Commits to Canes: Five Enrolled at Miami
Recently only considered commits, offensive lineman Sonny Odogwu, tight end Beau Sandland, linebacker Alex Figueroa, tight end Standish Dobard and offensive lineman Hunter Knighton are all officially part of the Miami Hurricanes football team. They enrolled in classes and will be able to take part in spring ball.
Junior college tight end Beau Sandland has brought with him a lot of expectations. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound big-bodied specimen has already drawn comparisons to former UM standout Jeremy Shockey from analysts and fans alike. He knew that the Hurricanes were in need of a pass catching tight end that would make an instant impact, and that is one of the main reasons he committed to the Canes. The Woodland Hills (Calif.) Pierce Community College product chose Miami over Nebraska.
The Hurricanes reached back into Louisiana to pull one of the state’s top ranked tight ends: Standish Dobard. He comes from a winning high school (Edna Karr/New Orleans, La.) and is a versatile player. What has been noticed even more than his ability—maybe just by his Twitter followers—is the amount of promotion he does for the Canes. He helps recruit prospects, represents Miami when he sees the opportunity and isn’t afraid to contact de-commits in an effort to get them back on board. Dobard (6-5/235) will give the Canes quality depth right away.
Out of the blue came the commitment of linebacker Alex Figueroa (Brooke Pointe/Stafford, Va.). He had an interesting journey to get to Miami’s campus after suffering from an injury his senior year of high school along with struggling academically However, that’s all in the past and he’s now roaming the campus at UM. His 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame will help add size to Miami’s linebackers while also filling another void left by the departure of former Miami linebacker Gionni Paul. The Canes first spotted him doing a workout for Fork Union Military Academy in Va. From there, they took down his information and stayed in touch with him throughout the process. This is a prospect that the Miami coaching staff has been evaluating for a long time.
Going back to his roots, Al Golden offered New Jersey native Hunter Knighton–who plays both offensive line and defensive tackle. Knighton, 6-foot-5 and 265-pounds, took his official visit to Miami and realized almost right away it was the college he wanted to attend. He then committed shortly after. A lot of speculation has come about over which position he will play at the next level because recruiting sites haven’t been able to agree on where he projects. The Princeton (NJ) Hun School athlete was told by Coach Golden that his potential is higher on the offensive side of the ball. If he struggles there, he could be moved to defensive tackle.
This Miami coaching staff is bringing the saying, “no stone left unturned” to another level. They continued that message with the commitment of 6-foot-9, 270-pound Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy offensive lineman Sonny Odogwu. He comes from very humble beginnings growing up in Africa without electricity. The coaching staff’s goal is to harness the raw athletic ability of Odogwu and turn him into something special. Enrolling early was a big step for him to get acclimated to college life and Division-1 football.
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