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The Miami Hurricanes have sent out an abundance of 2021 offers in recent weeks, but an intriguing name on that list is South Warren (KY) 3-star ATH Jantzen Dunn, who has also received offers from Oklahoma, WVU, and Tennessee in the new year, and also has a connection to Miami athletics.
“Coach (DeMarcus) Van Dyke and coach (Blake) Baker called me. They were telling me a lot about their defensive staff, how it was a great fit for me, and they wanted me to come check it out,” Dunn said. “It was exciting getting the offer, especially since my dad played basketball up there. I liked them when I was growing up.”
Jantzen’s father, Mitchell Dunn, was a guard on the 1994-95 Miami Hurricanes basketball team, averaging 8.1 pts, 2.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game that season. Jantzen says his father had a strong reaction when he found out UM had extended the offer.
“It was the most excited that he’s ever been,” Jantzen said of his father Mitchell. “He was really happy for me and he was proud to tell me that my hard work really paid off. It was just a really proud dad moment for him and I was happy for him.”
The 6-2 175 pound athlete is a two-way player on the high school level, but most programs are recruiting Dunn to play as a defender.
“I play both offense and defense in high school, but in college I’d like to play DB and that’s where most schools are recruiting me, including Miami,” Dunn said. “My tape is mostly DB, and I play safety, corner, and receiver. I like corner better, but I’m in love with all three and I can play all of them. Corner, I feel like you can be up in their face more and be more aggressive, I like being in the opponent’s face. Safety is a little more laid back and it’s more about giving help.”
A visit to Miami could be coming as soon as this weekend for Dunn, as he will be in the area during UM’s junior day event for a 7-on-7 tournament and is hoping to stop by campus.
“They just have a history of really good football. I’d love to be a part of the program and help them rebuild to what they were before,” Dunn said of UM. “I’m actually coming up to Miami this Saturday, I have a 7-on-7 tournament, so I’m hoping I'll have time to see some of the coaches.”
Speaking of recruiting trips, Dunn recently took a visit to Tennessee last weekend after landing an offer from the Vols, and he seemed to enjoy his time in Knoxville.
“I liked what they told me about their coaching staff,” Dunn said of Tennessee. “Their coaching staff is amazing with how many players they’ve put in the NFL alone. They have a really good DB coach and head coach (Jeremy) Pruitt was also a DB coach too. Definitely the facilities are crazy, I love their dorms. But that’s only one school I’ve visited so I’m trying to get around and see if I like anything better.”
As of now, Dunn is planning on getting to see a few more schools during the spring, narrow down a top list, and make his decision during the summer months.
“I want to get it out of the way so I can focus on my craft and my senior season,” Dunn said. “Definitely will be looking at the coaching staff, I like the schools that will put me in a good position to play the position that I love. I take dorm rooms into consideration. I’d like to have a good set up with some privacy.”
While coaches and facilities will be priorities for Dunn in looking for his school of choice, he says distance from home is not likely to be a factor.
“I’m actually originally from Atlanta, Georgia, I moved to Kentucky in 9th grade,” Dunn said. “I’m not really a homesick type of person.”
During his junior campaign, Dunn felt he tangibly improved his game while helping lead South Warren to a 10-2 record in 2019.
“I think I did pretty good,” Dunn said. “I completed a lot of the goals that I was trying to accomplish, and I’m proud of myself because I went through the whole summer before and worked my butt off. It’s just nice to see that hard work really pay off.
“I had a certain amount of yards I wanted at receiver, at least 300, and I hit that. I had about 360 yards, 15 catches, 6 TD’s, which was up from 2 catches last year. I really exceeded my goals and I was really proud of myself for that. Also, defensive tackling – I don’t know exactly how many tackles I had, but I know it was a lot more than sophomore year. I just think it’s really important for me to climb and improve each year going through life and it’s important for me to take my experience and try and advance.”
What parts of his game will he be focusing on during the upcoming offseason?
“Most definitely going to be working on a lot of coverage and some man-to-man stuff,” Dunn said. “Going to be working on my footwork, my routes, just everything that is involved with what I play to get prepared for the college level.”
