High school teammates Davonte Brown and Daryl Porter Jr. reunite in Hurricanes secondary
In December 2019, American Heritage teammates Davonte Brown and Daryl Porter Jr. were set to go their separate ways.
Both players were standout cornerbacks for the Patriots. Brown picked UCF over Miami in the Early Signing Period, while Porter stuck with an earlier commitment and signed with West Virginia.
But the pair reunited in South Florida this offseason. Porter transferred from West Virginia before the 2022 season, and Brown picked the Hurricanes when he entered the transfer portal this year.
“I’m just blessed for the opportunity to play with someone I played with back in the day at Heritage,” Porter said. “The chemistry is going to be there with James Williams, Davonte Brown, so I feel like we’re going to be tighter together this year.”
In his first season with Miami, Porter played in nine games. Porter, a fourth-year junior, made 11 tackles and had two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Pro Football Focus gave him a 64.1 defensive grade. He said he is working on being more aggressive on defense this season.
“I feel I know the defense even more now,” Porter said. “(Secondary coach Jahmile) Addae has been helping me even more.”
Brown arrives in Coral Gables this season after a strong season with the Knights. The fourth-year junior had 30 tackles, two interceptions and four pass breakups last year. Pro Football Focus gave him a 66.7 defensive grade.
“I feel like last season, it was the little things,” Brown said. “Plays I made or plays I didn’t make came down to small details and just things I could see on the field before the play actually happened.”
Brown also has Miami roots, as his father, Selwyn, played defensive back for the Hurricanes in the 1980s. After Davonte committed, Selwyn told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he did not want to push his son to Miami.
“I wanted him to make his own decisions,” Selwyn Brown said in 2019. “I didn’t want to pressure him and (have him say) ‘My dad made me go to the U.’ He made his own decision.”
But Brown eventually made it to his father’s old stomping grounds, joining his former teammates on the Greentree practice fields, competing for starting roles in Miami’s defense after DJ Ivey and Tyrique Stevenson left for the NFL draft.
“Me and Daryl, we’ve been tight even when we went off to separate schools after high school. Always stayed in contact,” Brown said. “Just being able to play with him again brings back the high school memories at Heritage. Also playing with James, too, so just having the opportunity to have a Heritage secondary back there is pretty cool.”
Brown, Porter and Williams will not be the only American Heritage alumni on the field for Miami this coming season. Four-star running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and Brown’s younger brother, four-star cornerback Damari Brown, will join the team after graduating high school.
“I don’t know a lot of people who get to play with their little brother,” Davonte Brown said. “So just having the opportunity for him to come in, I can show him the way, help him, give him tips while I’m here. That’s going to be awesome.”
