Miami Transfer Portal Tracker: UCLA DT Jay Toia one to monitor

The Miami Hurricanes are on the hunt for defensive tackle help in the second transfer portal window, and CaneSport has already reported on a few of the names being chased – Michigan State DT Simeon Barrow, Rutgers DE/DT Rene Konga and Kent State DT CJ West.

Now you can add another CaneSport has confirmed is getting Miami attention: UCLA’s Jay Toia. The 6-3, 325-pounder perhaps hasn’t put up big numbers in the past, but he’s a solid run stopper at a position where Miami doesn’t have a lot of similar big bodies.

The Canes already have a lot of transfer defensive tackles on the roster, of course: NC State DT CJ Clark, Middle Tennessee DT Marley Cook and Georgia State’s DT Thomas Gore. Clark and Cook were working in with the ones late in spring ball.

As for where a guy like Toia could fit? Well, if he did wind up at Miami he’d be in the competition to start and would certainly be able to help depth-wise.

Miami still needs DL help with the only major experienced players from last year’s team DE Rueben Bain, DL Akheem Mesidor and DT Jared Harrison-Hunte.

Toia’s background?

He started 12 games last season and ended with 28 tackles, four for losses, and one sack. In 2022 he again started 12 games and ended with 30 tackles, three TFL and a sack. He played off the bench in 12 games in 2021 after transferring in from USC and had eight tackles that year. Toia enrolled at USC in the spring of 2021, participated in spring ball, and then left for UCLA.

Per Pro Football Focus he played 393 reps last season and graded out at 56.4 percent overall (61.7 run defense, 62.5 pass rush, low 32.7 tackle grade with seven missed tackles). He was noted with three QB pressures. In 2022 in 370 reps he also had a low 57.6 overall grade (58.1 run defense, 55.2 pass rush, 37.9 tackle grade with six missed tackles). He again had three QB pressures.

So he’s not a guy who graded out particularly well or made a lot of disruptive plays, and his tackle grade wasn’t very good. But he does hold his ground and is very difficult to push backward off the line of scrimmage.

Toia is a former 4-star prospect out of Inglewood (Calif.) Grace Brethren High School and has one year of eligibility remaining.

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