Analysis: Miami nabs versatile, athletic defensive lineman in 3-star Daylen Russell

Miami three-star defensive line commit Daylen Russell became the first defensive lineman Hurricanes‘ 2024 recruiting class Saturday night — and Miami landed one of the more intriguing and underrated prospects in South Florida.

Russell, out of Miami (Fla.) Columbus, is the No. 995 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking and No. 94 defensive lineman, but the Hurricanes‘ staff was intrigued by his versatility and saw him as a prospect who could be used in a variety of ways.

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound lineman has experience playing off the edge at Columbus but has the potential to become a mildly undersized interior defensive lineman if he’s able to pack on additional weight. He could easily be used as a possible five-technique thanks to his speed off the ball and general quickness, and a year in Miami’s strength and weight program could turn him into a formidable defensive lineman.

The three-star defensive lineman recorded 51 tackles, seven sacks, and six tackles for loss during Columbus’ state championship run last season and showed an ability to consistently control the edge, spill counter plays and make plays on read options.

Russell proved fast enough to chase down speedy running backs and quarterbacks and tremendous lateral quickness. He also demonstrated enough strength and hand speed to get past slower tight ends and offensive tackles, although, like most freshmen linemen making the jump from high school to college, he could likely benefit from a year to adjust to the size, weight and physicality he’ll face at Miami.

He did, however, stack up generally well against his competition at Columbus, which had no shortage of elite talent including schools like Miami Central and Apopka in the state championship game. He also shows a healthy amount of room for development heading into his senior season, and programs like Florida State, Nebraska, Louisville and UCF will keep pushing to nab the three-star prospect.

His commitment also gives us a peek at how Miami’s defensive line and EDGE class is shaping up this season as the Hurricanes continue to emphasize the front seven in this recruiting cycle. In addition to Russell, Miami also has official visits set with five-star EDGEs Colin Simmons and Dylan Stewart and five-star defensive linemen Justin Scott and David Stone, one of whom is projected to land with the Canes.

Miami has continued to progress with the other defensive line prospects.

If all goes well, Russell could be the first commit in a Miami recruiting class that wants to go all-in on the defensive line.

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