Welcome to a new series here at CanesInSight. In this series we are going to spotlight some of the top underrated underclassmen in the country. For the purposes of this series, “underclassman” refers to anybody not a senior and “underrated” means anyone without a Miami offer. Our first player spotlight is 2020 LB Brett Gerena.
Gerena is a 6’2’’ 212 pound junior who plays linebacker for Tampa Jesuit High School. Brett is a physical linebacker who has decent speed and a nose for the football. Gerena is a tackling machine and leads the defense with an unreal 96 tackles through 9 games. That comes out to 10.7 tackles per game thus far. 15 of those tackles have been in the backfield. Gerena does not have any sacks this year, but does have 5 QB hurries to his name. Tack onto that 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.
Stats do not always tell the whole story, but the tape backs up the stats for Gerena. Gerena always seems to be around the football and disrupting the play. He is not the fastest guy, but his relentless pursuit to the ball more than makes up for it. He is also not the biggest hitter out there, but he is a willing tackler and has knocked some people back at times. Sure there may be bigger thumpers or faster guys out their, but Gerena just does everything well.
Lead by Gerena, Jesuit’s defense has pitched two shutouts this year and has lead the team to an 8-1 record heading into the final week of the regular season.
Gerena has gotten some attention from the likes of Army, Indiana, and Wake Forest, but do not be surprised if he starts to blow up when his junior film gets out.
Looking at Gerena through a Miami lens, it could be useful for the Canes to at least evaluate him. Right now, Shaq Quarterman, Michael Pinckney, Zach McCloud, Mike Smith, and Romeo Finley are operating as UM’s top 5 LB’s and all 5 will be gone after next season. Miami is bringing in three guys in the 2019 class who are very good, but you need to keep stacking guys at every position. The 2020 linebacker class in Florida has some talented guys, but it is not deep at all. Of those three, Derek Wingo seems to be destined to play out of state which leaves Miami with Jayion McCluster and Devon Betty as the two best options. If you miss on either of those guys, you would be left with only one linebacker in the 2020 class. Genera could be an option down the line if that occurs.
Gerena is a 6’2’’ 212 pound junior who plays linebacker for Tampa Jesuit High School. Brett is a physical linebacker who has decent speed and a nose for the football. Gerena is a tackling machine and leads the defense with an unreal 96 tackles through 9 games. That comes out to 10.7 tackles per game thus far. 15 of those tackles have been in the backfield. Gerena does not have any sacks this year, but does have 5 QB hurries to his name. Tack onto that 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.
Stats do not always tell the whole story, but the tape backs up the stats for Gerena. Gerena always seems to be around the football and disrupting the play. He is not the fastest guy, but his relentless pursuit to the ball more than makes up for it. He is also not the biggest hitter out there, but he is a willing tackler and has knocked some people back at times. Sure there may be bigger thumpers or faster guys out their, but Gerena just does everything well.
Lead by Gerena, Jesuit’s defense has pitched two shutouts this year and has lead the team to an 8-1 record heading into the final week of the regular season.
Gerena has gotten some attention from the likes of Army, Indiana, and Wake Forest, but do not be surprised if he starts to blow up when his junior film gets out.
Looking at Gerena through a Miami lens, it could be useful for the Canes to at least evaluate him. Right now, Shaq Quarterman, Michael Pinckney, Zach McCloud, Mike Smith, and Romeo Finley are operating as UM’s top 5 LB’s and all 5 will be gone after next season. Miami is bringing in three guys in the 2019 class who are very good, but you need to keep stacking guys at every position. The 2020 linebacker class in Florida has some talented guys, but it is not deep at all. Of those three, Derek Wingo seems to be destined to play out of state which leaves Miami with Jayion McCluster and Devon Betty as the two best options. If you miss on either of those guys, you would be left with only one linebacker in the 2020 class. Genera could be an option down the line if that occurs.
