Happy Thanksgiving Canes fans. Broward County’s top running back just committed to Miami
Happy Thanksgiving, Miami Hurricanes fans: Miami may have just put together the group of running backs in the Class of 2020. The Hurricanes added a second blue-chip running back to their 2020 recruiting class Thursday when Deerfield Beach star Jaylan Knighton went public with a commitment to Miami on Thanksgiving.
The four-star all-purpose back announced his commitment with a video and written message on Twitter.
After a long thought process I have made a decision that supporting the city I grew up in is the best fit for me,” Knighton wrote. “I would like to thank every coach that took the time to teach me, encourage me, and show me it’s OK to be different!”
Knighton, the No. 100 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the 2020 recruiting cycle, joins Belen Jesuit four-star running back Donald Chaney Jr., the No. 30 overall prospect in the country, as two of the offensive centerpieces to Manny Diaz’s first recruiting class as coach of the Hurricanes. Knighton, who decommitted from the Florida State Seminoles on Nov. 4 and was previously committed to the Oklahoma Sooners, picked Miami over Florida State, the Florida Gators and the Ohio State Buckeyes. The tailback has spent time in both Gainesville and Coral Gables since decommitted, but his unofficial visits with the Hurricanes have been more frequent given his proximity to campus. Miami’s constant face time with the 5-foot-9, 184-pound senior paid off Friday.
While Knighton had planned to take an official visit with the Gators next month, it’s not immediately clear whether his oral commitment to the Hurricanes will change his plans.
If Miami can hang on to the tailback and have him sign in the early signing period in December, the Hurricanes could wind up with the best running backs tandem in the cycle and a pair of athletes who serve as ideal complements. Chaney, 5-11 and 203 pounds, is the prototypical every-down running back and he ran for more than 4,000 yards in his career in his career with the Wolverines. Knighton is classified as an all-purpose back for a reason — Knighton has run for more than 1,400 yards this season while averaging nearly 10 yards per carry and also has more than 200 receiving yards. It’s easy to envision a long-term scenario in which Chaney handles early downs and Knighton carves out a niche as an elite third-down running back.
Both could get on the field early, too. DeeJay Dallas could declare for the 2020 NFL Draft, which would leave fellow running back Cam’Ron Harris as the only tailback with any meaningful game experience. Chaney and Knighton, both of whom plan to early enroll, would get a chance to compete with running backs Lorenzo Lingard and Robert Burns for playing time behind Harris.
Knighton’s commitment comes less than a week after Diaz sent out a series of alerts about commitments the coaching staff received. Diaz, who usually tweets a graphic of a hurricane flag when he gets a commitment, sent out three last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Four-star wide receiver Dazalin Worsham orally committed to Miami on Friday and now Knighton’s pledge means two of the three commitments have gone public.
With 20 public commitments, Miami currently boasts the No. 2 recruiting class in the Atlantic Coast Conference and No. 16 class in the country, even after suffering a pair of decommitments this week.
This story was originally published November 28, 2019 at 5:30 PM.
