Miami Hurricanes 2026 Recruiting Notebook: DT Frederic Sainteus

In this installment of The Recruiting Notebook, we meet a talented defender joining Miami’s deep and talented defensive line: Naples (FL) St. John Neumann 3-star DT Frederic Sainteus.

There’s been a clear paradigm shift for the Miami Hurricanes, prioritizing players who show growth and production on the field as seniors. And they didn’t have to look far to find one to join the defensive line with Naples (FL) St. John Neumann DT Frederic Sainteus.

Sainteus’s path to Miami is unique to say the least. Born and raised in Haiti, Sainteus never played football growing up. His family left Haiti in 2022 to escape rampant political and gang violence in the island country, moving to Southwest Florida. After enrolling at Naples (FL) Golden Gate HS, Sainteus discovered football for the first time, and quickly joined the team.

Like many immigrants, Sainteus didn’t speak a word of English when he arrived in America. He practiced the language with his new friends and teammates through summer workouts, and picked things up very quickly.

A 6’5” 280lb Defensive Tackle, Sainteus made his football debut in 2023. He played JV this year while learning the game and position. After a year to acclimate, Sainteus was ready for varsity ball. As a junior in 2024, he totaled 71 tackles (7 TFL), 6 QBH and 5.5 sacks in 9 games. Though his performance didn’t garner much immediate attention, things changed when Sainteus hit the camp circuit in the Spring of 2025.

Sainteus put on a show and earned an offer at the first camp he attended at Florida Atlantic. After several other camps, not all of which ended with a scholarship offer, Sainteus made the choice to go with his first offer, and committed to FAU in June.

That was far from the end of the story, however. Sainteus continued to take visits to camps and put on great performances through the summer. So much so that major P4 teams took notice and started offering him. Miami, Florida, Michigan State, and Syracuse all offered Sainteus at the end of July, and his recruitment picked up again.

After an unofficial visit to Florida, and official visit to Michigan State, Sainteus decommitted from FAU early in September. While Florida State hopped into the fray with an offer shortly after his decommitment, it was too late for the Noles.

Sainteus committed to Miami on September 24th. He would follow that up with an official visit to Miami for the game against North Carolina State in November, so those worried that he hadn’t officially visited can be calm.

Earlier I talked about Sainteus playing well as a senior, and that’s a fact. In 11 games, he had 52 tackles, 10 TFLs, 15 QB hurries, 4 sacks, and a fumble recovery. Those are very solid number for an interior lineman, and only tell part of the story, since there are tons of plays made on the inside of the line that don’t go on the stat sheet.

On the 247sports composite, Sainteus is a 3-star prospect, the #153 DL nationally, #151 in the State of Florida, and #1428 player overall in this class.

Sainteus flipped to Miami after a previous commitment to Florida Atlantic, and over 7 other scholarship offers, most notably Michigan State.

Sainteus is well-built at 6’5” 280lbs. I think he’s closer to 6’3” than 6’5”, but he’s got plenty of height and length to play the position at either measurement. He can play at 280lbs, but would be well-served to add a bit of size to his frame. This is a natural progression for linemen on both sides when they get to college, particularly interior lineman, and Sainteus should follow that path.

Sainteus displays incredible quickness on the field. He plays his 1-gap responsibility well, and has the athleticism and technique to routinely beat HS linemen into the backfield. This lightning quick first step is something that will serve Sainteus well at the college level.

Like most HS linemen, Sainteus will need to add functional strength and improve his technique at the college level. With Sainteus’s very limited experience on the gridiron, this is fully understandable.

Like many other players, Sainteus is a multi-sport athlete. He wrestles (something that directly correlates well to playing along the lines) and throws the shot-put and discus. These experiences will only help him grow as he continues forward with Football.

Strengths

• Height

• Arm length

• High motor

• Quickness

• Potential

Weaknesses

• Needs to add strength

• Needs to develop/refine technique

• Can be a more consistent/disciplined run defender

• VERY new to the sport

To see the kind of player Miami is getting in Sainteus, check out his senior highlights below:

View Link

Note: changed this up from just a freshman-season outlook to a career outlook for each player a few years ago and we’re continuing that style this year as well.

Miami has done a great job evaluating and developing linemen on both sides of the ball. This latest eval and take of Sainteus is a different one with him being brand new to the sport, but it may take a couple of years before we know if it’s a good one or not.

Despite his lack of experience in the sport, Sainteus has the potential to be in the rotation at DT in the future. If Miami’s able to develop him along the same path as Ahmad Moten Sr. or Donta Simpson, this is a potential low risk, high reward proposition for the Canes moving forward. Even if Sainteus doesn’t hit those heights of development from 3-star to starter, he should hopefully be able to work his way into being a rotation player down the line.

That’s it for this installment of The Recruiting Notebook.

Go Canes