Jhavonte Dean joined the Miami football program in 2017 as the nation’s top Junior College cornerback. Dean chose the Hurricanes over Alabama. His first season with Miami was a disappointment.
Dean had minimal success in his first season playing on the Miami football team. He lost out on a starting cornerback job to Dee Delaney who is trying to earn a spot on the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent. Dean also fell behind Sophomore Trajan Bandy on the depth chart.
Dean finished 2017 with 11 tackles and one pass breakup. He played in 12 of the 13 Miami football games last season. Dean returned home after playing two years at Blinn Junior College in Texas. He played in high school at South Dade.
Dean is one of only three returning cornerbacks on the Miami roster. Bandy and Senior star Michael Jackson are the other two. Dean is expected to be the third corner in the Hurricanes rotation. Bandy will start as one of the two outside corners with Jackson. Dean will play outside and Bandy move into the slot in the nickel.
In a series on the Miami defense, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson spoke to Hurricanes Safeties Coach Ephraim Banda in July.
"“One of his skills is man to man…where it’s, ‘I have this guy and I am going to take care of him.’ It’s up to me to get him acclimated to playing some zone as well. His teammates like Jhavonte because of his personality.If he’s not on the field, he’s that kid who is celebrating big plays [by others]. It’s up to me to get him to where he has success on the field.“This should be his breakout year. Maybe he can make a jump like Michael Jackson did [last year]. I told him, ‘You don’t have much time left [as he enters his senior year].’ I will push him as hard as I can. He does well in practice and preparing. He has to be comfortable playing the game.”"
Jackson was a first-year starter in 2017 as a Junior. He enters 2018 having been named preseason All-ACC first-team, a preseason All-American by UPI and is on the watch lists for the Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s best defensive player and the Thorpe Award as the best defensive back.
Jackson had limited playing time as a Sophomore in 2016. He made the leap as a starter last season and tied Jaquan Johnson for the team lead with four interceptions and Malek Young for tackles among the Miami cornerbacks with 43.
Dean seems to be maturing thus far through training camp. In the second Miami scrimmage of August, Dean had two interceptions. He was quoted in the Palm Beach Post discussing the interception and his outlook for 2018. Dean seems to be getting better acclimated to zone coverage as Banda said.
"“One of them was in zone [coverage]…My man ran up, the ball was thrown over the middle late and I was there to pick the ball off. And the other one was a slant route. The quarterback kind of threw it late and I jumped in front of it for an interception.”It’s a big year for me because it’s my last year…In the scrimmage, [defensive coordinator Manny] Diaz talked about having the potential to make plays. So I just felt like he was talking to me, and I just went out there and did my job and found the ball.”"
One of Dean’s strengths over Bandy is his height. Dean is 6’2, Bandy 5’9. Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz and his staff stress that their players are physical and as Diaz has said this summer “violent.” That’s an area that Dean has had to improve.
Diaz was also quoted in the Post discussing the improvements Dean has made since last season.
"“He’s doing a good job being physical at the point of attack…He has gotten a lot stronger through our strength staff. His coverage has not always been great. His coverage is really getting better, getting more consistent. A lot of it is just understanding the defense, and not just playing one coverage, but being able to rotate through the different calls.”"
With Jackson, Dean and Bandy the Hurricanes have three quality and experienced cornerbacks. Miami also brings in a stellar group of corners in the 2018 recruiting class. Dean should be able to hold off the Freshmen and continue to be the third cornerback.
The fourth Miami cornerback behind Dean will come from one of the Freshmen. Gilbert Frierson is currently the backup to Jackson. Al Blades Jr., D.J. Ivey and Nigel Bethel will all have a chance to challenge for playing time this season. All but Bethel were four-star signees coming out of high school.