Another former Oregon lineman is following Cristobal to Miami. This one’s from South Dade
Another offensive lineman is following Mario Cristobal from the Oregon Ducks to the Miami Hurricanes.
Jonathan Denis, a former four-star recruit from Homestead South Dade, is transferring to Miami after two seasons at Oregon. The offensive lineman announced his commitment Saturday on Twitter, less than a week after he entered the transfer portal.
“No words,” he wrote. “I’m coming home.”
Denis did not play in two seasons with the Ducks, redshirting in 2020 and missing all of 2021 with a knee injury. He began this spring in Oregon playing center on the Ducks’ second-team offensive line before another injury limited him. He announced his intention to transfer Sunday on Twitter.
The 6-foot-3, 296-pound redshirt freshman has four seasons of eligibility remaining thanks to the extra year granted because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before he got to Oregon, Denis was one of the top lineman in South Florida for the Class of 2020. He was the No. 14 guard in the nation, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, and was a two-time first-team all-county selection by the Miami Herald. The Hurricanes recruited him heavily, but he ultimately decided to head across the country to play for Cristobal in Eugene.
Now Cristobal has returned home to South Florida and Denis has decided to, too.
Denis is the second former Ducks offensive lineman to transfer to Miami since Cristobal took over as coach late last year. Logan Sagapolu, also still a redshirt freshman, announced his transfer in January and lately has been the first-team right guard for the Hurricanes in spring practice.
Miami has six offensive linemen with starting experience back for the 2022 season: D.J. Scaife Jr., Jakai Clark, Zion Nelson, Jalen Rivers, Justice Oluwaseun and John Campbell. Most recently, Nelson has been the first-team left tackle, Rivers has been the first-team left guard, Clark has been the first-team center and Scaife has been the first-team right tackle. The other guard spot, however, has been a revolving door this spring, and Denis should add more competition and depth to the group.
This story was originally published April 9, 2022 at 7:45 PM.
