2019 Buford (GA) DT Jalar Holley committed to the Canes on Sunday afternoon after participating in Paradise Camp.
The 6-2, 280-pounder is currently a 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Holley is the #829 player nationally, #55 DT in the country, and the #85 player in the Peach State. His commitment moves Miami’s class ranking to #19 overall on 247Sports and to #17 on Rivals.
The Player
I got to watch Holley at Paradise Camp in-person for the first time and he was an impressive prospect. He has an incredible motor and his non-stop attitude was firing up Jess Simpson. There were multiple times where Holley ran through the blocking dummies and just kept sprinting downfield. He straight up bullied O-Linemen on a few reps and also showed surprising quickness beating his man to the outside.
Holley possesses a low center of gravity and plays with natural leverage. With the ability to control point of attack, his strength seems to be playing the run game and shooting gaps to make a play in the backfield. He has the feet to overcome early reach blocks and direct himself back into pursuit. As he continues to put on more weight, he has the ability to eat space at the next level and handle double teams.
The Class
Holley's commitment brings the total class numbers to 17 and leaves the Canes with Doral Academy (FL) 3-star Denzel Daxon and St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 3-star Jason Munoz at DT in Surge19. As a die-hard Cane, Munoz’s pledge seems like one of the most solid in the class. However, I’ve been hearing rumblings that new D-Line coach Jess Simpson was never very high on Daxon and if Miami starts hitting on more top targets, that is something that could force him out of the class.
The Canes just signed 2 DT’s in a 2018 class where they could have easily taken 4, so DT has become a huge need in 2019. With two of Miami’s DT’s also set to graduate in 2018, taking three DT’s this cycle is almost necessary, with four not out of the question.
So who could be next to hop on board? At the top of the list would be St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 4-star Braylen Ingraham, who is a bit of a swingman as a jumbo end/defensive tackle hybrid that will likely take the RJ McIntosh and Patrick Bethel route and grow into a defensive tackle at the next level. Manny Diaz and Jess Simpson love his potential as an interior guy and the staff is feeling good about their chances to eventually land Ingraham, who has named Miami his public leader multiple times. Alabama is also making a push here.
The Canes are also hot on a pair of FSU trying to flip them over to the good guys. American Heritage B/D (FL) 4-star Mike Morris is an FSU commit and legacy, but the talk with him is new head coach Willie Taggart is not pushing to keep Morris in the class and the parties’ relationship has been harmed because of this. If things aren't mended quickly, I was told there was no way he ends up at FSU. If Miami ends up pushing for him, there’s a good chance he’s a Cane, with Michigan also another realistic option. Getting both parents on board for Miami will be the key in this recruitment, as mom has not been high on Miami. Lehigh Acres (FL) 4-star Quashon Fuller has probably flirted with Miami the most, coming to campus multiple times during the off-season and showing up for "Miami Nights". The Canes will keep their foot on the gas with him and, with family in the Miami area, Fuller has a very real chance of flipping to UM.
Elsewhere, Largo (FL) 4-star Jaquaze Sorrells and Wekiva (FL) 4-star Tyler Davis had been high priorities for UM for a while. However, it seems contact with Sorrells has really fallen off lately and, although Davis made a summer visit, he feels destined for an out of state program like Ohio State or Clemson. I don’t expect either to end up at Miami barring a drastic change.
A guy a bit further down the board at DT that just recently put the Canes in his top 10 is Lehigh Indian River (VA) 3-star Ben Smiley. Things are still developing with Smiley right now and he was planning a summer visit, but that has not yet come to fruition.
The Team
Defensive line recruiting has been the single biggest flaw from this staff as a whole the past few years. RJ McIntosh and Kendrick Norton leaving early for the NFL, but the shear misses at these spots were starting to mount. Those holes in UM’s depth will be seen on the current roster for the 2018 season and covering it up won’t be easy. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz loves to rotate on the line, so having plenty of capable bodies at DT is a must for his defense to function.
Next season, Miami loses Gerald Willis and Tito Odenigbo from the position to graduation, while Tyreic Martin could be an attrition candidate if he doesn’t start to show up soon. That leaves only 4 DT’s on the current roster that would be on the 2019 roster, and playing time will absolutely be up for grabs. The Canes are banking heavy that Jon Ford, Nesta Silvera, and Jordan Miller will all develop properly and become a solid trio to complement Patrick Bethel. Behind them, Holley will compete with 2019 commits Jason Munoz and Denzel Daxon for a spot in the DT rotation as true freshmen, with the hopes he can develop into a starting-level player by his sophomore season in 2020.