“Coach (DeMarcus) Van Dyke and coach (Blake) Baker called me. They were telling me a lot about their defensive staff, how it was a great fit for me, and they wanted me to come check it out,” Dunn said. “It was exciting getting the offer, especially since my dad played basketball up there. I liked them when I was growing up.”
Jantzen’s father, Mitchell Dunn, was a guard on the 1994-95 Miami Hurricanes basketball team, averaging 8.1 pts, 2.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game that season. Jantzen says his father had a strong reaction when he found out UM had extended the offer.
“It was the most excited that he’s ever been,” Jantzen said of his father Mitchell. “He was really happy for me and he was proud to tell me that my hard work really paid off. It was just a really proud dad moment for him and I was happy for him.”
The 6-2 175 pound athlete is a two-way player on the high school level, but most programs are recruiting Dunn to play as a defender.
“I play both offense and defense in high school, but in college I’d like to play DB and that’s where most schools are recruiting me, including Miami,” Dunn said. “My tape is mostly DB, and I play safety, corner, and receiver. I like corner better, but I’m in love with all three and I can play all of them. Corner, I feel like you can be up in their face more and be more aggressive, I like being in the opponent’s face. Safety is a little more laid back and it’s more about giving help.”
A visit to Miami could be coming as soon as this weekend for Dunn, as he will be in the area during UM’s junior day event for a 7-on-7 tournament and is hoping to stop by campus.
“They just have a history of really good football. I’d love to be a part of the program and help them rebuild to what they were before,” Dunn said of UM. “I’m actually coming up to Miami this Saturday, I have a 7-on-7 tournament, so I’m hoping I'll have time to see some of the coaches.”
Speaking of recruiting trips, Dunn recently took a visit to Tennessee last weekend after landing an offer from the Vols, and he seemed to enjoy his time in Knoxville.
“I liked what they told me about their coaching staff,” Dunn said of Tennessee. “Their coaching staff is amazing with how many players they’ve put in the NFL alone. They have a really good DB coach and head coach (Jeremy) Pruitt was also a DB coach too. Definitely the facilities are crazy, I love their dorms. But that’s only one school I’ve visited so I’m trying to get around and see if I like anything better.”
As of now, Dunn is planning on getting to see a few more schools during the spring, narrow down a top list, and make his decision during the summer months.
“I want to get it out of the way so I can focus on my craft and my senior season,” Dunn said. “Definitely will be looking at the coaching staff, I like the schools that will put me in a good position to play the position that I love. I take dorm rooms into consideration. I’d like to have a good set up with some privacy.”
While coaches and facilities will be priorities for Dunn in looking for his school of choice, he says distance from home is not likely to be a factor.
“I’m actually originally from Atlanta, Georgia, I moved to Kentucky in 9th grade,” Dunn said. “I’m not really a homesick type of person.”
During his junior campaign, Dunn felt he tangibly improved his game while helping lead South Warren to a 10-2 record in 2019.
“I think I did pretty good,” Dunn said. “I completed a lot of the goals that I was trying to accomplish, and I’m proud of myself because I went through the whole summer before and worked my butt off. It’s just nice to see that hard work really pay off.
“I had a certain amount of yards I wanted at receiver, at least 300, and I hit that. I had about 360 yards, 15 catches, 6 TD’s, which was up from 2 catches last year. I really exceeded my goals and I was really proud of myself for that. Also, defensive tackling – I don’t know exactly how many tackles I had, but I know it was a lot more than sophomore year. I just think it’s really important for me to climb and improve each year going through life and it’s important for me to take my experience and try and advance.”
What parts of his game will he be focusing on during the upcoming offseason?
“Most definitely going to be working on a lot of coverage and some man-to-man stuff,” Dunn said. “Going to be working on my footwork, my routes, just everything that is involved with what I play to get prepared for the college level.”
“maybe get him the ball more than once a game. his speed looks elite. he’s a take wherever he wants to play. 4 
️ all ******* day!
