Transfer portal madness ends 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. Miami loses 19, gains 7 on scholarship
College football aficionados can exhale soon enough.
Wednesday is the final day for players to enter the NCAA transfer portal, before it reopens again for 15 days beginning May 1. This recent portal period began Dec. 5 and was set to end before midnight Wednesday. However, once inside the portal, players are still eligible to transfer.
For the Miami Hurricanes, the recent portal period resulted in at least 19 Hurricanes with remaining eligibility entering the portal and another one, Jakai Clark, expected to transfer after he finishes his final semester and graduates in May, the Athletic reported.
Backup UM quarterback Jake Garcia was the latest Cane to enter the portal late Tuesday afternoon, leaving UM with scholarship quarterbacks Tyler Van Dyke, Jacurri Brown and new early enrollee Emory Williams.
On Wednesday, UM receiver Romello Brinson, who had previously entered the portal, became the fifth player to join former UM offensive coordinator and current SMU Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee. The others: Fellow receiver Key’Shawn Smith, running back Jaylan Knighton and defensive linemen Elijah Roberts and Jordan Miller.
Here are the other Hurricanes, in alphabetical order, who have entered the portal, and if applicable, their landing spots: safety Al Blades Jr. (Duke); offensive tackle John Campbell Jr. (Tennessee); cornerback Isaiah Dunson (Baylor); running back Thaddius Franklin (Louisiana-Monroe); defensive back Gil Frierson (Louisville); safety Jalen Harrell (UMass); defensive tackle Allan Haye (Temple); linebacker Avery Huff (FIU); defensive tackle Darrell Jackson (Florida State); cornerback Khamauri Rogers (Mississippi State); safety Keshawn Washington; and safety Avantae Williams (Maryland).
The Hurricanes as of Wednesday had seven incoming scholarship transfers: Alabama offensive lineman Javion Cohen; UCF center Matt Lee; Oregon tight end Cam McCormick; Purdue defensive tackle Branson Deen; Washington State linebacker Francisco Mauigoa; Georgia State defensive tackle Thomas Gore and UCF cornerback Davonte Brown.
Walk-on Duke graduate transfer linebacker Rocky Shelton, who played his high school ball at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, is also joining the Canes.
As for the 6-3, 305-pound Clark, UM’s longtime center, he started 10 games this past season of his 42 starts over four seasons. As a true freshman in 2019, he started all 12 games at right guard. He has started at both guard spots during his career.
Clark, who came to UM as a consensus three-star lineman out of Grayson High in Loganville, Georgia, last spoke to the media after UM’s final win of 2022 on Nov. 12 at Georgia Tech.
“It feels great,’’ he said. “Obviously it has not been the season we wanted, but the guys have stuck together and overcome a lot.”
This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 2:36 PM.
