ANALYSIS: Most impactful transfer portal additions for Miami Hurricanes in 2023

The Miami Hurricanes added 11 transfers last year after Mario Cristobal took over, and have taken another 14 scholarship additions this cycle (although one, CB Terry Roberts, already re-entered the portal after falling down the depth chart in spring ball).

Last year only five of the 11 portal additions wound up starting a meaningful number of games: RB Henry Parrish (616 yards, 4 TDs), WR Frank Ladson (298 yards, TD), DL Akheem Mesidor (10.5 TFL, 7 sacks), DE Mitchell Agude (7 TFL, 4 sacks) and DT Darrell Jackson (3 sacks). Parrish, Ladson and Mesidor all return to this year’s team, but of that trio only Mesidor is a guaranteed starter.

So really that 2022 haul didn’t pan out helping the Canes win a lot of games – arguably part of the reason for the 5-7 finish.

This year?

The hope is the new transfer additions will have a much bigger impact. And today we’re breaking down the top 5 transfer additions we think will really make a difference as UM chases that 10-win mark that’s only been achieved once in the last 19 years. On3 has taken note of the Canes’ pickups, ranking the portal additions No. 10 in the nation.

Without further ado, here’s a take on the most impactful portal additions in 2023:

5. WR TYLER HARRELL (from Alabama)

Heck, Alabama coveted him a year ago, and the only thing that held him back was injury. So if he’s healthy we see no reason he can’t excel at a position where the Miami Hurricanes desperately need some help after the top wideout had all of 376 yards last season (Colbie Young). Harrell may not be listed in the On3 Top 300 transfers, but we think by the end of the season this could be viewed as a huge pickup for the Canes.

The grad senior’s best season came in 2021 at Louisville when he had 18 catches for 523 yards along with six TDs (including a 92-yarder). He has game-breaking speed, which is a reason ‘Bama took a chance on him. Harrell missed the first half of last season coming off a foot injury and only wound up with two catches for 18 yards in four games played (33 reps of action). In Harrell’s lone season with more than 39 reps played, 2021, he had 374 reps and per Pro Football Focus graded out at 70.4 overall (70 is considered a good grade) with a 70.9 receiving grade. He caught 18 of 36 targets that year with 11 reps in the slot. Of his 523 yards, 176 came after the catch (9.8 yards per catch) and included a 91-yarder vs. Virginia. He had three drops as well. At 6-0 and 194 pounds he’s been timed as fast as 4.24 seconds in the 40.

4. TE CAM MCCORMICK (from Oregon)

An eighth-year transfer, we loved what we saw from McCormick when he was healthy during spring ball. He brings physicality attached to the line and has enough experience and size to be a target in the passing game (although not as agile or fast as Jaleel Skinner or Elijah Arroyo). McCormick was with the first team ahead of Skinner in the spring, and when Arroyo comes back it’ll be interesting to see what coaches wind up doing. If UM wants the better blocking/pass protection option in the game, that’s going to be McCormick. He gives the tight end position something it hasn’t had with that aspect, so he’ll be seeing plenty of playing time. With that said, McCormick has an interesting history. He was a backup at Oregon in 2016 and 2017, then had four straight years with numerous season-ending leg injuries and an Achilles’ tear – between 2018 and 2021. Last year he was back in action for the Ducks. McCormick had eight catches for 60 yards with two TDs. At 6-5 and 260 pounds, he is a physical, veteran presence on Miami’s team, and UM could utilize his blocking ability (he graded out at 71.4 percent as a pass blocker and 66.6 as a run blocker last year in 366 reps per Pro Football Focus). Prior to last year he played one rep in 2016, 319 in 2017 (57.5 grade), 11 reps in 2018, 0 reps in 2019 or 2020 and 10 reps in 2021. So really he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities due to his injury history. While McCormick isn’t ranked in the top 300 of the On3 portal rankings, when healthy he looks like he can really help this team.

