Miami ramps up recruitment of Homestead defensive end Dante Anderson: ‘Every day we talk’
Dante Anderson has been talking to the Miami Hurricanes since he was a freshman at Miami Southridge back in 2019. The Hurricanes were one of the first teams to offer him a scholarship later in the year and he has been part of Miami’s recruiting board for as long as almost any local prospect in the Class of 2022.
As Anderson gets closer to making a decision, the Hurricanes are turning up their recruiting efforts on the four-star edge rusher.
“Every day we talk,” Anderson said after helping Homestead beat Miami Gardens Carol City 28-14 in a preseason game Thursday in Miami.
It’s a bit of a change, Anderson said. While the Hurricanes have kept in touch with him for more than three years, the communication hasn’t always been as consistent as it is now, he said. Miami is still looking for its first defensive lineman in its 2022 recruiting class — and its first South Floridian — and Anderson feels like he’s a priority at the start of his senior season.
The year started off pretty well, too. Anderson, who’s the No. 280 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for 2022, logged eight tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss in the Broncos’ preseason tune-up at Traz Powell Stadium. One of his tackles on fourth-and-goal at Homestead’s 2-yard line prevented Carol City from scoring a potential game-tying touchdown and Philip Simpson said there were a lot of plays his defensive linemen, Anderson included, “left on the field.”
“You saw a lot,” the Broncos coach said Thursday. “When we cut the tape, we’re not going to be happy with ourselves.”
The Hurricanes are currently in a bit of a holding pattern on the defensive line for the 2022 class. Shemar Stewart, a five-star defensive lineman from Miami Gardens Monsignor Pace, is probably the Hurricanes’ No. 1 target regardless of position and he won’t make a commitment until at least December. Anthony Lucas, another elite defensive lineman from Arizona, officially visited Coral Gables in June, but doesn’t have a timeline in place. Miami also still hopes to potentially sway elite defensive lineman Marvin Jones Jr. and Nyjalik Kelly, a pair of Broward County prospects, in the coming months.
While Anderson remains part of the picture, the Hurricanes could go in a variety of different directions at the position. Miami also remains in contact with three-star Homestead defensive lineman Daniel Lyons, who orally committed to the Florida State Seminoles in July, and the two seniors have talked about playing together in college.
The Hurricanes have good connections with the Broncos, too. Simpson was formerly an assistant coach at Southridge alongside recruiting director David Cooney. Simpson also still frequently trains defensive linemen in southern Dade County and he’d often work with Anderson, Lyons and defensive tackle Leonard Taylor all together. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson also played for Simpson in high school.
Anderson, 6-foot-3 and 205-pounds, still hears from the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Indiana Hoosiers and Penn State Nittany Lions, but Miami is firmly in the picture, too. He visited campus again when the dead period ended last month and defensive line coach Jess Simpson has made it clear the Hurricanes are keeping an eye on him.
Said Anderson: “He tells me to keep doing work.”
