South Florida '19: the DBs

[DMoney]

Better late than never. This has been sitting on my shelf for a while, so I figured it was time to close the book on the 2019 class. This final feature will focus on the signature position group in South Florida football-the defensive backs. Even though this class might not be as deep as 2018, it is still a loaded group.

CORNERS

Akeem Dent- 5’11, 176, 4.54*(Palm Beach Central)- Two-way star with a complete game. Although he projects as a corner, he plays like a missile at safety. High-energy and competitive. Arguably the most athletic player at the NIKE Opening (116.13 SPARQ). FSU signee.

Senior HL

Kaiir Elam- 6’1, 182, 4.51* (Benjamin)- Small-school standout with some prototype tools. Similar build to Divaad Wilson from UGA. Held up well when he faced top competition in the offseason. Florida signee.

Senior HL

Te’cory Couch- 5’10, 148, 4.51* (Chaminade)- Skinny, long-armed South Florida corner with speed. Had a spectacular senior year, including a state title and an eye-opening performance at the Under Armour game. Competitive and runs hard to the football. Fluid mover. Needs to get stronger. 10.85 100M. Miami signee.

Senior HL

Jaden Davis- 5’10, 166, 4.58* (STA)- Pure cover corner who makes up for average size/speed with footwork and IQ. Good recognition in run game. Has the ability to play outside but would thrive as nickel. Oklahoma signee.

Senior HL

Jarvis Brownlee- 5’10, 169* (Carol City)- Aggressive, physical corner with exceptionally long arms. Can play zone or man with good instincts. Likes to hit. No official times but plays like a 4.6 guy. FSU signee.

Senior HL

Adrian Cole- 5’11, 165, 4.70* (Plantation)- This guy has a chance to be awesome. Superb athlete (40 VJ, 4.07 shuttle) with ball skills. Good instincts in the running game. Plays low and under control. Only weakness is lack of top-end speed but plays fast. Syracuse signee.

Senior HL

Zay Flowers- 5’10, 165 (University)- I originally wrote him up at WR but he belongs on defense. Sudden player who gears up quick. Physical tackler. Can blitz. Very good all-around skillset on both ends. Boston College signee.

Senior HL

Semar “Ace” Melvin- 5’11, 163, 4.63* (STA)- Long and bouncy corner (38 inch VJ) who loves to press. Was overshadowed by Al Blades, Asante Samuel and Jaden Davis in the STA backfield but showed his talent as a senior. Solid upside as he gets stronger. Wisconsin signee.

Senior HL

James Williams- 5’10, 175 (Chaminade)- The other corner next to Te’Cory Couch. Has big game experience in back-to-back trips to Orlando. Good awareness with the ball in the air. Wisconsin signee.

Senior HL

Josh Sanguinetti- 6’, 173, 4.86* (University)- Elite ball skills. Excellent guard on the hardwood. Plays WR, S and PR. Lacks big-time physicality or speed. 79-inch wingspan. Is he a safety or a corner? Indiana signee.

Senior HL

Tiawan Mullen- 5’9, 154* (Coconut Creek)- Brother of Clemson star Trayvon Mullen. Not as athletic as his brother but has good feet. Willing in run support. Showed well in Army All-American game. Indiana signee.

Senior HL

Deante Nelson- 5’10, 166* (Pahokee)- Do-it-all athlete with great feet. Returns kicks, plays receiver, QB, corner and safety. Makes a ton of plays. Could be the next Pahokee sleeper to go from a small college to the pros. Underrated. FAU signee.

Senior HL

Chris McDonald, Jr.- 5’10, 175 (Southridge)- Smallish corner with very good twitch. Can click and close on the ball quickly. Has been on the radar since his freshman year. Toledo signee along with his teammate Joe Smith.

Senior HL

Marcus LaFrance-6’2, 168* (Deerfield Beach)- Long-armed corner who can locate the ball. Confident and will compete with big names. Opened eyes on the camp circuit. Similar to Josh Sanguinetti- is he twitchy enough for corner or physical enough for safety? Middle Tennessee St. signee.

Senior HL

Darius McClendon- 6’1, 168, 4.74* (Forest Hill)- Another long corner signed to Middle Tennessee St. Plays all over the field for small school. Speed is below average but has some burst (35 VJ).

Senior HL

Larry Robbins- 5’7, 165, 4.59* (Northwestern)- Undersized spark plug in the Bulls secondary. Plays bigger than his size. Not afraid in run support. Projects as a nickel corner. Buffalo signee.

Senior HL

SAFETIES

Tyrique Stevenson- 6’1, 202, 4.48* (Southridge)- Maybe the best player in South Florida. Combines excellent measurables (10.88 100M) with outstanding football instincts. Returns punts, catches passes, plays man, tackles. Looks like a grown man. Georgia signee.

Senior HL

Jordan Battle- 6’1, 187, 4.57* (St. Thomas)- Complete safety. Excelled in man coverage during the camp circuit and has the measurables to play corner. Nose for the ball. Emerged as a dynamic return man as a senior. Also a very good basketball player. Alabama signee.

Senior HL

Keontra Smith- 5’11, 195, 4.55* (Chaminade)- Twitched-up safety who is one of the best tacklers in the class. Made a big splash as a freshman and has progressively moved closer to the ball (LB as a senior). Elite testing numbers (104 SPARQ). Covered well and on the national champion SFE 7-on-7 team. More straight line than fluid. Also a pretty good RB. Miami signee.

Senior HL

Mark-Antony Richards- 6’1, 195, 4.56* (Wellington)- Gifted playmaker who can impact the game in multiple ways. Similar athlete to his brother. Not as fluid but a better straight-line runner. Dominated average competition. Raw on defense but has the ability to excel at CB or S. Excellent instincts on both ends. Auburn signee.

