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BREAKING: Miami Norland standout Kenton Dopson III commits to Hurricanes

Stephen Wagner covers recruiting for the University of Miami for On3 Sports and CaneSport. He can be found on Twitter at @stephenwag22 and reached at Stephen.Wagner@On3.com.by:Stephen Wagner•03/13/25•

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Kenton Dopson
(Photo via Izubee Charles)

Miami (Fla.) Norland 2027 cornerback Kenton Dopson has committed to the Hurricanes over more than a dozen programs including Georgia, Penn State, Auburn and Florida State, the 6-foot, 175-pound prospect announced at a commitment ceremony Thursday evening.

Dopson is yet to be ranked by three of the four major recruiting databases but projects as a potential high-end four-star player — or potentially a five-star prospect. His commitment gives the Hurricanes their second pledge of the cycle to go along with Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage four-star receiver Ah’Mari Stevens following his commitment earlier this spring. Dopson could become the first Norland prospect to sign with Miami since Duke Johnson and Ereck Flowers came to Coral Gables in 2012, although former four-star prospect Issiah Walker transferred to Miami for one year after initially signing with Florida.

Dopson had long been high on the Hurricanes and has visited Miami multiple times over the last several years — including while he was in middle school — and has been to campus twice already this year. He’s been high on head coach Mario Cristobal for some time and has quickly built a relationship with new cornerbacks coach Zac Etheridge.

“I’ve been a Hurricanes fan since I remember,” Dopson told CaneSport after his Feb. 1 visit. “I was born into it.”

Dopson told CaneSport again earlier this month he was high on the Hurricanes and was intrigued by the opportunity to play college football in South Florida. Miami was the heavy favorite for Dopson in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine leading up to his pledge.

Dopson’s pledge gives Miami its third commitment this month and second defensive back commitment in the last two weeks. The Hurricanes also landed 2026 four-star offensive tackle Ben Congdon the first week of March and 2026 four-star cornerback Jaelen Waters last week.

CaneSport’s Take

It’s often hard for football fans to get excited about a commitment from a player more than a year ahead of his expected signing date (although we recognize reclassification is always an option), but Dopson is a player Miami fans should be stoked about landing. There’s a tremendous chance he could end up as one of Miami’s three or four highest-ranked commits in the cycle if he sticks with the Hurricanes, which I think he will, and will absolutely be a bonafide blue-chip prospect. I think Miami just landed a stud.

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