ANALYSIS: With transfer portal window closed, where Miami Hurricanes go from here
The portal is now closed. If this were a science fiction movie, that sentence would probably mean some hero is trapped in an alternate dimension. And, for some Miami fans, perhaps this new portal/NIL era does indeed feel like it’s not the normal reality. But it is indeed college football reality, and with the portal window over it means there won’t be any new names entering it that will be eligible to play this coming season.
But that doesn’t mean Miami is done trying to add talent from it. In fact, there are several players in the portal that the Canes are chasing who have reciprocal interest and who would make sense for the program. With two players leaving Miami (Thomas Davis, Jabari Ishmael) for the portal in the most recent window – the last one before the start of the season – that means Miami has five open spots by our count (ELIGIBILITY TRACKER LINK).
Coaches can opt to take five or fewer transfers or could still take more than that if a player leaves the team for any number of reasons (although that player would have to sit out a year if he goes elsewhere with the portal window closed).
Miami also could simply opt to hold those open spots for the 2024 recruiting class since the team only has eight seniors this year and Mario Cristobal & Co. would no doubt like to sign a class of 20+ top players to help rebuild this program from the ground up.
But if this team is looking to get an immediate jolt from the portal?
Well, there are several positions at which Miami needs some depth help (and note that NIL is a big component in transfers nowadays).
A closer look, and note that once a transfer is in the portal he can enroll at the college of his choice anytime prior to the last day to add classes in the fall:
RUNNING BACK
Miami only had two healthy backs this spring, Henry Parrish and Don Chaney. Two highly touted fresmen – Mark Fletcher and Christopher Johnson – will join the team this summer. But with TreVonte’ Citizen not expected to be ready off a major knee injury the team could use another back on the roster. One with a Shannon Dawson connection? That’s Houston transfer Alton McCaskill, who missed last year injured but had 961 rush yards and 16 TDs the prior season under Dawson. Colorado and Arizona State are also in play for him.
Notre Dame transfer Logan Diggs is also in the portal, and he ran for 820 yards and two TDs last season. LSU is a team Miami will have to beat out here.
WIDE RECEIVER
It’s no secret that Miami didn’t have a top threat at WR last year, and it’s something this team needs. The Canes already have hosted JUCO WR JaQuae Jackson and would love to have him on board, but Pitt, Texas A&M and others are pushing.
Miami also covets former local star Xzavier Henderson, who is transferring from Florida. Henderson has been on campus, and if an NIL deal can be worked out with his camp then he could easily wind up at Miami. A source close to him told CaneSport over the weekend that “Miami’s definitely in it.” He’s coming off a year in which he had 38 catches for 410 yards and two TDs and he has deep speed and bigtime ability.
With Henderson weighing his options that are believed to also include Louisville and Cincinnati, among others, Miami is also on the trail of UTSA transer Zakhari Franklin, who starred last season with 93 catches for 1,137 yards and 15 TDs. He also had over 1,000 yards in 2021. He’s a bigtime playmaker who just entered the portal over the weekend so we’ll be monitoring if Miami has a chance with him.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Yes, we know the portal isn’t the same as a JUCO transfer. But there is a JUCO OG that has caught the eye of Canes coaches. That would be Coffeeyville (Kan.) Community College 6-3, 290-pound OG Amaury Wiggins. He’s available to enroll now and got his first Power 5 offer from UM yesterday … but with limited spots coaches are trying to make room for him. Otherwise he’d be asked to wait to enroll until December. Also note that, of course, Miami brought in a couple of transfers for the spring who are huge helps up front – ‘Bama LG starter Javion Cohen and UCF multi-year center starter Matt Lee. But there are still question marks depth-wise up front and the Canes are still on the lookout for talent that can upgrade the position.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Miami brought in two transfers for the spring, Branson Deen and Thomas Gore, and while Deen looked like he can help after coming in from Purdue there still just isn’t a lot of inside defensive depth up front. Leonard Taylor and Jared Harrison-Hunte missed the spring coming off injury, and guys like Ahmad Moten remain a work in progress. So there is still a portal need here. Miami’s pursuing DT Tywone Malone out of Mississippi, and he was recruited by Mario Cristobal out of high school as well so there’s that familiarity. But Ohio State is also making a play for him. He’s been a backup the last two years but does have a lot of potential.
There’s also DT Keivie Rose out of Louisiana Tech who is on Miami’s radar and has a Canes offer. Unlike Gore and Deen he’s a bigger tackle at 6-3 and 305 pounds, and he had 24 tackles last season with two sacks. Rose has a lot of options including Arkansas, West Virginia and TCU pushing for him.
Another experienced interior guy in the portal is Nebraska’s Stephon Wynn (a former Alabama signee), but he hasn’t had a big impact to this point at the college level (22 tackles, 0.5 sacks last year) and it remains to be seen how serious Miami will get about him – he just entered the portal over the weekend.
LINEBACKER
The depth at linebacker remains iffy, although Washington State transfer Francisco Mauigoa made the team feel a lot better about the situation in the middle after showing out this spring. But aside from Mauigoa, Corey Flagg and Wesley Bissainthe, there are no proven guys at this level of the D, and the linebacker play last year simply was not good. So there are a couple of options here. Jalen McLeod out of App State was a backup last season but had 41 tackles and six sacks. In a new, aggressive style of defense he’d be a good fit, and a sign of his level of potential is that Auburn is among those pursuing him and he visited there over the weekend. Another LB on the radar who got an offer is Larry Nixon III out of North Texas. He had 104 tackle last season and 70 the year before, so he’s a veteran playmaker who is a grad transfer. Auburn is also chasing him given their LB needs, and he just entered the portal on Saturday afternoon. So he’s one to monitor.
CORNERBACK
Oklahoma transfer Jaden Davis visited Miami last week and the Canes are working hard to try and land him, and we think Miami’s in a great spot with him. He started for a pretty bad Sooners defense last year and finished with 44 tackles; he has one career INT. While he hasn’t really stood out, he is a former top recruit with a lot of athletic upside. And Miami’s cornerback room lost starters Tyrique Stevenson and DJ Ivey. So the more competition, the better, and he’d be expected to step in and start right away.
Then there’s a former Miami commit, Tre’Quan Fegans, who wound up at Alabama in the Class of 2022 and redshirted. Now he’s in the portal, and Miami is pushing for him. At 6-2 he’s a rangy corner with great playmaking ability. A Miami visit could be in the works, and he’s also strongly considering USC, Georgia Tech, UCF and Arizona.
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