Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dean’s road less traveled
Junior college transfer comes home to play
CORAL GABLES — For Jhavonte Dean, taking those first steps onto the Greentree Practice Field was surreal.
Growing up in Homestead and playing at South Dade High, he dreamed of being a Hurricane. He wondered what it’d be like to play major college football at home, in front of friends and family.
But the cornerback’s journey to Miami wasn’t the typical one. The Hurricanes didn’t come calling when he was in high school. Instead, Cincinnati and Florida International were the schools that offered him a scholarship.
He signed with Cincinnati, but when his test scores weren’t high enough for him to qualify aca “Birdman” demically, he went west, landing at Blinn College in Denham, Texas.
Blinn had helped Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton get on his feet after Newton left Florida. It’s a place where even former Heat fan-favorite Chris Andersen spent time.
Could the school help Dean start building a future that would lead him back to major college football?
It turns out that his time at Blinn — located about a 45-minute drive from Houston — helped Dean capture attention from not just Miami, but Alabama, two schools that were impressed by his speed and ability to make plays.
Ultimately, Dean signed with Miami in February. He wrapped up his final semester at Blinn and returned to South Florida. Now, he’s looking forward to wearing not a practice jersey, but a real one when No. 18 Miami opens the season Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium against BethuneCookman.
“It was tough. I was away from my family and friends,” Dean said, discussing what it was like to play at the junior college level. “It was kind of hard. But I knew I had to fight through that to get where I am today. It was a learning process . ... Don’t take anything for granted.”
How much Dean will get to play this season for the Hurricanes remains unknown. He’s had his moments in training camp, where he’s shown himself to be an experienced, talented player. And he says he’s been clocked as running the 40 in 4.3 seconds, a time that will catch any coach’s attention.
But getting used to Miami’s tempo and how defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph want things done has taken time. He’s sought guidance from his roommate, Dee Delaney, a fellow newcomer at Miami and former All-American at The Citadel who is projected to start Saturday.
Dean’s coaches have seen progress, especially toward the end of camp, which the Hurricanes wrapped up late last week.
“He’s getting better. I told him there’s a curve that almost all guys follow when they come in and they’re new. The first week, they play really well. The second week is probably as bad as they can get,” Diaz said. “What happens is, we actually start coaching them. So we make the worse. We’re making them better, but they have a lot more to think about, right? And the more you start thinking about it, the worse you play. You start second-guessing yourself. You start playing slow.
“Finally, you start working through that. That’s where Jhavonte is right now. He’s fighting his way through that, but now you’re starting to see his confidence come back. His ability is there.”
With Miami’s secondary in transition after the losses of cornerbacks Corn Elder and Adrian Colbert, as well as safeties Jamal Carter and Rayshawn Jenkins, the Hurricanes will need unproven players to contribute if they are to contend for the Coastal Division title.
Delaney has already earned a starting spot, as has Michael Jackson, a junior with just 12 tackles in his time at Miami. Freshman Trajan Bandy will also see time in the rotation, as will sophomore Malek Young, who started three games last season.
Dean is expected to contribute too, and that, he says, is something he’s looking forward to doing.
“Coming in from junior college, that’s a big adjustment. Coming out here and competing with my teammates every day, that’s something exciting for us,” he said. “It’s a blessing for me to compete every single day. I’d say everything is going pretty well for us as a defense.”