The 6-2, 280-pounder is currently a 3-star in the national rankings. According to the 247Sports Composite, Holley is the #829 player nationally, #55 DT in the country, and the #85 player in the Peach State. His commitment moves Miami’s class ranking to #19 overall on 247Sports and to #17 on Rivals.
The Player
I got to watch Holley at Paradise Camp in-person for the first time and he was an impressive prospect. He has an incredible motor and his non-stop attitude was firing up Jess Simpson. There were multiple times where Holley ran through the blocking dummies and just kept sprinting downfield. He straight up bullied O-Linemen on a few reps and also showed surprising quickness beating his man to the outside.
Holley possesses a low center of gravity and plays with natural leverage. With the ability to control point of attack, his strength seems to be playing the run game and shooting gaps to make a play in the backfield. He has the feet to overcome early reach blocks and direct himself back into pursuit. As he continues to put on more weight, he has the ability to eat space at the next level and handle double teams.
The Class
Holley's commitment brings the total class numbers to 17 and leaves the Canes with Doral Academy (FL) 3-star Denzel Daxon and St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 3-star Jason Munoz at DT in Surge19. As a die-hard Cane, Munoz’s pledge seems like one of the most solid in the class. However, I’ve been hearing rumblings that new D-Line coach Jess Simpson was never very high on Daxon and if Miami starts hitting on more top targets, that is something that could force him out of the class.
The Canes just signed 2 DT’s in a 2018 class where they could have easily taken 4, so DT has become a huge need in 2019. With two of Miami’s DT’s also set to graduate in 2018, taking three DT’s this cycle is almost necessary, with four not out of the question.
So who could be next to hop on board? At the top of the list would be St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 4-star Braylen Ingraham, who is a bit of a swingman as a jumbo end/defensive tackle hybrid that will likely take the RJ McIntosh and Patrick Bethel route and grow into a defensive tackle at the next level. Manny Diaz and Jess Simpson love his potential as an interior guy and the staff is feeling good about their chances to eventually land Ingraham, who has named Miami his public leader multiple times. Alabama is also making a push here.
The Canes are also hot on a pair of FSU trying to flip them over to the good guys. American Heritage B/D (FL) 4-star Mike Morris is an FSU commit and legacy, but the talk with him is new head coach Willie Taggart is not pushing to keep Morris in the class and the parties’ relationship has been harmed because of this. If things aren't mended quickly, I was told there was no way he ends up at FSU. If Miami ends up pushing for him, there’s a good chance he’s a Cane, with Michigan also another realistic option. Getting both parents on board for Miami will be the key in this recruitment, as mom has not been high on Miami. Lehigh Acres (FL) 4-star Quashon Fuller has probably flirted with Miami the most, coming to campus multiple times during the off-season and showing up for "Miami Nights". The Canes will keep their foot on the gas with him and, with family in the Miami area, Fuller has a very real chance of flipping to UM.
Elsewhere, Largo (FL) 4-star Jaquaze Sorrells and Wekiva (FL) 4-star Tyler Davis had been high priorities for UM for a while. However, it seems contact with Sorrells has really fallen off lately and, although Davis made a summer visit, he feels destined for an out of state program like Ohio State or Clemson. I don’t expect either to end up at Miami barring a drastic change.
A guy a bit further down the board at DT that just recently put the Canes in his top 10 is Lehigh Indian River (VA) 3-star Ben Smiley. Things are still developing with Smiley right now and he was planning a summer visit, but that has not yet come to fruition.
The Team
Defensive line recruiting has been the single biggest flaw from this staff as a whole the past few years. RJ McIntosh and Kendrick Norton leaving early for the NFL, but the shear misses at these spots were starting to mount. Those holes in UM’s depth will be seen on the current roster for the 2018 season and covering it up won’t be easy. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz loves to rotate on the line, so having plenty of capable bodies at DT is a must for his defense to function.
Next season, Miami loses Gerald Willis and Tito Odenigbo from the position to graduation, while Tyreic Martin could be an attrition candidate if he doesn’t start to show up soon. That leaves only 4 DT’s on the current roster that would be on the 2019 roster, and playing time will absolutely be up for grabs. The Canes are banking heavy that Jon Ford, Nesta Silvera, and Jordan Miller will all develop properly and become a solid trio to complement Patrick Bethel. Behind them, Holley will compete with 2019 commits Jason Munoz and Denzel Daxon for a spot in the DT rotation as true freshmen, with the hopes he can develop into a starting-level player by his sophomore season in 2020.
