Recent 2020 UM commitment Don Chaney Jr. dominated the Opening Miami Regional on his way to the second highest SPARQ score and the running back MVP award, as well as landing an invitation to The Opening Finals in Texas this summer.
“I got 123 on my rating, I wanted to go higher,” Chaney said. “I felt like my performance today was amazing. I did what I had to do to stay on top, could’ve done more, but I won RB MVP and got the invite.”
The Belen Jesuit 4-star back is one of the Canes’ more recent commitments, giving his pledge to the coaching staff at Junior Day earlier this month along with 4 other recruits.
“I knew like a week before I was going to commit. It just felt like I was at home,” Chaney said of his Miami commitment. “It was just a feeling of, ‘I need to be here, I’ve got to be here.’ And that’s what set it up for me to pull the trigger basically.”
While some speculated that it might be tough to hold on to such a highly regarded prospect like Chaney for the entire cycle with so many top schools coming after him, Chaney shut down any rumors he might be looking around.
“I’m very solid, I’m planning on enrolling early. No more visits, I’m done, that’s it,” Chaney said. “We will be on top eventually. We’re going to make everybody pay for what they’ve done, what they said about UM, all of that is going to be out of their heads once we come in, once 2020 comes in.”
That’s not all: Chaney plans to be a leader in the class, and is looking for other top prospects that he can persuade to join him in Category20.
“I’m trying to get the running back from Columbus, Henry Parrish,” Chaney said. “I know we’re two great people and I know we can make things happen. I’m trying to get that real strong connection with him. There’s a couple linebackers, I don’t want to disclose the names, but there’s a couple more people I want to get in the class.”
Although many recruits have taken a wait-and-see approach to the Canes after half the staff had been changed out, Chaney feels who is coaching at Miami is not the most important factor at the end of the day.
“It’s not really about the coaches that make a program, it’s the players, and knowing I could make the program better, it’s a real great opportunity,” Chaney said. “It’s a blessing.”
That mindset is a big part of the reason Miami did not change at all in Chaney’s eyes when Mark Richt opted for retirement after the 2018 season. Now with Manny Diaz in charge, Chaney says their relationship is not new, and Diaz has recruited him in the past.
“His dad went to Belen,” Chaney said of Diaz. “He would come by the school whenever he had the chance, so we’ve always had a strong relationship.”
On new RB coach Eric Hickson, Chaney says he’s already developed a good relationship with his future position coach.
“It’s a pretty good change knowing that there would still be a strong guy in the position,” Chaney said of Hickson. “We had a real strong bond from the start.”
Diaz’s most important hire, however, was new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, and Chaney feels he is right guy to lead UM’s offense into the future.
“He’s a real intellectual guy, like a very smart guy,” Chaney said of Enos. “He knows what he’s doing and I’m good with him as my offensive coordinator.”
In terms of the off-season, the 5’11”, 195 pound back is simply focusing on training and looking to add to an already legendary career at Belen.
“Working out, preparing myself mentally for everything to come,” Chaney said of his off-season plans. “There’s plenty of things I have to improve every year, I want to get better across the board.”
“I got 123 on my rating, I wanted to go higher,” Chaney said. “I felt like my performance today was amazing. I did what I had to do to stay on top, could’ve done more, but I won RB MVP and got the invite.”
The Belen Jesuit 4-star back is one of the Canes’ more recent commitments, giving his pledge to the coaching staff at Junior Day earlier this month along with 4 other recruits.
“I knew like a week before I was going to commit. It just felt like I was at home,” Chaney said of his Miami commitment. “It was just a feeling of, ‘I need to be here, I’ve got to be here.’ And that’s what set it up for me to pull the trigger basically.”
While some speculated that it might be tough to hold on to such a highly regarded prospect like Chaney for the entire cycle with so many top schools coming after him, Chaney shut down any rumors he might be looking around.
“I’m very solid, I’m planning on enrolling early. No more visits, I’m done, that’s it,” Chaney said. “We will be on top eventually. We’re going to make everybody pay for what they’ve done, what they said about UM, all of that is going to be out of their heads once we come in, once 2020 comes in.”
That’s not all: Chaney plans to be a leader in the class, and is looking for other top prospects that he can persuade to join him in Category20.
“I’m trying to get the running back from Columbus, Henry Parrish,” Chaney said. “I know we’re two great people and I know we can make things happen. I’m trying to get that real strong connection with him. There’s a couple linebackers, I don’t want to disclose the names, but there’s a couple more people I want to get in the class.”
Although many recruits have taken a wait-and-see approach to the Canes after half the staff had been changed out, Chaney feels who is coaching at Miami is not the most important factor at the end of the day.
“It’s not really about the coaches that make a program, it’s the players, and knowing I could make the program better, it’s a real great opportunity,” Chaney said. “It’s a blessing.”
That mindset is a big part of the reason Miami did not change at all in Chaney’s eyes when Mark Richt opted for retirement after the 2018 season. Now with Manny Diaz in charge, Chaney says their relationship is not new, and Diaz has recruited him in the past.
“His dad went to Belen,” Chaney said of Diaz. “He would come by the school whenever he had the chance, so we’ve always had a strong relationship.”
On new RB coach Eric Hickson, Chaney says he’s already developed a good relationship with his future position coach.
“It’s a pretty good change knowing that there would still be a strong guy in the position,” Chaney said of Hickson. “We had a real strong bond from the start.”
Diaz’s most important hire, however, was new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, and Chaney feels he is right guy to lead UM’s offense into the future.
“He’s a real intellectual guy, like a very smart guy,” Chaney said of Enos. “He knows what he’s doing and I’m good with him as my offensive coordinator.”
In terms of the off-season, the 5’11”, 195 pound back is simply focusing on training and looking to add to an already legendary career at Belen.
“Working out, preparing myself mentally for everything to come,” Chaney said of his off-season plans. “There’s plenty of things I have to improve every year, I want to get better across the board.”
