Let the portal caravan begin: Miami gets USC DL transfer who played prep ball in Broward
New University of Miami football coach Mario Cristobal loves those guys “in the trenches” — on both sides of the ball.
Friday, Cristobal, a former two-time national champion offensive lineman at UM, got himself one on defense when 6-6, 270-pound Southern Cal lineman Jacob Lichtenstein — a graduate of Weston Cypress Bay High School in Broward County — announced on social media that he is transferring to Miami.
A bit later on Friday afternoon, Cristobal got elite tight end Jaleel Skinner to flip his commitment from the Alabama Crimson Tide to the Hurricanes on the final day of the December signing period.
Lichtenstein, in the recruiting Class of 2017, mostly played defensive tackle this past season in 12 games, with 28 tackles, six tackles for loss and four sacks. He has two years of eligibility remaining, but already earned his bachelor’s degree in non-governmental organizations and social change from USC this past spring. He was working on a master’s degree in sociology at USC.
In 2017, Lichtenstein redshirted as a true freshman. In 2018, he played in 11 games and had two starts as a redshirt freshman, amassing 15 tackles (two for losses) and a deflection. Post-season knee surgery kept him out of the season in 2019. He opted out of the first four games of 2020 and returned to the team for the final two games, but didn’t see any action.
The Hurricanes signed 6-4, 240-pound Fort Lauderdale Dillard consensus four-star defensive end Nyjalik Kelly on Wednesday, considered one of the prizes of the first day of the early signing period. Cristobal made it clear he expected more linemen to arrive.
“We have to really dive into the trenches now,’’ Cristobal said Wednesday. “We have to be about the trenches and the line of scrimmage... Big guys that can knock you back and control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball... Powerful and strong on the interior offensively and defensively. We need guys that will eat up the A-gap and B-gap to allow the linebackers to run free and make plays.’’
Former Miami coach Manny Diaz made the transfer portal work in game-changing ways for the Hurricanes. The list goes on and on, from, in no particular order, defensive ends Jaelan Phillips and Quincy Roche to kicker Jose Borregales to quarterback D’Eriq King to receiver KJ Osborn to safety Bubba Bolden — and most recently to cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, defensive end Deandre Johnson, offensive lineman Justice Oluwaseun and receiver Charleston Rambo.
At USC, Lichtenstein had to play against Cristobal’s former Oregon Ducks. Now he’s part of the UM family.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 2:00 PM.
