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Lafayette’s recruitment ends in Miami: A major signing for Hurricanes

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 Wagner19 hours agostephenwagOn3

Miami didn’t formally flip Orlando (Fla.) Lake Nona four-star EDGE DeAnthony Lafayette from LSU since he decommitted from the Tigers a day before committing to Miami Nov. 11. But in essence, he was one of the Hurricanes’ biggest flips in the final month before signing day.

Lafayette’s recruitment came to a close Wednesday when he signed with the Hurricanes three-and-a-half weeks after leaving LSU in favor of Miami. The No. 264 overall prospect and No. 28 EDGE drew interest from Miami’s staff this spring, but he turned into a full-blown flip priority for the Hurricanes this fall after he committed to LSU.

Miami defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Corey Hetherman stopped by his school during the Hurricanes’ final bye the week of Oct. 11, but the Hurricanes fully turned up the heat just after the Tigers fired head coach Brian Kelly and emerged as a team to watch by the end of October. Miami secretly hosted him for a game-day visit for its game against Syracuse Nov. 8 and emerged as the new frontrunner by the end of the weekend.

He committed to Miami the Monday following his quiet trip and one day after he decommitted from LSU.

“I’m excited to be coached by this coaching staff and just develop into a better player,” Lafayette told CaneSport a week after committing. “That’s what I’m really excited about. High school can be complacent. It’s easy to do that because it’s hard to find competition, but when you get to that next level, you’re going to have to work your [butt] off to be the best.”

Lafayette feels Hetherman employs a scheme that “lets everybody have fun” and thinks he could be comfortable playing in Miami’s defense. Lake Nona head coach David Aubrey described the 6-foot-0.5, 230-pound prospect as a “freak” athlete. He recorded 17.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss 46 quarterback pressures, three forced fumbles and an interception his junior year and 14.5 sacks, 24 tackles for loss, 32 hurries and an interception through the first 10 games of his senior year.

“We have a lot of outstanding athletes in this area, but he’s definitely different than what we’re accustomed to,” Aubrey said. “DeAnthony is 6-1, but he can take a basketball and stand dead still on two feet and dunk a basketball, so that just shows how explosive he is, along with his wingspan, but the kid can just flat-out get off the ground. He’s explosive. He’s strong. He’s twitchy is what sets him apart really. There’s a lot of big, strong, explosive kids, but he’s twitchy.”

CaneSport’s Take

Lafayette was a major get for the Hurricanes when they flipped him from the Tigers considering how coveted he became and how his stock continued to rise his senior season. He’s a pure pass rusher capable of getting after the quarterback, but he has the potential to become a hyper-versatile defensive star.

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