2021 Columbus (FL) DE Jabari Ishmael committed to the Miami Hurricanes tonight.
The 6-5 210 pounder is currently a consensus 4-star recruit in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Ishmael is the #216 player nationally, #14 WDE in the country, and the #30 player in the Sunshine State. His commitment moves UM’s 2021 class to #12 in the class ranking on 247Sports and #11 on Rivals.
The Player
Ishmael put himself on the map after a strong freshman season in 2017, and UM became the first to offer the rising star that following spring of 2018. Despite receiving Power 5 attention before his sophomore season, his only known visits throughout the entire process were to the local Hurricanes; Ishmael seemingly disliked the recruiting process altogether, which included essentially no offseason camp appearances, no top group announcements, and zero media access to the Columbus star. This was probably the quietest recruitment I can remember for a local talent with Ishmael’s offer pedigree; he picked UM over other bids from Florida, Notre Dame, Oregon, Michigan, and Texas A&M among others. With that being said, I’m sure Canes fans certainly don’t mind the lack of drama displayed by a South Florida recruit in this rare case. An interesting part of Ishmael’s story includes his father Victor being a longtime S&C assistant at Miami, which almost certainly played a part in his decision.
On film, Ishmael rushes in with good lean and dip to propel himself around the edge. The quickness and movement skills at his size give a glimpse of his long-term upside. Impressive first step. Long and lanky frame that’s dripping with athleticism, but still getting comfortable and growing into his body. Great length and knows how to instinctively use his reach at times to create space for himself to make a play. For technique purposes, he is lacking at this stage; a small improvement in his handwork at the point of attack, his footwork, and his body positioning would lead to much more productivity with his physical gifts. Can get washed out of the play if he doesn’t win his rep off the snap and needs more functional strength.
To give you an idea of how athletic he is, at 6-5 210, Ishmael played a good amount of traditional linebacker for Columbus, both outside and inside, in 2019 and didn’t look out of place working in space. Showed he could play side-to-side and also read his keys, react quickly, and get downhill to stop the ballcarrier. Demonstrates he can stack and shed blocks to make plays at the line in the run game. Ultimately, Ishmael is a developmental prospect that is an All-ACC and first round pick type of talent if he can reach his ceiling.
As a junior in 2019, Ishmael helped the Explorers to a state title and was named second team All-Dade after posting a line of 46 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 FR, and 1 PBU.
The Class
Ishmael’s commitment brings the total class numbers to 18 and he is the first DE in the 2021 class. The Canes want two players at DE this cycle, so they will continue recruiting the position, but it’s pretty clear that they’ve narrowed most of their focus on one remaining target, Lowndes (GA) 3-star Thomas Davis.
Since committing to Mississippi State in April, Davis decommitted from the Bulldogs last month shortly after receiving his Miami offer. From that time, most in the industry have felt UM was the frontrunner to land Davis’ commitment on August 24th, his birthday and planned decision date. Although Davis has been unable to visit Coral Gables due to the campus shutdowns, Davis claims to have always loved the Hurricanes as a fan and sees a strong fit in their defense. Miami is in a very strong spot headed into his announcement next month.
The Canes have also kept in touch with guys like Boone (FL) 4-star Shambre Jackson and Grayson (GA) 3-star Sebastian Sagar at various points throughout the quarantine, but both appear to be on the outside looking in to this class assuming nothing else changes.
The Team
Miami will lose Quincy Roche to graduation at the position following 2020, and Gregory Rousseau will certainly consider leaving early for the NFL if he continues his assault on ACC quarterbacks. Even if Rousseau does jump early, the Canes have recruited very strongly at DE in recent years and have really been stacking some serious talent, with guys like Jaelan Phillips, Jahfari Harvey, and Chantz Williams waiting in the wings to potentially become the next great UM pass rusher.
Miami’s depth at DE, combined with Ishmael’s build and developmental nature, means there’s a good chance he takes a redshirt as a freshman, although getting into school for spring ball to work on his body and game would certainly up his chances to see the field in Year 1. While there’s going to be a ton of competition at this spot for reps going forward, Ishmael has as good of an upside as any DE on the roster, so at the very least he should be competing for rotational minutes as a redshirt freshman and battling for a starting job by the time he is a sophomore.
