2020 Deerfield Beach (FL) ATH and Miami commit Xavier Restrepo played the role of swiss army knife during his senior season, finding his way onto the field as a quarterback, receiver, safety, and kick returner for the Bucks in 2019. Despite Restrepo’s best efforts, Deerfield ultimately fell last weekend in the 8A semifinals to Columbus, 28-21, ending a 10-4 season, but the versatile athlete still felt the year went well overall.



“I felt that I performed good,” Restrepo said. “My versatility, I believe that’s one of the biggest components of my game. Put me anywhere and I’m going to make it happen... Other people may have found it impressive, but everything I did, I just felt like that was what I was supposed to do.



“Our season actually went pretty good. We came up short at the end, and it was a tough loss. We just wanted to make our head coach, coach (Jevon) Glenn, happy, but we came up short.”



That versatility is something Restrepo will hope to bring to Miami, but he expects to start his career at receiver when he gets to Coral Gables and go from there. That’s reflected in the staff members Miami is planning to send for his in-home visit in the next couple days (exact date not set in stone): along with head coach Manny Diaz, Restrepo is expecting to host Dan Enos, Taylor Stubblefield, and Eric Hickson.



“I’m going to Miami as an athlete, but I’m trying to focus on being a receiver first and getting that part down,” Restrepo said. “Once I master that position, I’m going to help the team out as much as I can. Whatever coach needs me as, I got him.”



Restrepo is enrolling early at Miami and will be on campus in January getting ready for spring ball in March. Like many other recruits, Restrepo plans on playing early at UM, but the 5-10 185 pound prospect also brings a work ethic that is rarely seen among his peers.



“When I come in, the main thing is I’m going to learn that playbook,” Restrepo said. “The competitive nature in me is just automatic - anybody that steps in front of me, anybody that’s fighting for the same job as me, we’re going to compete every single day. That’s just the type of person I am.”



While he’s been one of the few commits that hadn’t set an official visit date, Restrepo says he has now locked in his official visit to UM on Dec. 13th weekend, along with most of Miami’s commits.



“I’m just looking to enjoy it and have fun with all the commits,” Restrepo said. “We’re going to have a pretty big weekend to just enjoy things before we get to work. We’ll have our fun, but then it’s time to get serious.”



Of those commitments expected to join him on that trip is one of Miami’s newest pledges, Restrepo’s high school teammate Jaylan Knighton, who went public with his decision on Thanksgiving.



“I talked to him every day, making jokes here and there,” Restrepo said of Knighton. “We talked about playing together at the next level. Knowing that Miami was in his top 3, I stayed in his head about it, but it was his choice at the end of the day.”



What type of player is Miami getting in Knighton?



“An all-around back - he can catch, block, run,” Restrepo said. “He’s smart, has vision, and gives 100% every single play. One of his biggest components is that he’s a natural leader.”



Of course, the Canes just finished their 2019 regular season at a disappointing 6-6. As someone who has grown up following the program, Restrepo knows the standard for Miami football is higher, but he remains optimistic about the future.



“This year, we didn’t do that good, but I have 100% faith that next year, we’re going to get this thing turned around,” Restrepo said. “I feel like this 2020 class is just going to be remarkable. Out of the 21 commits we have, we have like 15 early enrolling - that’s awesome.”



Of the commits, Restrepo points to two that he talks to on a regular basis aside from Knighton.



“I talk to Tyler (Van Dyke) on an every-other-day basis, I just talked to him today actually,” he said. “I also talk a lot with Don (Chaney).”



