Miami adds a big, physical corner to the 2023 recruiting class.

In this installment of The Recruiting Notebook, we meet a talented defensive back with a long history of championship performance at the Optimist and HS levels, who will continue the family legacy in Coral Gables: Ft. Lauderdale (FL) American Heritage 4-star CB Damari Brown.

Bio

Brown committed to Miami on National Signing Day. Here’s his Welcome to the U piece for this part of the narrative.

Recruiting Ranking

On the 247sports composite, Brown is a 4-star prospect, the #22 CB nationally, #42 in the State of Florida, and #185 player overall in this class.

Brown committed to Miami over offers from Alabama, Clemson, and Florida State from a strong list of 29 offers from around the country.

As A Player

Brown fits the mold of having prototypical size for his position at 6’2” 180lbs. He has good arm length as well, and those physical traits play well on the field. Brown uses his length to make plays on the ball, both breaking up passes and intercepting them.

The son of a National Champion at Miami — DB Selwyn Brown — Damari has championship pedigree. Additionally, as a player, Brown has won championships at every level of the game. His optimist teams routinely won championships, and he won a title and player for another in his time at American Heritage. Brown is used to playing with other elite defenders, sharing the secondary in 2021 at Heritage with Alabama signee Earl Little Jr. and West Virginia signee Jacolby Spells. He fit in seamlessly on that defense, and figures to do so again in college at Miami.

Brown shows good ball skills, making interceptions all over the field. He can develop his hands further, however, as he had to catch several interceptions twice after juggling the initial chance. Brown is a bigger corner and he uses his physicality well. He’s a sure tackler in both pass and run defense, a key trait for him finding his way onto the field in college.

Being the son of a former college DB, it’s understandable that the younger Brown has very good technique in coverage. That has only been further developed at American Heritage, a school coached by a former NFL DB and a program that has developed multiple 4 and 5-star players at this position.

Even with his success on the field so far, Brown will need to keep developing. He’s still got plenty of room to grow as a player, and that future growth will surely help him perform to the level needed here at Miami.

Here’s another look at Brown from 247sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins:

A bigger outside cornerback that sprouted like a weed between junior and senior seasons. Not only comes from a football family as his father won a national championship at Miami, but also calls the South Florida-based NFL factory that is American Heritage home. Is rather sound with his technique and has been coached up on how to play full-field, press-man coverage at a high level on Friday nights. Patient feet and looser hips allow him to mirror speedy wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. Does a nice job of gaining depth while in reverse and isn’t afraid to buy time with his hands. Constantly puts himself in position to make plays in the air, but does seem to be more content with batting the ball away instead of taking it away. Has shown a desire to get physical in run support, but will eventually need to figure out how to get college-sized ball carriers to the ground and must get better at fighting off blocks, especially if he’s working on the shot field. Doesn’t exactly have a ton of game reps under his belt having had to wait his turn in what is always a loaded Patriots’ secondary, but has found ways to step up and make an impact on big stages like against IMG Academy when he picked off FSU signee AJ Duffy. Should find the most success at the next level in an aggressive defensive scheme that likes to leave its corners in 1-on-1 situations. Must keep progressing as a player, but has the length and cover talent to develop into a multi-year starter for a College Football Playoff contender. Should provide some immediate special teams value with his frame and could probably make the transition to safety, if needed.

Strengths

• Size
• Length
• Championship pedigree from every level of the game

Weaknesses

• Average speed
• Still room to develop overall
• Tackling vs larger skill players

Miami Outlook

With other blue chip players at this position, namely the #1 overall corner Cormani McClain, it will be a fight for Brown to work his way onto the field early in his career. It could happen, sure, but growth will be needed from Brown to get there.

Overall, Brown has good potential and should grow into a rotational player if not starter down the line. He should be able to carve out a spot for himself on special teams, and his role on defense can grow over time as well. If he continues his upward trajectory, brown should be a multi-year starter at Miami and a solid addition to a rebuilding Canes defense in the not too distant future.

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That’s it for this installment of The Recruiting Notebook.

Go Canes