Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Mario Cristobal Needs Continued Patience with Transfer Portal
Where are all the players from the Transfer Portal? Some Miami Hurricanes fans have been saying that out loud in some shape or form.
To win the Transfer Portal battle, a big part of the process will come from being patient. This will be a marathon and not a sprint.
Enter the evidence from the Transfer Portal from this past season by looking at Southern California. The Trojans brought in over 20 players and added to a solid but not spectacular roster. The key piece was a player that took his sweet time before deciding to head west from Oklahoma, his original choice out of high school.
Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams chose Southern California after considering several teams. USC head coach Lincoln Riley kept going after Williams, did not just take another quarterback in panic mode, and was rewarded at the end of Williams’ transfer decision.
Besides Williams, Riley and the Trojans were also patient with a number of other players that came to play in the Pac 12 after going through lengthy decisions. The Trojans were rewarded several more times, and it showed on the gridiron this past season.
Southern California finished 2022 with a 11-3 record and almost made it to the College Football Playoff. There’s no reason Miami cannot utilize that blueprint for 2023 to at least have a much better season and go to a bowl game, if not compete towards the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference and beyond.
Miami has lost 16 players from the Transfer Portal thus far. Most of the players that left the Hurricanes simply did not produce so the parting of ways has been mostly good.
Head coach Mario Cristobal has also been patient with adding quality talent as the six that have decided to come to Coral Gables possessed a history of being productive. Cristobal could have added more players, but there’s been no need to just bring in talent for the sake of doing so. There’s also time for more additions for the Canes.
Think about what’s happened at Alabama as Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide already saw 15 players that decided to transfer. That could be the case at other schools during the next several months, especially after spring practice when several talented players will likely look for a new college football program.
With that in mind, here are the transfers Miami already landed from the Transfer Portal, a great start to building the 2023 roster.
Javion Cohen has been a starter for Alabama in 2021 and 2022, and the Canes also helped the offensive line with UCF center transfer Matt Lee, a three-year starter for the Knights.
Additionally, Miami added defensive linemen Thomas Gore from Georgia State and Branson Deen. Both of them are experienced players that have proven to find a way into the backfield from their defensive tackle positions.
In combination with signing talented high school recruit Francis Mauigoa, the Miami staff has signed his brother Francisco Mauigoa at linebacker. He recorded 60 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and one pick-six last season for Washington State.
Finally, the Canes scored another player from UCF and at another critical position of need. This time it was three-year cornerback starter Davonte Brown. It’s great that the Canes added a player with the raw skills to potentially one day play in the NFL. From the 2022 season, Brown recorded 30 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and four pass breakups.
Over the course of the next several months, there will be time for the Miami coaching staff to add more talent to the six players above from the Transfer Portal. Piece by piece, and likely taking place slowly, Miami can build a much different roster than it had in 2022 via the Transfer Portal.
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