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From long shot to signature: Miami Hurricanes sign top-150 DT Keshawn Stancil

Stephen Wagner covers recruiting for the University of Miami for On3 Sports and CaneSport. He can be found on Twitter at @stephenwag22 and reached at Stephen.Wagner@On3.com.by: Stephen Wagner20 hours agostephenwagOn3

Miami’s chances for Clayton (N.C.) four-star top-150 defensive tackle Keshawn Stancil, who formally became a Hurricane when he signed with The U Wednesday, seemed slim to none at the start of the fall. But when the Hurricanes saw an opportunity to add a player they coveted, they didn’t hesitate.

Miami heavily pursued the No. 86 overall prospect and No. 7 defensive lineman this spring before he committed to Clemson following official visits to Miami, Georgia, Penn State, NC State and Clemson, but all signs indicated the Hurricanes’ ship had sailed considering Clemson requires its pledges to shut down their recruitments after committing to the Tigers.

After several months of nominal contact with the Hurricanes’ staff and a casual conversations with director of player personnel Trip Carrico communication between the two sides suddenly picked back up in mid-October. Then, on a seemingly random Tuesday totally out of left field, the  6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive lineman silently committed to the Hurricanes before going public a day later.

“I’ve always liked the coaches at Miami,” Stancil told CaneSport. “Being down there multiple times just feeling at home, but Clemson also felt like home so I made a hard decision and I chose Clemson, but things happen and I’m a Miami Hurricane. No disrespect to Clemson either. Clemson’s a great school. I still love the Clemson staff, still love everybody over there.”

Stancil had tremendous respect for Clemson’s coaching staff and had built good relationships with the Tigers, but he remained interested in the Hurricanes during his pledge.

“Great coaching, great culture (at Miami),” Stancil said. “Really a lot of hospitality when I when I went down there and the coaches at Miami are real. No disrespect to Clemson because a lot of them were real as well, but Miami is real as well too.”

Clayton head coach Scott Chadwick saw some early similarities to former Hurricane and first-round draft pick Warren Sapp considering some skills he’s already demonstrated. He played defensive end in previous years before moving inside to play three or one techniques in four-man fronts or even a zero technique in a three-man front.

“He is the classic case of a guy who has the measurables and the skillset to be an NFL player,” Chadwick told CaneSport. “He’s 6-foot-3 right now and probably about 285 (pounds) (despite being listed at 6-foot-3 and 260). He’s still a guy that is probably well under sub-five in the 40. He is a strong kid, uses his hands well, has really good short-area quickness for a guy his size. I think basically what you’re looking at is a guy right now that weighs 280 that has the skillset and the agility and the short-area quickness of a guy who’s about 215. I think that’s the biggest thing that jumps out at you is he does things at his size that guys that are 50-60 pounds lighter are doing.”

CaneSport’s Take

Stancil is the highest-ranked defensive lineman in an outstanding Miami D-line class that includes five players – three-star linemen Tyson Bacon, Isaac Chukwurah, Logan Nagle and Frederic Sainteus. From everything we’ve heard, Miami is just excited to have him in Coral Gables as he is to be there.

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