Elite local RB commit Donald Chaney Jr. not concerned by Miami Hurricanes’ shaky start
Donald Chaney Jr. has, apparently, run out of ways to say he’s fully committed to the Miami Hurricanes.
He has said he’s 100 percent committed. He has said he would like to be the leader of Miami’s Class of 2020. Since the moment he orally committed to the Hurricanes in June, Chaney has unwavering outright faith in Manny Diaz and “The New Miami.”
On Wednesday, he didn’t even need words. All he did when asked if anything has because of Miami’s shaky start to the season, was make a series of hand gestures. He held up one finger, then twisted it into circle, which he shook twice. “One hundred,” he spelled out, even as other coaches have continued to poke around about his potential interest.
“I don’t say anything,” Chaney said Wednesday ahead of a practice at de la Cruz Stadium in Miami. “My dad always told me that you never know. You can never shut anyone down because what if they’re on an NFL team and they wanted to draft me, and they’re like, ‘Oh no, he doesn’t have good character?’ My dad always taught me that and I never stop thinking about that.”
So far, he is the prize of the Hurricanes’ 2020 recruiting class, a borderline five-star prospect and Miami’s top-ranked pledge in the 247Sports.com composite rankings. The Miami Belen Jesuit senior the No. 6 running back in the country, the No. 5 player in Florida and the No. 1 player in Miami-Dade County — exactly the sort of player the Hurricanes have to stop letting leave South Florida.
Even the underwhelming start to Diaz’s tenure isn’t deterring Chaney. The 5-foot-11, 203-pound running back has been to both of Miami’s games at Hard Rock Stadium, plus the opener against the then-No. 8 Florida Gators in Orlando last month. He has attended practices and witnessed how they have translated to the field for the Hurricanes’ best moments in Miami Gardens.
He isn’t afraid to keep referring to the program as “The New Miami,” either. Diaz’s offseason bluster isn’t just talk, Chaney said. He watched enough Hurricanes practices in the last few years to believe there is a real culture change occurring.
“They’ve changed their practice. They do exactly what they do in practice and it relates to the game,” Chaney said. “It’s ‘The New Miami.’ Everything’s fixed, everything’s changed, everything’s new. I really, really like it.
“I know the difference.”
What he has seen behind the scenes makes Chaney unconcerned about the Hurricanes’ relatively slow start to the year.
Chaney wants to help build Miami back up into the power it once was and he understands almost every team has its growing pains on the way to success. The Wolverines, he said, are a perfect example. Belen Jesuit lost its first two games before rattling off three victories ina row heading into a game against Central on Friday in Miami.
“We’ve got a hard-working team. We work every week,” Chaney said of the Hurricanes. “I’ve been going to practice. It’s a fast-paced practice and I’ve obviously seen it relate to the game, and I know they have their ups and downs, but it’s what a team does. We have our ups and downs, as you can see.”
Most of the 24-player recruiting class for the 2020 cycle has been adamant in their full commitment to Miami and most of the class recently formed a group chat. It has been the perfect chance for Chaney and some of the other local prospects to get to know the out-of-state players who make up a huge chunk of the class.
“We always like joke around with each other every day. It’s a really funny group chat,” Chaney said. “We like clown each other. We’re getting close before we even see each other in person.”
Romello Height, a three-star outside linebacker from Georgia, is the funniest person in the chat, Chaney said, followed by Corey Flagg, a three-star inside linebacker from Houston.
Tyler Van Dyke, a four-star quarterback from Connecticut, is a little bit different, Chaney said.
“You know who’s the quietest? TVD,” Chaney said. “He’s like a chill person all the way through. You’ll never get no anger out of TVD, at all. Nobody can bring him out of his character. I like that.”
It all sounds like the words of a player who couldn’t possibly swayed from his commitment and it is.
Just ask him: Nothing could cause him to flip?
His answer is simple: “Nope.”