Football has already taken Juan Minaya from Belleville to places few can ever dream of reaching.
On Jan. 19, Minaya will be on college football’s biggest stage as the University of Miami offensive lineman will be suiting up in the College Football Playoff National Championship when Minaya’s Hurricanes face off against Indiana at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida at 7:30 p.m.
Minaya, a 6-foot-6, 335 pound redshirt freshman, has played in two games for Miami this season.
Minaya, who first started playing football at the age of 14, began his high school career at Belleville and as a sophomore started at left tackle for the Bucs. Following that season, he transferred to Paramus Catholic where he played his junior and senior years.
A consensus 3-star prospect ranked among the top 15 players from New Jersey in the Class of 2024, Minaya verbally committed to play at Miami in August of 2023, selecting the Hurricanes over offers from 16 schools.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)