Jr., safety Brian Balom and defensive end Elijah Roberts – the three South Florida prospects Diaz met with that day – weren’t fazed.
Instead, they assured their future coach that not only did they believe the Hurricanes would find a way to bounce back, but that they themselves could help turn things around at Miami.
“If there was a better medicine that day, I don’t know what it would be,” Diaz said. “To be in the homes of three prospects, all from Dade County and Miramar, right on the border, and have them all look you in the eye and say, ‘Coach, wait ’til we get there.’ To me, that meant everything. That perpetuated every day that week with the same story over and over again.”
He continued, “You don’t take it for granted, what it means to be a Hurricane and you don’t take it for granted how these guys stayed so committed and so firm.”
On Wednesday, less than three weeks after those encouraging conversations, Chaney, Balom and Roberts all signed with Miami during the first day of college football’s Early Signing Period.
They were joined by 15 additional future Hurricanes that Diaz believes will do more than just make impact plays on the football field.
They’ll make a difference off the field because they understand what it means to play at Miami, something Diaz said they each proved during the recruiting process when all 18 players opted not to visit any other schools after publicly announcing their intentions to become Hurricanes.
“When things were good and when things were not good, this class was still bonded together. They really came through all of the ups and downs of the season, so when we got on the road in December, it wasn’t a matter of having to convince them. They knew what they wanted and they wanted to come to Miami,” Diaz said. “If anything, they were emboldened and empowered. They really see the opportunity to make a difference early and come in and compete.
“I do think the change we made in terms of what it means to be a committed player, that also created value in what we were selling. I think that’s just Business 101. As I always say: if we don’t view our scholarship with value, it’s very hard to imagine anybody else would. I think it says something about who these guys are. There’s some excellent young men, a mix from different schools, different areas, different parts of the country that I think are a lot of like-minded individuals.”
As to how Miami’s 18 newest Hurricanes will address needs, there too, Diaz is confident.
At times this season, particularly late in the year against both Duke and FIU, Miami’s offense struggled and inconsistent quarterback play took its toll.
In January, consensus four-star prospect Tyler Van Dyke of Suffield Academy in Connecticut will arrive in Coral Gables and begin the work of preparing for spring football practice.
He brings with him a dazzling resume that includes recognition as the 2019 New England Prep Player of the Year and an arm that threw for 2,260 yards and 21 touchdowns this past fall.
Four-star offensive tackle prospect Jalen Rivers – an Under Armour All-American – will look to compete for a spot on the line, while Chaney and Jaylan Knighton will compete for carries in a talented running backs group come fall.
“It starts with quarterback and obviously, we’re going to continue to try and hunt that position until we get it right. Because even this year, we saw that at our best, we look unbeatable. When we don’t, we look like we can lose to anybody. That’s the story of our season,” Diaz said. “To get Tyler, I think, is a big boost for the program. The running backs both have explosive potential. I think that’s massive for us and the receivers, a guy like Daz Worsham, I think he can do some things and provide some things we have not had. Then you have [Michael] Redding, who is a guy that is a playmaker on the outside while [Xavier] Restrepo’s got your short-area quickness, slot, return game, special team, the guy’s got a lot of value to the team.
“We signed tackles, which are hard to find. … and like I said, on all three levels of the defense, we’ve continued to recruit the guys that have sort of made up the identity of our defense: speed, very explosive players, and guys that have a knack for making plays.”
Many members of Miami’s class also come from traditionally successful high school football programs, another factor Diaz believes will make a difference in the coming years.
“Tirek Austin-Cave played for state. Corey Flagg is playing for state this weekend. Jalen Harrell won state, Elijah Roberts won state, Van Dyke went undefeated this year,” Diaz said. “Even the Deerfield [Beach] kids lost to Columbus, who went on to become the eventual state champions. A lot of really, really good programs and so you have guys that have good habits. They know how to win and have been coached and trained well.”
Now, with the Early Signing Period nearly finished, Diaz and his staff will turn their focus to National Signing Day in February.
The coach expects Miami will, once again, explore adding talented transfers to its roster while coaches will also check in with the unsigned high school prospects still looking for the right fit.
And in addition to Van Dyke, 12 more of the newest Hurricanes are expected to arrive on campus ready to begin the process of adjusting to college life. They’ll take their first classes. Go through their first workouts with David Feeley, Miami’s director of strength and conditioning. And come spring, they’ll participate in their first college practices.
Diaz is, of course, excited to see how it all unfolds for his newest players and all the Hurricanes.
“It will be huge. It will be four months of development in the weight room, understanding how we do things and how we work, so you can teach the habits of how to lift a weight, how to do anything there,” Diaz said. “To get them on the practice field to immediately compete for playing time, we know we have some spots where we are thin on our current roster. Getting these guys in the mix, getting them on the grass and seeing what they can do is big. … The experience they’ll be able to get by coming in early is invaluable.”
