Bill Belichick on verge of stealing 4-star commit away from Miami football

A new recruiting note has the Hurricanes on alert: Rivals' Steve Wiltfong logged an expert prediction for North Carolina to flip Miami Norland cornerback Kenton Dopson, a 2027 Miami commit who is being monitored as a possible reclassification to 2026. The projection frames UNC as the program to beat as the Tar Heels push under first-year head coach Bill Belichick.

Dopson, listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, committed to Miami on March 14, 2025, and is widely regarded as one of the nation’s elite young defensive backs. In his sophomore season, Dopson recorded 16 total tackles (12 solo), three interceptions, 16 passes defended and a sack. Rivals positions Dopson among the top handful of CBs nationally and 247Sports lists him as a top CB with a 90 rating.

Wiltfong’s report signals momentum toward Chapel Hill while other multiple heavyweight programs have also pursued Dopson since his commitment. Dopson holds offers from Penn State, Syracuse, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Florida and Florida State, among others.

Dopson's potential reclassification may be a part of the prediction, despite Miami and Mario Cristobal giving him permission to join their 2026 Class. If he moves to the 2026 class, he joins four 4-star CB's with Jontavius Wyman, Brody Jennings, Jaelen Waters and Camdin Portis already committed (per Rivals). The tricky part is that UNC also has four CB's committed in the Class of 2026, although each of them are listed as 3-star players (per Rvials). Dopson would be joining Jaden Jefferson, Xavier Jackson, Keegan Chapman and Marcellous Ryan if he were to go through with the potential flip and officially decide to reclassify.

With no action just yet, and no clear, concrete reason for why he might flip, this remains a hold-and-fight recruitment. Keeping an elite CB home certainly seems possible and Miami will not go away without a fight.