Miami is in his blood. But Gil Frierson — ‘Pride of the Grove’ — to enter transfer portal
Gilbert Frierson was the type of Hurricane that was hard not to embrace.
Known as the “pride of the Grove,’’ Frierson, the cousin of Hurricanes/NFL great Frank Gore, grew up with the Canes and adored them. He oozed personality and energy and love for the Canes.
But Frierson’s playing time dwindled as the weeks passed this season, and on Tuesday evening he announced he would enter the transfer portal on Dec. 5 to pursue an opportunity elsewhere as a graduate student. Frierson is the first of what is expected to be an exodus of players across the nation when the NCAA’s new transfer portal period begins.
In 2021, Frierson was a striker in head coach/defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s final year with the Hurricanes. But this season, though he is listed as playing in 10 games as a defensive back, he got fewer and fewer snaps on defense, finishing with three tackles and a pick-six in the opener against Bethune-Cookman.
“Being born & raised in Miami, my only dream was to be a Hurricane,’’ he wrote on Twitter. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to not only play for the University of Miami but also earn my degree. To all at the ‘The U’ I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
“I want to thank my coaches and everyone associated with the program. Most importantly, I want to thank my teammates. The bonds we created in the locker room will last forever. It’s the friendships, relationships, and memories that I will treasure more than anything else.
“With that being said, my time at the University of Miami has come to an end. I will be entering the transfer portal December 5th as a graduate student so I can continue pursuing my dreams. This was a difficult decision but one I had to make.
“Thank you to my Hurricane family for all the love and respect you have shown over these past five years. I will forever bleed orange & green. I will always rep the 305.
“When one door closes, another opens. I’m looking forward to my next chapter.
“The journey continues.’’
Frierson, classified as a fifth-year redshirt junior this season, graduated from Coral Gables High as a consensus four-star prospect. As a redshirt freshman in 2019 he played in all 13 games and had 15 tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception and three pass breakups. In 2020 he started all 11 games and finished with 53 tackles, including nine tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups and a fumble recovery. Last season he started three of his 12 games and finished with 41 tackles, 3 1/2 tackles for loss and a sack.
This story was originally published November 15, 2022 at 6:23 PM.
