Meet the 2019 IUFB Recruiting Targets: Dane Belton

Image: Twitter.com

Written by: Kris Shankle (@Hoosierkris)

 When it comes to Florida prospects it’s hard to find a coach that has recruited the state as well as Tom Allen. The thing is Allen is the head coach for the Indiana Hoosiers, not one of the Florida schools. This past year he snagged nine prospects from the sunshine state in the class of ’18 and a quite a few were from Tampa. Tampa just happens to be where safety Dane Belton is from and once again Allen has made his interest known. It’s hard not to like the atmosphere that Bloomington has created for Florida players and Belton has definitely taken notice.

He started playing football when he was nine years old, but that wasn’t his first passion. That would belong to karate. Karate was fun for him and his brother joined him in doing it and it gave them something to bond over. It also got their competitive spirits going and after they both earned their black belts, it was time for the next challenge.

Dane and his brother weren’t sure of the answer, but they insisted on trying at least, so they went to their parents and asked for permission to play football. The answer happened to be ‘yes’ and for Dane football become an obsession. He fell in love with the game of football right away and as he puts it, “it was all over from there.”

Led by head coach Matt Thompson, Jesuit High School had great hopes on how the season would go. As most know though Florida is full of talented programs regardless of class level. It wasn’t a bad year though, as they did finish with a 6-5 record, but their season concluded with a loss to Lakewood.

Belton had himself a pretty good year on the field though. He played some offense, but his main impact was felt on the defensive side of the ball. He made plays all over the field, which led to 56 tackles, four of which came behind the line of scrimmage. Belton has a complete game, which he prides himself on. He led his team with four interceptions on the year and added four more pass breakups. He also caused a fumble.

The truth is, the team didn’t really have many leaders and bring back quite a few of their best players and that has Belton excited going into his senior season. He’s set a few goals for himself. He wants to help lead his team to a state title, which won’t be an easy task. He wants to simply just get better and become the best player that he can be, but most importantly to him, he wants to continue to grow as a leader. He wants the younger athletes to be able to come to him with any issues, but not only athletes but the students at Jesuit as well. Being able to become the guy that they look up to and lean on for advice is really important to him.

The recruitment of Belton is just starting to pick up, but that didn’t stop schools from coming at him before that. He has 11 offers in total with more to come in the future. Bowling Green, Missouri, Tulane, USF, West Virginia, Marshall, Rutgers, Temple and IU are just some of the schools to offer. Miami (FL) has shown some interest of late as well.

When it comes to his recruiting, Belton handles most of the day-to-day himself, but his parents do help when he needs it. That’s a lot to handle for a teenager, but he has plenty of support. His parents, as well as his karate fighting brother, are his main go to people, but Marshall McDuffie who attended FIU and had a brief NFL career is also in his ear as his trainer. He credits McDuffie with helping him out a lot in terms of his game and also how to handle himself as a football player. He’s definitely became a role model that Belton can put his trust into.

When it comes down to it though, it will be Belton’s choice on where he goes to school. The one thing that IU has in it’s favor is the “home” feeling. With so many Florida players already in Bloomington or on their way, it’s very enticing for him to think about playing on Saturday’s for IU. It’s given him a place he can potentially call home, but that isn’t the only thing he is looking for in a school. The academic side of things will also play a big role on where he goes. Contending and being able to set himself up for the future are the two biggest things. There isn’t a clear leader for Belton at the moment, but IU, Missouri and Toledo are recruiting him the hardest. The interest from IU is recent, but that won’t stop him from trying to make a visit in the near future as he wants to have his recruitment wrapped up by August so that he can sign in December.

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