Transfer season is almost here. This is how Miami coach Mario Cristobal is handling it
On Sunday, a third Miami Hurricane — in the span of a little more than a week — announced his plans to enter the transfer portal once the new NCAA-allotted window opens next month.
It’s not a surprise given the way Miami’s season has gone, and these three will not be all. Mario Cristobal is not hiding the way he feels about the roster he currently has in place: It needs to be much, much better, he believes, and a massive overhaul is probably coming in the next few months. The promise of Cristobal, proven as one of the best recruiters in the country, is he can pull off these wholesale changes, but college football isn’t so simple anymore. A coach’s ability to shape a roster via the transfer portal is almost as important as his ability to recruit the high school ranks.
In the next few weeks, Cristobal is going to have to do both, starting with the transfer market when a 45-day window opens and players can officially enter their names into the portal in two weeks.
No matter what happens Saturday when the Hurricanes host the Pittsburgh Panthers to close out the regular season, the real work for Cristobal and Co. begins next month.
“The challenge of a transfer portal — I think it’s the opposite,” Cristobal said. “I think it’s more of the opportunity of a transfer portal. Every single coach in America has the obligation to load up their roster.”
Even with a 10-year guarantee from Miami, Cristobal certainly is under intense pressure to speed up his rebuild. The Hurricanes, who began the year as the favorites in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division, need a win this weekend in Miami Gardens just to become eligible for a bowl game, and the avalanche of players deciding to leave Coral Gables is already beginning.
Last week, defensive back Gilbert Frierson announced his intention to transfer, and running back Thaddius Franklin Jr. and defensive lineman Elijah Roberts followed his lead over the weekend. They could be the first of dozens to go, as Cristobal is trying to cull the roster and reshape it in his image.
Without outright explaining why these players decided to enter the portal, Cristobal said it’s a coach’s responsibility to be honest with his players about their standing within the program.
“You have conversations and you have one obligation: to be honest and transparent. Some guys are invited back, some guys have to develop further and become better to be able to contribute, and for some guys it’s just not the right fit and for us — the program — sometimes not the right fit,” Cristobal said. “You have one obligation: Do right by the players, do right by the program, be honest and transparent, and, again, don’t judge. Don’t judge. We all have a job to do and an obligation to be the very best we could possibly be. One of my biggest obligations is to make sure that this roster is littered with super high-caliber guys and that those guys are surrounded by more guys.”
As it stands, Miami (5-6, 4-5) only has 10 scholarship players whose eligibility will be exhausted after this year and an incoming recruiting class of likely 20-plus additions. As lesser-used players such as Frierson and Roberts leave, Cristobal hopes to replace them with transfers ready to fill the gaps and play a bigger role right away.
Cristobal’s first transfer class in South Florida yielded mixed results. Of the 11 transfers Cristobal added in the offseason, nine have started at some point this year, but only a few — running back Henry Parrish Jr., and defensive linemen Darrell Jackson Jr. and Akheem Mesidor — have so far looked like potential All-ACC caliber players. For the Hurricanes’ to expedite their path to contention, Cristobal will need to make some bigger splashes to complement an impressive young core featuring underclassmen such as star defensive tackle Leonard Taylor, linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, and safeties James Williams and Kamren Kinchens.
“We have the responsibility to make sure our roster is filled with hard-working and tough-minded, resilient, do-the-right-thing on and off the field, high-caliber athletic, high-character individuals that want to be elite, and are willing to make the commitment and sacrifice to do that, so when that time comes, obviously, there’s is a plan in place,” Cristobal said. “You have to make sure that you’re finding ways to improve the caliber of play at each position, right? The quality of depth in terms of young guys, older guys, developmental guys. You really have to plan for now, but also two and three years out.
“In terms of the portal itself, I think it’s nothing but opportunity because it it works both ways. At every single school, not everybody’s invited back and at the same time guys that are seeking more playing time or situations better for themselves — they can do that and I don’t think anyone should judge that. I don’t think anyone should be angry at that. That is what it is and that’s what it’s there for.”
