2021 Edgewater (FL) LB Deshawn Troutman committed to the Miami Hurricanes late last night.
The 6-1, 205-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star prospect according to major recruiting services. According to the 247Sports Composite Ranking, Troutman is the #938 player nationally in 2021, the #38 ILB in the country, and the #126 player in Florida. Troutman's commitment moves Miami up to the #13 overall class in the team rankings on 247Sports and #14 overall on Rivals.
The Player
Troutman has had a mostly quiet recruitment and hasn’t taken many visits, not even to Coral Gables where he’ll spend the next four years. Troutman is familiar with the South Florida area, however, having grown up there through middle school. Troutman also works on his uncle’s potato farm in his free time. Miami was his first major Power 5 offer back in late January, and even though he was an under-the-radar type prospect, the Hurricanes have always been high on his abilities. Still, UM wanted to wait and see what would happen with their top target in 4-star LB Jaydon Hood from St. Thomas Aquinas (FL). Once Hood committed to Michigan earlier this week, Troutman was given the green light by the Miami staff, and the Edgewater star took full advantage. He chose Miami over other offers from FSU, West Virginia, Louisville, and Minnesota among others.
Taking a look at the tape, you can see Troutman flashes qualities of a modern-day inside linebacker. Quick-twitch athlete that meets ballcarriers in the hole swiftly and with authority. Shows great sideline-to-sideline speed and can cover a lot of ground in patrolling the middle of the field, which also allows him to have elite potential as a coverage linebacker. Impressive read and reaction instincts to blow up plays before they get going, and he is a beast at shutting down the screen game. Understands angles well to knife into the opponent’s backfield. Goes for the highlight hit often, and his tackling form can break down at times. Improved play strength will help prevent him from getting washed out of too many plays at the next level. Would like to see more of him taking on blocks at the point of attack and stacking and shedding them to make plays.
As a junior in 2019 for an Edgewater team that won a district title before losing to St. Thomas in the state finals, Troutman recorded 89 tackles, 11 TFL, a sack, 3 PBU, and a FR in 9 games.
The Class
Troutman was the 14th overall commit in the class and he is the third linebacker along with Killian (FL) 3-star Tyler Johnson and Miami Northwestern (FL) 3-star Ja’Corey Hammett. With Troutman’s pledge, that would seem to wrap up UM’s linebacker recruiting for the cycle, but with the unpredictability of recruiting, it wouldn’t be surprising to see UM keep tabs on a name or two just in case.
The Team
With this class, UM is clearly looking to upgrade the speed and athleticism in their linebacking corps as the game moves more spread-based and pass-heavy than ever. Going into 2020, there were a ton of injuries at LB this spring and there aren’t really established roles for most of the linebacker position group aside from Zach McCloud being expected to start at one of the two spots. However, McCloud will be off the roster by the time Troutman arrives in 2021, leaving LB difficult to project into the future at this point, especially without a full spring to evaluate the healthy returnees. With an unsettled depth chart, Troutman have plenty of opportunity to come in and win a role as a freshman.
The 6-1, 205-pounder is currently a consensus 3-star prospect according to major recruiting services. According to the 247Sports Composite Ranking, Troutman is the #938 player nationally in 2021, the #38 ILB in the country, and the #126 player in Florida. Troutman's commitment moves Miami up to the #13 overall class in the team rankings on 247Sports and #14 overall on Rivals.
The Player
Troutman has had a mostly quiet recruitment and hasn’t taken many visits, not even to Coral Gables where he’ll spend the next four years. Troutman is familiar with the South Florida area, however, having grown up there through middle school. Troutman also works on his uncle’s potato farm in his free time. Miami was his first major Power 5 offer back in late January, and even though he was an under-the-radar type prospect, the Hurricanes have always been high on his abilities. Still, UM wanted to wait and see what would happen with their top target in 4-star LB Jaydon Hood from St. Thomas Aquinas (FL). Once Hood committed to Michigan earlier this week, Troutman was given the green light by the Miami staff, and the Edgewater star took full advantage. He chose Miami over other offers from FSU, West Virginia, Louisville, and Minnesota among others.
Taking a look at the tape, you can see Troutman flashes qualities of a modern-day inside linebacker. Quick-twitch athlete that meets ballcarriers in the hole swiftly and with authority. Shows great sideline-to-sideline speed and can cover a lot of ground in patrolling the middle of the field, which also allows him to have elite potential as a coverage linebacker. Impressive read and reaction instincts to blow up plays before they get going, and he is a beast at shutting down the screen game. Understands angles well to knife into the opponent’s backfield. Goes for the highlight hit often, and his tackling form can break down at times. Improved play strength will help prevent him from getting washed out of too many plays at the next level. Would like to see more of him taking on blocks at the point of attack and stacking and shedding them to make plays.
As a junior in 2019 for an Edgewater team that won a district title before losing to St. Thomas in the state finals, Troutman recorded 89 tackles, 11 TFL, a sack, 3 PBU, and a FR in 9 games.
The Class
Troutman was the 14th overall commit in the class and he is the third linebacker along with Killian (FL) 3-star Tyler Johnson and Miami Northwestern (FL) 3-star Ja’Corey Hammett. With Troutman’s pledge, that would seem to wrap up UM’s linebacker recruiting for the cycle, but with the unpredictability of recruiting, it wouldn’t be surprising to see UM keep tabs on a name or two just in case.
The Team
With this class, UM is clearly looking to upgrade the speed and athleticism in their linebacking corps as the game moves more spread-based and pass-heavy than ever. Going into 2020, there were a ton of injuries at LB this spring and there aren’t really established roles for most of the linebacker position group aside from Zach McCloud being expected to start at one of the two spots. However, McCloud will be off the roster by the time Troutman arrives in 2021, leaving LB difficult to project into the future at this point, especially without a full spring to evaluate the healthy returnees. With an unsettled depth chart, Troutman have plenty of opportunity to come in and win a role as a freshman.
