Miami junior cornerback Trajan Bandy enters NFL Draft, citing a ‘family situation’
Trajan Bandy is the latest junior for the Miami Hurricanes who won’t be returning for his senior year.
The cornerback announced his intention to enter the 2020 NFL Draft on Friday with an Instagram post. His decision comes a day after Miami’s 14-0 loss to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the Independence Bowl, but the Miami Herald previously reported Bandy was leaning strongly toward skipping his senior season to head to the NFL.
“Canes Fam,” Bandy said in the Instagram post, “My plan has always been to play four years in college and graduate, but life has a way of throwing you off your plans. Due to a number of unforeseen off the field circumstances and discussions with my family, I am foregoing my senior season and entering the 2020 NFL Draft.”
Bandy is the third Miami junior to enter the NFL Draft, but, unlike wide receiver Jeff Thomas and defensive lineman Jonathan Garvin, Bandy suited up Thursday in Shreveport and broke up one pass in his final game as a Hurricane.
A source said Bandy’s decision to turn pro ahead of his senior season was influenced by family financial and health issues, and Bandy confirmed his decision was at least partially because of a “family situation.”
“I want to thank my mom and dad for supporting me my whole life. I also want to thank Manny Diazz and the Miami coaching staff,” Bandy said. “My position coach Mike Rumph has helped me become a better player and a better man in my three years with him. I will always be grateful for his lessons. Coach [Blake] Baker and Coach [Ephraim] Banda, I appreciate you for having my back and understanding my family situation. Coach [David] Feeley and Coach [Gus] Felder, thank you for investing your time and efforts with me in the weight room.”
Bandy, who will likely be picked on the third day of the Draft at the earliest, also thanked former coach Mark Richt in his announcement.
“I can’t forget Coach Mark Richt, who gave me the opportunity to play at Miami,” he said. “Last but not least, I want to give a shoutout to all of my teammates that helped me get to this point and pushed mee to be great.”
The 5-foot-9, 190-pound defensive back finished his final season in Coral Gables with 29 total tackles, three tackles for loss, nine pass break-ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Bandy, who was the No. 30 cornerback prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2017 coming out of Columbus, was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference honorable mention this season after he was a third-team selection in 2018.
Bandy had his best season as a sophomore in 2018, playing in all 13 games and amassing 36 tackles, 4 1/2 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, eight pass breakups and three interceptions. His career numbers in 36 games across three seasons: 90 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, 22 pass breakups, four fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and four interceptions. His career highlight remains a 45-yard interception returned for a touchdown against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as a freshman in 2017.
At cornerback, the Hurricanes also have sophomore Al Blades Jr., who started the final six games; sophomore DJ Ivey, who started six games earlier this season; and freshmen Te’Cory Couch and Christian Williams, who have both appeared in all 13 games, while playing mostly on special teams. Miami signed just one pure cornerback in its Class of 2020 when three-star Winter Park cornerback Marcus Clarke inked his National Letter of Intent on Dec. 18. The same day, Rumph said he would like to add at least one more corner to Miami’s 2020 recruiting class. and the Hurricanes offered three-star athlete Jamorri Colson, who projects as a cornerback, last Friday as the early signing period ended.
Bandy’s announcement isn’t the only bit of 2020 roster news Miami received Friday. Defensive lineman Scott Patchan also announced Friday he will be returning for a sixth season in 2020 after receiving a medical redshirt. Patchan, who started at defensive end Thursday with fellow defensive linemen Jonathan Garvin and Trevon Hill sitting out, had 33 tackles, six tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks this season, with one pass break-up and one fumble recovery.
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 1:59 PM.
