Transfer portal U (Miami) rolls on. UCLA standout becomes 10th man to choose Mario’s Canes
The Canes defense just got instantly better.
Standout UCLA middle linebacker Caleb Johnson announced on Friday evening that he is transferring to Miami, immediately bolstering UM’s most vulnerable position group and becoming the 10th player from the transfer portal to choose UM since head coach Mario Cristobal was hired in December.
“Committed!!,’’ Johnson, listed as 6-1 and 230 pounds, posted on social media just after 6 p.m.— to which Cristobal immediately tweeted #GoCanes with a GIF of former UM star Santana Moss.
Johnson chose UM over Texas, where he played three games in 2019 before transferring to UCLA entering the 2020 season. He is from Murrieta, California, and also previously played at Fullerton College, a two-year community college.
Johnson, who has one season of eligibility remaining, started 17 games at inside linebacker the past two seasons for the Bruins. In a pandemic-shortened 2020, he led UCLA with 44 tackles and 5 1/2 sacks and was second with 7 tackles for loss in seven games. Last season, when UCLA finished 8-4 overall and 6-3 in the Pac-12, Johnson had 45 tackles, with one interception and three pass breakups.
The Canes’ former Miami Central star/freshman early enrollee linebacker Wesley Bissainthe had been excelling at weak-side and strong-side during the spring, with fourth-year junior Keontra Smith on the outside as well. Veterans Corey Flagg and Waynmon Steed play in the middle.
Mitchell Agude
Not only did former Hurricanes defensive end and Miami Dolphins first-round draft pick Jaelan Phillips play for UCLA before arriving at UM, but so did 6-4, 250-pound Mitchell Agude, a star defensive end who observed several UM spring practices and the spring game from the sideline. Agude announced his commitment to Miami in late March. In two seasons at UCLA, Agude started 15 games and had 78 tackles, 15 1/2 tackles for loss, 4 1/2 sacks and nine forced fumbles.
Besides Agude and Johnson, the other eight players who have transferred or are in the process of transferring to Miami are offensive linemen Logan Sagapolu (Oregon) and Jonathan Denis (Oregon); running back Henry Parrish (Ole Miss); receiver Frank Ladson (Clemson); cornerback Daryl Porter Jr. (West Virginia); defensive tackles Antonio Moultrie (UAB), Jake Lichtenstein (USC) and Akheem Mesidor (West Virginia).
Sagapolu, Moultrie, Lichtenstein, Ladson and Parrish are already on the 2022 roster.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 6:08 PM.