Senior HL

Cornelius Nunn- 6’0, 170, 4.54*(Palmetto)- Dade County playmaker who can contribute at CB, S, WR and PR. Had a monster senior season which earned him a Miami offer. If he stays focused, he can be a star. Syracuse signee.

Senior HL

Joe Smith- 6, 190* (Southridge)- Underrated box safety that can strike. Gets low and pops. Solid in coverage with a nose for the ball. Excellent instincts. Signed with Toledo.

Senior HL

Cecil Powell- 6’1, 193 (Piper)- Former LB who exploded on the scene as a senior. Grabbed 8 INTs and returned multiple kicks for TDs. Track star who qualified for state in the 400M (48.10), the long jump (22’5.25) and the triple jump (44’10.25). NC State signee

Senior HL

 

[CaneDog66]

Thanks D$. Let’s hope we get the most production out of our 2 signees rather than FSpew and the other schools. I think Smith has the potential to play serious minutes come Fall. Couch like you said needs to bulk up big time in the S&C program but I like him as the eventual nickel replacement for Bandy.

 

[Alex Del Piero]

Too bad about Nunn and Jaden Davis.

Brucelee used us. I hope he fails badly.

 

[mjl7atlas]

Not understanding how FSU managed to get any of these recruits. Well, any recruits at all for that matter. Place is a disaster and will be worse this year than last.

 

[mirvin88]

Not understanding how FSU managed to get any of these recruits. Well, any recruits at all for that matter. Place is a disaster and will be worse this year than last.

Who cares about their DB haul. They have way too many to even see the field. Most will hit the portal.

 

[Dawgcane]

We got to do better than 2 out of top 10 going forward are will never get up to some of the SEC depth of quality players.

 

[theibisrules]

Cool thanks for the write up..late or not its appreciated.

 

[pumbaa]

Piper represent!

 

[OrangeBowlMagic]

Christian Williams probably saved Rumph's *** somewhat. I really hope that kid turns out to be good because, although I think Couch is a steal and will outperform his ranking, there were 4 ELITE CBs in Florida this year. Dent, Elam, Stevenson, and Jay. No shame in not pulling Jay...Madison is to FSU as Lakeland is to UF. But when the dust settles, FSU got 2 of those kids, UF got 1, and Miami got 0. Just can't have that type of recruiting and expect to win how we want to win here.

But Williams was a big pull. You simply cannot sit in South Florida and sign 2 DBs in a class. That can't happen. So getting Williams was absolutely necessary. Rumph has proven he can develop kids at that spot, so let's let him work with the 2 he got this year. But eventually we've got to start getting the best of the best in this state.

 

[Ver]

Melvin sounds like somebody we should have been after

 

[gacaneaddict]

Elam had strong family ties to UF. Probably similar to a Bosa type deal there.

I would imagine Dent and Stevenson got hefty pay days to sign with free shoes and ugly dogs.

Teams spend big money for elite DBs in South Florida. Campbell, Jobe, Stevenson, Dent.

How do we combat it? Win and produce numerous high draft picks can help, but there will always be players that take bags.

 

[DerekDohrman]

Christian Williams probably saved Rumph's *** somewhat. I really hope that kid turns out to be good because, although I think Couch is a steal and will outperform his ranking, there were 4 ELITE CBs in Florida this year. Dent, Elam, Stevenson, and Jay. No shame in not pulling Jay...Madison is to FSU as Lakeland is to UF. But when the dust settles, FSU got 2 of those kids, UF got 1, and Miami got 0. Just can't have that type of recruiting and expect to win how we want to win here.

But Williams was a big pull. You simply cannot sit in South Florida and sign 2 DBs in a class. That can't happen. So getting Williams was absolutely necessary. Rumph has proven he can develop kids at that spot, so let's let him work with the 2 he got this year. But eventually we've got to start getting the best of the best in this state.

who is jay and what is madison? i dont see anyone above with that name from that city

 

[JerseyCanes]

Have to be impressed with Wisky coming down getting 2 top Corners to play up in that cold...

JC

 

[OrangeBowlMagic]

who is jay and what is madison? i dont see anyone above with that name from that city

Jon Jay...he played baseball here and is currently a member of the Chicago White Sox Baseball Club.

 

[Ric Flair Blitz]

Shouldn't have lost Dent, or Jaden Davis

Battle, Tyrique, MAR, and Elam were never coming here

Nunn and Brownlee are both clowns that are likely to go down in a sea of flames

 

[skeeter]

I like Nelson, Lafrance, and Flowers as sleepers we could have looked at late when the flake Brownlee bailed...Early signing period makes things tough though, and with one smallish corner already in the fold, Lafrance would have been the only with size they could have considered.

 

[DMoney]

The two unheralded guys I'll be watching closely are Adrian Cole (Syracuse) and Zay Flowers (Boston College). Like their upside.

Team-wise, Syracuse and Toledo did well down here.

 

[BeachCanes]

who is jay and what is madison? i dont see anyone above with that name from that city

Travis Jay from Madison county FL. One of the more impressive highlight reels I saw this year and listed at 6’1.

 

[bocacane]

The two unheralded guys I'll be watching closely are Adrian Cole (Syracuse) and Zay Flowers (Boston College). Like their upside.

Team-wise, Syracuse and Toledo did well down here.

Syracuse??? really???? Dino must have done one helluva sales job! who would want to live and play in Syracuse, NY... you move FROM Syracuse, not TO Syracuse... Not that Toledo is heaven on earth either.

 

[CaneSinceO7]

I would've traded Brownlee for Melvin, Mullen or Davis, Powell sounds better than Damarious Good also