The 6-5 210 pounder is currently a consensus 4-star recruit in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Ishmael is the #216 player nationally, #14 WDE in the country, and the #30 player in the Sunshine State. His commitment moves UM’s 2021 class to #12 in the class ranking on 247Sports and #11 on Rivals.
The Player
Ishmael put himself on the map after a strong freshman season in 2017, and UM became the first to offer the rising star that following spring of 2018. Despite receiving Power 5 attention before his sophomore season, his only known visits throughout the entire process were to the local Hurricanes; Ishmael seemingly disliked the recruiting process altogether, which included essentially no offseason camp appearances, no top group announcements, and zero media access to the Columbus star. This was probably the quietest recruitment I can remember for a local talent with Ishmael’s offer pedigree; he picked UM over other bids from Florida, Notre Dame, Oregon, Michigan, and Texas A&M among others. With that being said, I’m sure Canes fans certainly don’t mind the lack of drama displayed by a South Florida recruit in this rare case. An interesting part of Ishmael’s story includes his father Victor being a longtime S&C assistant at Miami, which almost certainly played a part in his decision.
On film, Ishmael rushes in with good lean and dip to propel himself around the edge. The quickness and movement skills at his size give a glimpse of his long-term upside. Impressive first step. Long and lanky frame that’s dripping with athleticism, but still getting comfortable and growing into his body. Great length and knows how to instinctively use his reach at times to create space for himself to make a play. For technique purposes, he is lacking at this stage; a small improvement in his handwork at the point of attack, his footwork, and his body positioning would lead to much more productivity with his physical gifts. Can get washed out of the play if he doesn’t win his rep off the snap and needs more functional strength.
To give you an idea of how athletic he is, at 6-5 210, Ishmael played a good amount of traditional linebacker for Columbus, both outside and inside, in 2019 and didn’t look out of place working in space. Showed he could play side-to-side and also read his keys, react quickly, and get downhill to stop the ballcarrier. Demonstrates he can stack and shed blocks to make plays at the line in the run game. Ultimately, Ishmael is a developmental prospect that is an All-ACC and first round pick type of talent if he can reach his ceiling.
As a junior in 2019, Ishmael helped the Explorers to a state title and was named second team All-Dade after posting a line of 46 tackles, 8 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 FR, and 1 PBU.
The Class
Ishmael’s commitment brings the total class numbers to 18 and he is the first DE in the 2021 class. The Canes want two players at DE this cycle, so they will continue recruiting the position, but it’s pretty clear that they’ve narrowed most of their focus on one remaining target, Lowndes (GA) 3-star Thomas Davis.
Since committing to Mississippi State in April, Davis decommitted from the Bulldogs last month shortly after receiving his Miami offer. From that time, most in the industry have felt UM was the frontrunner to land Davis’ commitment on August 24th, his birthday and planned decision date. Although Davis has been unable to visit Coral Gables due to the campus shutdowns, Davis claims to have always loved the Hurricanes as a fan and sees a strong fit in their defense. Miami is in a very strong spot headed into his announcement next month.
The Canes have also kept in touch with guys like Boone (FL) 4-star Shambre Jackson and Grayson (GA) 3-star Sebastian Sagar at various points throughout the quarantine, but both appear to be on the outside looking in to this class assuming nothing else changes.
The Team
Miami will lose Quincy Roche to graduation at the position following 2020, and Gregory Rousseau will certainly consider leaving early for the NFL if he continues his assault on ACC quarterbacks. Even if Rousseau does jump early, the Canes have recruited very strongly at DE in recent years and have really been stacking some serious talent, with guys like Jaelan Phillips, Jahfari Harvey, and Chantz Williams waiting in the wings to potentially become the next great UM pass rusher.
Miami’s depth at DE, combined with Ishmael’s build and developmental nature, means there’s a good chance he takes a redshirt as a freshman, although getting into school for spring ball to work on his body and game would certainly up his chances to see the field in Year 1. While there’s going to be a ton of competition at this spot for reps going forward, Ishmael has as good of an upside as any DE on the roster, so at the very least he should be competing for rotational minutes as a redshirt freshman and battling for a starting job by the time he is a sophomore.
. Manny and Company are on an incredible roll right now. When he gets the coaching side down we’ll be a perennial Top 10-15 team if we keep this recruiting going.
