Columbus DL Daylen Russell, reigning Dade Defensive Player of the Year, commits to Miami

Another local star is staying home with the Miami Hurricanes and this time it’s perhaps the best defensive player in Miami-Dade County.

Daylen Russell, a three-star defensive lineman from Columbus, orally committed to the Hurricanes on Saturday, making his announcement on Twitter.

Miami beat out Louisville and Nebraska to keep the 6-foot-1, 235-pound lineman home. He’s the ninth player to join the Hurricanes’ Class of 2024 and the fourth from South Florida.

Although he’s not a top-1,000 prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings for the 2024 recruiting class, Russell is the Miami Herald’s reigning Miami-Dade County Defensive Player of the Year for Classes 4M-3M and helped the Explorers win their second state championship last year.

Russell finished his junior season with 62 tackles, eight tackles for loss and eight sacks, and was at his best in the Class 4M title game. With a championship on the title, Russell racked up 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble to help Columbus beat Apopka in overtime.

His sack came on fourth down to force a crucial turnover on downs late in a game and the forced fumble was a showcase of everything he does well, chasing down a running back from behind on a screen pass.

The Explorers’ only loss last season was to Miami Central, which won Class 2M and a national championship, according to NationalHSFB.com. Columbus finished the year at No. 23 in MaxPreps’ national rankings.

“We feel we have a pretty good defensive line,” Explorers coach Dave Dunn said in January, “and he’s the best defensive lineman we have.”

Columbus’ line features multiple blue-chip recruits, including five-star edge rusher TJ Capers, who’s orally committed to the Cardinals, and four-star edge rusher Dylan Stephenson.

Russell was also a first-team all-county selection by the Herald as a sophomore.

Russell joins four-star St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Chance Robinson, three-star running back Chris Wheatley-Humphrey, and three-star Central linebacker Vince Shavers as the core of the Hurricanes’ 2024 class from Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Robinson, however, remains the only four- or five-star prospect committed to the Hurricanes so far.