Miami Hurricanes 50-1 Countdown: Ranking the top 50 post-spring players … No. 10 Wesley Bissainthe
No. 50 Miami DT Thomas Gore … No. 49 Malik Curtis … No. 48 Kaleb Spencer … No. 47 Ahmad Moten … No. 46 Jaden Harris … No. 45 Logan Sagapolu … No. 44 Markeith Williams … No. 43 Frank Ladson … No. 42 Chris Graves … No. 41 Keontra Smith … No. 40 Robby Washington … No. 39 Emory Williams … No. 38 Jacurri Brown … No. 37 Brashard Smith … No. 36 Terry Roberts … No. 35 Samson Okunlola … No. 34 Dylan Joyce … No. 33 Jared Harrison-Hunte … No. 32 Jaleel Skinner … No. 31 Corey Flagg … No. 30 Ray Ray Joseph … No. 29 Don Chaney … No. 28 Anez Cooper … No. 27 Branson Deen … No. 26 Zion Nelson … No. 25 Isaiah Horton … No. 24 Rueben Bain … No. 23 Daryl Porter, Jr. … No. 22 Te’Cory Couch … No. 21 Davonte Brown … No. 20 Andy Borregales … No. 19 Nyjalik Kelly … No. 18 Jahfari Harvey … No. 17 Francis Mauigoa … No. 16 Jacolby George … No. 15 Cam McCormick … No. 14 Henry Parrish … No. 13 Jalen Rivers … No. 12 Colbie Young … No. 11 Elijah Arroyo
CaneSport is breaking down the top 50 post-spring players on the roster, a list that doesn’t include any post-spring roster additions. Today we break down No. 10, Wesley Bissainthe.
NO. 10 MIAMI LB WESLEY BISSAINTHE
Why he’s No. 10
Is it a testament to Bissainthe’s ability that in Year 2 at Miami he cracks the top 10 on this list despite not having a TFL in Year 1 … or is it more a case of the Canes not really having an elite number of top players on the roster? Probably a bit of both. Certainly Bissainthe has all the requisite skills to emerge as one of the ACC’s top OLB this season. A refresher on Bissainthe: A highly touted 4-star signee with Miami out of Miami Central High School, he had 30 tackles as a true freshman in 2022. While he didn’t have any tackle for losses or turnovers created, he did grade out at a decent 64.5 percent (70 is considered a good grade) per Pro Football Focus. That included a solid 72.7 run defense grade, 67.2 tackle grade, 52.4 pass rush grade and 61.4 cover grade. PFF noted four missed tackles on the year, with opponents targeting him 18 times in the passing game and completing 13 for a net of just 82 yards. Bissainthe is part of a linebackers room that struggled last year but which added Francisco Mauigoa and KJ Cloyd to the mix as transfers. Returners are Keontra Smith, Chase Smith and Corey Flagg, and there are four highly touted newcomers as well: Malik Bryant, Raul Aguirre, Bobby Washington and Marcellius Pulliam. So the linebacker position is stocked well for the future. And the team needs Bissainthe to take a step up in his development from last year and turn into a bigtime playmaker. He has the ability to be that.
What he needs to do to move up this list
Bissainthe got better and better as his true freshman season went along, and he ended the year starting in the final three games. He’s now bigger, stronger and more mentally ready to attack the college game, and he should be able to make more plays in the backfield in an attacking style of defense under new coordinator Lance Guidry. He has all the physical tools to be a star, and this could be the season we start to really see that come to fruition. With the expectation that Francisco Mauigoa starts in the middle since he looked well ahead of returning starter Corey Flagg, Bissainthe will still have to hold off any charges from Flagg and Cloyd (who can also play outside) and the team’s other linebackers in fall camp.
Realistic season objective
Bissainthe played 276 reps last season and had no tackles for losses or interceptions or forced fumbles/fumble recoveries. We see that changing this year. He’ll be used more aggressively by Lance Guidry, and he has all the physical tools plus football instincts you want. He’s a guy that can push past 60 tackles and put up several sacks along with interceptions and 5+ tackles for loss. Miami didn’t have a real impact linebacker last year. This year they may have two if Bissainthe continues his trajectory in Year 2 and if Mauigoa continues to work at the high level we saw in spring ball.
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