SI All-American Watch List: 16 Miami commits and 18 key UM football targets named

Top 10 position rankings start this week; preseason SI99 out in August

A strong push to keep local college football recruits at the University of Miami has paid off for Manny Diaz and his staff in the class of 2021. 

Led by five prospects from local powerhouse Miami (Fla.) Northwestern, including star safety Kamren Kinchens who committed July 11, 16 of the current Hurricane verbal commitments in the class were named candidates for the 2020 Sports Illustrated All-America team of high school senior football players.

18 prep prospects uncommitted or committed to other programs with Miami still under consideration were also named SIAA candidates. 

Listed below is the full breakdown of UM verbals and prime targets on the SI All-American watch list. 

VERBAL COMMITS

Offense:

RB Thad Franklin/6-0, 225/Hollywood, Fla.

WR Romello Brinson/6-2, 180/Miami, Fla.

WR Jacolby George/5-11, 161/Plantation, Fla.

TE Elijah Arroyo/6-4, 210/Frisco, Texas

TE Kahlil Brantley/6-2, 205/Miami, Fla.

OL Michael McLaughlin/6-7, 255/Parkland, Fla.

OL Ryan Rodriguez/6-3, 280/Miami, Fla. 

OL Laurence Seymore/6-2, 293/Miami, Fla.

Defense:

DL Savion Collins/6-4, 290/Miami, Fla.

DL Allan Haye/6-1, 296/Hollywood, Fla.

LB Ja'Corey Hammett/6-3, 205/Miami, Fla.

LB Tyler Johnson/6-2, 200/Miami, Fla.

LB Deshawn Troutman/6-1, 205/Orlando, Fla.

DB Tim Burns Jr./5-10, 155/Miami, Fla.

DB Malik Curtis/5-11, 160/Fort Myers, Fla.

DB Kameron Kinchens/5-11, 201/Miami, Fla.

TOP TARGETS

Offense:

QB Jacob Garcia/6-2, 195/La Habra, Calif.

RB Brashard Smith/5-9, 190/Miami, Fla.

OL Weston Franklin/6-4, 308/Jesup, Ga.

OL Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli/6-3, 350/Santa Ana, Calif.

ATH Yulkeith Brown/5-10, 174/Miami, Fla.

ATH Chase Smith/6-3, 190/Palm Bay, Fla.

WR Jaden Alexis/5-11, 175/Coconut Creek, Fla.

WR Kamonte Grimes/6-2, 205/Naples, Fla.

WR Malik McClain/6-4, 195/Bradenton, Fla. 

WR Quincy Skinner Jr./6-1, 175/Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Defense:

DL George Rooks III/6-4, 260/Jersey City, N.J.

DL Leonard Taylor/6-4, 255/Miami, Fla.

LB Thomas Davis/6-2, 235/Valdosta, Ga.

LB Jonathan Flowe/6-1, 200/Upland, Calif.

LB Cortez McKenzie/5-11, 185/Saint Petersburg, Fla.

DB Markevious Brown/6-0, 170/Bradenton, Fla. 

DB Jardin Gilbert/6-1, 175/White Castle, La.

DB Dink Jackson/6-2, 185/Melbourne, Fla. 

More than 1,000 student-athletes, representing every state in the country, are SI All-American candidates. Video highlights, scouting analyses and a list of each player’s college verbal commitment and/or top college contenders can be found on their bio pages, broken down by state, at SIAllAmerican.com.

Over the coming weeks, SI will unveil its preseason top 10 for each of 14 position groups (kicking off with quarterbacks this week). SI will unveil its initial top 99 ranking, the SI99, on August 24.

The evaluation process will continue throughout the season “until the list of 1,000 contenders coalesces around just 25 young men who can say proudly they are the best of the best -- they are Sports Illustrated All-Americans,” said SI Director of Football Recruiting John Garcia, Jr.

The candidates will be narrowed to 250 in October and 99 in November, and will culminate with 25 first-team Sports Illustrated All-Americans saluted at SI’s annual Sportsperson of the Year banquet in New York in December.