With signing day behind us, here’s a look at South Florida’s top 2020 prospects
National Signing Day has come and gone for 2019.
Class of 2020: You’re now on the clock.
And like every year, South Florida is once again loaded with top prospects. Miami-Dade and Broward counties have 48 of the 125 prospects from the state of Florida that have been included in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2020 as of Thursday morning.
Included in that group are:
▪ The state of Florida’s overall top prospect in St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Marcus Rosemy, a five-star recruit ranked 29th in the country regardless of position who already has offers from 22 schools including UF, Miami, Florida State, Ohio State and Georgia. Rosemy led the Raiders last year with 764 receiving yards on 37 catches (20.6 yards per catch) and eight receiving touchdowns.
▪ Seven of the state’s top 25 players, hailing from six schools. St. Thomas Aquinas is the only school with multiple players. The second in addition to Rosemy is four-star offensive tackle Marcus Dumervil (No. 23 in state, No. 155 nationally). The other five: Miami Central four-star cornerback Henry Gray (No. 6 in state, No. 48 nationally), Belen Jesuit running back and Miami Hurricanes commit Don Chaney (No. 7 in state, No. 50 nationally), Miami Christian athlete Marc Britt (No. 100 in state, No. 83 nationally), Deerfield Beach running back Jaylan Knighton (No. 14 in state, No. 111 nationally), and Carol City defensive end and UM commit Samuel Anaele (No. 16 in state, No. 117 nationally).
▪ 15 of the country’s top 300 prospects, which would be the second-largest group to represent South Florida that high in the rankings over the past five recruiting cycles. Only the 2018 class was larger with 20 top-300 prospects. In addition to the seven already mentioned above, the other top-300 prospects are St. Thomas Aquinas linebacker and Penn State commit Derek Wingo (No. 197), Chamiande-Madonna defensive tackle and UM commit Willie Moise (No. 206), St. Thomas Aquinas receiver Jahvante Royal (No. 258), St. Thomas Aquinas linebacker Devon Betty (No. 260), Northwestern wide receiver Marcus Fleming (No. 269), Champagnat offensive lineman Joven Janvier (No. 270), South Dade linebacker Keshawn Washington (No. 273) and Gulliver Prep defensive tackle Westley Neal (No. 297).
Here’s a closer look at a few of those top prospects, as well as a few names on the rise as they head into their senior season:
▪ Henry Gray, DB, Central: A starter for the Region 4-6A finalist Central Rockets, Gray played every where in the secondary as a junior and was a key reason Central held seven of its 13 opponents to under 20 points last year.
▪ Marc Britt, ATH, Miami Christian: The No. 10 overall prospect in the state and third-highest in Dade transferred from Carol City to Miami Christian, where he will likely get more playing time. Britt finished his junior season with 420 yards and four touchdowns on 32 catches.
▪ Jaylan Knighton, RB, Deerfield Beach: Knighton led Broward County in rushing yards last season despite playing mainly in the first half of games with Deerfield Beach putting up massive leads on their opponents. He de-committed from Oklahoma on Jan. 16.
▪ Keshawn Washington, LB, South Dade: Washington, a 6-2, 177-pound linebacker, recorded 65 tackles, an interception and six pass breakups last year for South Dade while starting alongside a pair of seniors. He’ll likely be an anchor for the Bucs’ front seven in 2019.
Other names to watch
▪ Kenton Poitier, WR, Palmetto: Poitier was a basketball player for most of his high school career but made a big impression in his first year for Palmetto football last season. The 6-4, 190-pound receiver caught 29 passes for 538 yards and eight touchdowns as he helped the Panthers go 10-2. He’s already attracting attention of most of the top college football programs and has received offers from Alabama, Auburn, UF, FSU, Miami, Oregon, Georgia and Syracuse, among others.
▪ Henry Parrish, RB, Columbus: Parrish truly stepped up his game as a junior, rushing for more than 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns as he led Columbus to the Class 8A state championship game. A bruising running back who has a quick first step, Parrish is on the rise despite his three-star ranking.
▪ Frank Gore Jr, RB, Killian: The son of NFL great Frank Gore, Gore Jr. was a mainstay in Killian’s offense last season. He ran for 802 yards and five touchdowns while addding another 132 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches.
▪ Elijah Canion, WR, Chaminade-Madonna: Canion averaged 27.3 yards per catch last season for the two-time defending state champion Lions and led Chaminade with eight touchdown catches. He should be the team’s primary receiver next year with John Dunmore heading to Penn State.
.JPG)