3. MLB FRANCISCO MAUIGOA (from Washington State)

A year ago Miami coaches brought in Caleb Johnson to unseat Corey Flagg at MLB; Flagg wound up keeping the job. But this spring it was apparent that Mauigoa has a speed and physical edge over Flagg, who it now appears is more likely to backup the middle and OLB spots. The Canes also added K.J. Cloyd recently out of the portal, but we see him competing more to back up Mauigoa and perhaps even start at OLB depending on if Wesley Bissainthe steps up. As for Mauigoa? He has the tools you want in an aggressive Lance Guidry defense, and he’ll be adept as a blitzer, in coverage and also getting into the backfield and making tackles. The background of the 6-3, 230-pounder: A former 3-star prospect in the Class of 2021 out of American Samoa, Mauigoa has two years of eligibility remaining and had 60 tackles, 5.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks this past season as a starter, also forcing three fumbles (tied for the Pac-12 lead) with an interception. That interception was, interestingly enough, against Mario Cristobal’s former team – he took it back 95 yards for a TD against Oregon Sept. 24. As a freshman in 2021 he started twice and had 17 tackles. His Pro Football Focus grades? In 457 reps last season he graded out at a solid 75.7 percent (70 is considered good). He had a 74.1 run defense grade, 69.9 tackle grade, 64.6 pass rush grade and 76.3 cover grade. So all around pretty solid. He also was noted by PFF with five QB hurries and nine missed tackles. Mauigoa only played 58 reps in 2021 as a freshman and graded out at 43.3 overall. Mauigoa is ranked the No. 58 overall player in the On3 player portal rankings.

2. C MATT LEE (from UCF)

Lee is one of the nation’s top returning center based on Pro Football Focus grades – he actually tops the list with a 82.5 overall PFF grade last year (the No. 2 center on the list was West Virginia’s Zach Frazier at 80.8 followed by Michigan’s Drake Nugent). And Lee is ranked the No. 30 overall player in the On3 player portal rankings. He steps into an immediate starting role at Miami and has strength, smarts and experience – he started the last two years at UCF and has a reputation as a very hard worker. Lee earned high praise from coaches in the spring, and last year he was at an elite 90.6 pass blocking level with a very strong 80.6 run blocking grade and played 1,059 reps (note that 70 is considered a good grade). He also graded out at 75.6 in 705 reps in 2021 (81.7 pass blocking, 70.8 run blocking). He’s a huge upgrade over Jakai Clark in the middle of Miami’s line, and maybe a comparison could be made to a K.C. Jones/Brett Romberg/Bobby Garcia type player who does whatever is needed to get things done. The line has totally been reshaped from the failures of a year ago with (based on the spring depth chart) Lee in the middle, Alabama transfer Javion Cohen at left guard, 5-star freshman Francis Mauigoa at RT, and with Jalen Rivers coming off injury and moving from guard to LT with Anez Cooper back at RG. There will also be more competition at RG and LT in the fall with multi-year starting LT Zion Nelson hoping to be back and 5-star freshman RT/OG Samson Okunlola hoping to elevate from second team.

1. OL JAVION COHEN (from Alabama)

Getting a multiple year starter from Alabama on your roster? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. And that’s what Cristobal did, plucking Cohen as his new starting left guard prior to the spring … and he looked like a really solid addition in those 15 practices at Miami. Cohen is ranked the No. 22 player in the On3 player portal rankings. After Cohen only played 28 reps at ‘Bama as a true freshman in 2020, he became a full-time starter at left guard there in 2021, then this past season started 10 games and earned second team All-SEC honors. His Pro Football Focus stats show that in 2021 he accounted for 21 knockdown blocks and played 1,073 snaps over 14 games. Then this past season he played 554 total snaps and had 17 knockdown blocks with 1.5 sacks allowed, four pressures, four quarterback hits and three penalties called against him. His PFF grades? With 70 a good grade, he graded out at 72.5 percent in 2022 including a stellar 80.5 pass blocking grade (and 68.9 as a run blocker). In 2021 he graded out at 61.8 percent overall (49.8 pass blocking, 64.9 run blocking). At 6-4 and 305 pounds he’s agile and strong enough to bully defenders in the run game. And that’s something Miami didn’t see a lot of last year when the team ranked No. 108 in the nation in sacks allowed (3.0 per game) and No. 95 in rushing offense (128.1 yards per game). So adding Cohen was huge for this team and the reshaped offensive line.

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