South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Staying close to home
From Killian High to UM to Dolphins, Redwine fulfills his allMiami football journey
MIAMI GARDENS — Sheldrick Redwine was a junior at Miami Killian High when he had his first moment that really let him know he had a future in football.
Redwine had the game-sealing interception late in a district rivalry game against South Dade, and it gave him the confidence that he could catapult himself from a budding college football prospect to one that could eventually go pro.
The journey took him through the University of Miami, where he became a Cleveland Browns’ fourth-round pick in 2019. Spending his first two NFL seasons in Cleveland, the Browns released him in late August. Earlier this season, he spent time with the New York Jets and was on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad before the Dolphins poached him this week.
“Ecstatic,” Redwine described his emotions. “Growing up down here, it’s always been a dream of mine to play at Hard Rock [Stadium] for the Hurricanes and then be able to play for the Dolphins. So, when it became a reality that they called me, it was like shocking. I had to sit down and really digest it, but I was extremely happy to get down here, ready to go.”
He will actually be held out of his first game with the Dolphins against the Buffalo Bills, missing out on a chance to play his fellow starting safety on the Hurricanes defenses of 2017 and 2018 in Jaquan Johnson. The two also grew up together and played in the same secondary at Killian, where Redwine was a cornerback at the time.
Redwine was signed to the team’s active roster to replace fellow safety Jason McCourty, who was placed on injured reserve, while the Dolphins also added former Hurricanes and Miami Norland running back Duke Johnson to the practice squad this past week. With Redwine not traveling Saturday, the Dolphins elevated defensive back Jamal Perry from the practice squad.
Redwine and Duke Johnson join such examples of South Florida high school football products to play for UM and the Dolphins as Frank Gore, Lamar Miller, Vernon Carey, Olivier Vernon, Ereck Flowers, Brett Perriman, Randal Hill, Craig Erickson, Twan Russell, Allen Hurns, Mark Walton and Danny Isidora.
Redwine, Miller and Hill each went through Killian to get there.
It’s a career path that nearly didn’t take off for Redwine had he responded a different way to the tough love he received from high school coach Cory Johnson and assistant Derrick Lordeus, who is also Redwine’s stepfather, early on at Killian.
“He did not like us. He did not want to play. He didn’t want to stay with us after his ninth-grade year,” Johnson told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He thought we were hard on him. He thought we didn’t like him. But that was just our way of saying, ‘Listen, two things: You’re going to rise to the occasion or you’re going to end up watching on the side.’ “
Redwine was small, so he didn’t have the ideal size to be a touted college prospect, but suddenly, he hit his growth spurt as a sophomore.
“One day, we were talking in the kitchen,” Lordeus recalled, “I looked up and he was
taller than me. I said, ‘Damn, when’d you get taller than me?’ ”
Redwine quickly learned how to play with his newfound size. As he was still developing, the spring between his sophomore and junior season, he ran through a teammate in a tackling drill in practice, bringing a level of physicality that hadn’t yet been seen from him. The team had video of the hit, and in some early days of social media getting incorporated into college football recruiting, he sent it out to as many college coaches as he could.
Redwine started gaining some interest, but he was still splitting time with a senior to start his junior year. Before he had his big moment against South Dade that 2013 fall, increased playing time first arrived when the senior couldn’t answer what Johnson felt was a simple question about the team’s coverage against a certain formation in an early-season game against North Miami Beach.
“I walked over to Sheldrick,” Johnson said. “I said, ‘Sheldrick, you either got to man up and grow up or you’re going to fail, but that guy ain’t playing for me the rest of the season.’ ”
It set Redwine up for his successful junior year, and after another strong summer, he had more moments as a senior with the Cougars. Among his highlights was a go-ahead pick-six in a game against Carol City that lifted his team to victory.
He didn’t have an offer to attend Miami
until within a week of National Signing Day 2015, but when the offer from his dream school came in, he backed off his previous pledge to Louisville in order to stay home and play with secondary mate Jaquan Johnson.
By the time the tandem rose to become juniors with the Hurricanes, Redwine made the switch from cornerback to safety, and the combination started together on the back end of UM’s defense. Redwine surprisingly became the first Miami player drafted in 2019 when he went in the fourth round. Johnson was a sixth-round pick of the Bills.
“It’s crazy just the way stuff works out,” said Redwine of the career paths of he and Johnson. “Playing from little league, high school to college, getting drafted the same year.”
While Redwine will miss their first matchup as a Dolphin, the two are now in the same division, so it could set up future meetings if Redwine sticks with the organization beyond this season.
“It’s going to be a great experience,” said Redwine, who got to face him before as pros during his time with Cleveland. “It was funny having to block him, he’s blocking me [on special teams]. It’ll be great to be able to see him on the opposite side again.”
Only participating in his first three practices with the Dolphins this past week, Redwine didn’t know yet as of Friday if he would factor into immediate plans.
“We had some love for him coming out [of college],” said Dolphins coach Brian Flores said earlier in the week. “I think he’s got some ability. We’ll get him here, kind of teach him the system and try to get him going. He plays in the kicking game, as well. We’ll see. Got to get him here and get him going.”
Redwine had two interceptions during his time with the Browns, including a playoff pick of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger last January. As the Hurricanes’ first two years of the Turnover Chain coincided with his two starting seasons as a junior and senior, he wore it a total of seven times with five interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
“I’m going to have to turn the stadium up,” he said if he forces a turnover at home while with the Dolphins. “I love celebrations. So, when I get the chance, I’m going to definitely do what I have to do.”
With Redwine going from the Browns to the Jets to the Panthers and now the Dolphins in a matter of roughly two months, his high school coach hopes he takes advantage of this opportunity to prolong his career.
“I hope that fire comes in him,” said Cory Johnson, channeling some of the tough love he coached him with at Killian. “This is his third team in a year. Once that cycle starts happening, pretty soon, you’ll look up and you’ll be gone.”
Said Lordeus: “He knows he’s got to come in and take care of business. It’s like a one-day honeymoon, and then it’s back to work.”