National Signing Day 2020: Elite safety Avantae Williams gives UM a Signing Day surprise
Good day to all.
National Signing Day is here and the Miami Hurricanes will be busy — although not as busy as usual — adding to its Class of 2020 throughout the day. Follow along for Miami recruiting updates all day here:
12:32 p.m.
SURPRISE! A good day just become a great day for Miami. The Hurricanes finished Signing Day with a splash.
Avantae Williams, a four-star safety from DeLand, made a surprising decision on NSD, choosing to sign with the Hurricanes over the Florida Gators, who were regarded as the heavy favorite in his recruitment.
The University of Miami has announced his official signing, giving UM a substantial victory.
Here’s what you need to know about Williams:
S Avantae Williams, 5-11, 170, DeLand
Other suitors: LSU, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Oregon
Williams spent more than a year orally committed to Miami from 2017-2018 and his long-standing relationship with the Hurricanes’ defensive coaching staff paid off on National Signing Day. The elite safety picked Miami as the winner of what ultimately became a two-team, in-state battle between the Hurricanes and Florida Gators.
Williams long seemed poised to sign with the Oregon Ducks after he committed to Oregon later in 2018, but he decommitted from the Ducks less than a month before the early signing period began, opening the door for Miami, Florida, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Mississippi Rebels to all get involved. He only visited the Hurricanes and Gators last month, though, and decided to stick with the coaching staff with which he had the most established relationship.
Williams, who is a cousin of former Hurricane and new Florida running back Lorenzo Lingard, was an Under Armour All-American this year and spent a week at the game with new Miami chief of staff Ed Reed, who coached one of the teams in Orlando.
12:09 p.m.
In non-Signing Day news, offensive lineman Cleveland Reed is once again listed on the Hurricanes’ online roster.
Reed was a four-star guard in the Class of 2018 and put his name in the transfer portal last year before announcing he would return to Miami. The Hurricanes, however, never publicly acknowledged Reed’s return. Consider this confirmation.
11:14 a.m.
Daran Branch was once orally committed to the Hurricanes, then he flipped to the Ole Miss Rebels last year. On Signing Day, the three-star cornerback from Amite in Louisiana inked his national letter of intent with the Georgia Bulldogs.
Miami had stopped recruiting Branch after landing a commitment from four-star cornerback Isaiah Dunson in January. The senior originally planned to officially visit Coral Gables this last weekend before the Hurricanes moved on.
10:32 a.m.
There are still a few decisions left to be finalized in Florida, but the Florida Gators will finish Wednesday at least tied for the most blue-chip signings from the state after four-star Columbus wide receiver Xzavier Henderson became Florida’s eighth in-state signing Wednesday.
The Hurricanes can still move into a tie for first, though, if four-star DeLand safety Avantae Williams picks Miami at 12:30 p.m.
The only remaining unsigned blue-chip players in Florida other than Avantae Williams are four-star wide receiver Venice wide receiver Malachi Wideman, who is orally committed to the Florida State Seminoles and not considering either of the other in-state schools from Power 5 Conferences, and four-star Miami Christian athlete Marc Britt, who is orally committed to the Gators, but doesn’t plan to sign a national letter of intent until Feb. 20.
9:34 a.m.
Keyshawn Smith has been on campus for weeks, but the Hurricanes finally officially announced him as a member of their 2020 class Wednesday.
A three-star wide receiver from Lincoln in San Diego, Smith previously signed with the Washington State Cougars in the early signing period before he got out of his national letter of intent in January when former coach Mike Leach left for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Instead of early enrolling at Washington State, Smith enrolled at Miami at the last possible moment and will be eligible to participate in spring practices.
Although he never visited Coral Gables before committing, Smith considered the Hurricanes his “dream” choice. He also picked up an offer from the Tennessee Volunteers late last year and Dave Dunn, his high school coach, expected interest to pick up after he caught 46 passes for 808 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior. He also had offers from the Boise State Broncos, San Diego State Aztecs and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
9:08 a.m.
It looks like Willie Moise won’t be signing with Miami on Wednesday. The three-star defensive tackle has been orally committed to Miami since 2018 — he’s the longest tenured member of the class — but 247Sports.com reported he won’t be signing a national letter of intent on Signing Day.
Moise spent three seasons at Chaminade-Madonna and transferred to Orlando Edgewater earlier this year as he tries to get his academic standing in order. This will leave at least one spot open for Miami in its 2020 class, which could be filled by Moise at a later date, or be available for a transfer or some other late addition.
8:10 a.m.
It’s official. The Miami Hurricanes have put their good housekeeping seal on the newest 2020 signee in football: consensus four-star cornerback Isaiah Dunson of Tucker High School in Tucker, Georgia.
Dunson, 6-2 and 180 pounds, is rated by 247Sports as the 21st best cornerback in the country and 31st best player, regardless of position, in Georgia. Rivals has him at No. 32 at his position and No. 35 overall in Georgia. ESPN has Dunson as the 31st best athlete nationally.
Other Dunson suitors were Florida State, Louisville, Mississippi, Kentucky and Texas.
Adding another cornerback to its Class of 2020 was a top priority for Miami after the early signing period and cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph accomplished it basically as soon as possible. Dunson officially visited the Hurricanes at his first opportunity last month and orally committed before leaving campus, scrapping previously planned official visits with the Mississippi Rebels and Texas Longhorns. Formerly committed to the Florida State Seminoles, Dunson is exactly the sort of prospect Rumph values with a lanky, 6-foot-2 frame and the ability to play press man-to-man coverage. The defensive back also possesses good speed and clocked 4.22 seconds in the short shuttle at The Opening regional in Georgia last year.
7:15 a.m.
CaneSport of the Rivals recruiting network posted that four-star cornerback Isaiah Dunson of Tucker High School in Tucker, Georgia, had already signed his Letter of Intent before his Tucker High School’s official signing ceremony.
The University of Miami had not announced anything regarding Dunson. He might be the only new signee UM gets today.
Here was Dunson’s tweet after he committed to the Hurricanes:
6:30 a.m.
Signing Day officially gets underway in half an hour as players can start sending in their national letters of intent to the schools of their choice at 7 p.m. It should be a mostly drama-free day for the Hurricanes and it’s possible all their letters of intent will be in early this morning.
Keyshawn Smith, a technically unsigned three-star wide receiver from Lincoln in San Diego, is already on campus and should be officially announced by Miami quickly. Isaiah Dunson, a four-star cornerback from Tucker in Georgia, is locked in with the Hurricanes and could send in his NLI before a drama-free signing ceremony. All Miami will be waiting on are decisions from Willie Moise and Avantae Williams.
Moise, a three-star defensive tackle in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, recently transferred from Chaminade-Madonna and will sign with the Hurricanes if he’s on track to qualify. Williams, a four-star safety from DeLand, will decide between Miami and the Florida Gators at 12:30 p.m.
The Hurricanes already have 18 members of their 2020 recruiting class signed up, plus Smith and three transfers — quarterback D’Eriq King, All-American defensive end Quincy Roche and kicker Jose Borregales — all already on campus. Once Dunson signs, 23 of Miami’s 25 available spots in the 2020 class will be filled, so the Hurricanes, at least in part by design, don’t have a lot of undecided targets lurking.
Miami expects to be all wrapped up by 1 p.m., which is when coach Manny Diaz will hold a press conference at the Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence in Coral Gables.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 6:30 AM.
