UM lands LSU receiver, explores more upgrades, responds to Belichick GM’s Canes comment
A day after filling a big need at safety, the Hurricanes on Wednesday augmented another high-priority position by landing LSU transfer receiver CJ Daniels in the transfer portal.
Daniels, 6-2, dealt with knee and ankle injuries this season but still caught 42 passes for 480 yards (11.4 per reception) with no touchdowns or dropped passes in 11 games for the Tigers, after spending his previous four years at Liberty.
UM beat out Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Mississippi, among others, for his services.
Daniels’ commitment comes a day after UM beat out several Southeastern Conference schools to land coveted Jacksonville State safety Zechariah Poyser in the transfer portal.
Daniels joined Liberty in 2020 as a two-star recruit, rated by 247 as the 408th-best receiver in that recruiting class. But he excelled at Liberty, catching 106 passes for 1,959 yards and 21 touchdowns.
In his final year at Liberty in 2023, he erupted for 55 receptions for 1,067 yards (19.4 per reception) with 10 touchdowns, which triggered heavy interest after he entered the portal.
The 2025 season will be Daniels’ sixth year of college football. He has a COVID redshirt and took a redshirt in 2022 after appearing in four games.
247 Sports ranked Daniels the No. 16 receiver and No. 52 overall prospect in the portal.
The Canes are positioned to lose their top four receivers. Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George are NFL-bound; Isaiah Horton has entered the transfer portal and is working on a contract with Alabama; and Sam Brown likely will turn pro, according to Canesport.
With potentially four veteran departures, the Canes have been searching for multiple experienced receivers to supplement a young group including JoJo Trader, Ny Carr, Chance Robinson, Ray Ray Joseph and incoming freshmen Joshua Moore, Malachi Toney and Daylyn Upshaw. Seldom-used Shemar Kirk also remains on the roster.
North Carolina State’s KC Concepcion, one of the top receivers in the transfer portal, reportedly is visiting UM on Wednesday, per On3.com, which ranks him third best among all players in the portal.
He already visited Alabama and Colorado and plans to visit Texas A&M. Concepcion caught 53 passes for 460 yards and six touchdowns this season, after catching 71 passes for 839 yards and 10 TDs in 2023.
FIU’s Eric Rivers, Oklahoma State’s De’Zhaun Stribling and Georgia Tech’s Eric Singleton also have had contact with UM. Rivers visited last weekend.
THIS AND THAT
▪ Quarterback Luke Nickel, who signed with the Hurricanes earlier this month, was extraordinary in the Georgia Class 5A state title game on Tuesday.
He completed 21 of 22 passes for 413 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for 52 yards, to lead Milton to a 56-35 victory over Langston Hughes.
UM held off Georgia and others for Nickel before the early signing period.
▪ UM has expressed interest in Oklahoma transfer center Joshua Bates, who appeared in four games last season.
▪ New North Carolina football general manager and former Raiders and Browns executive Mike Lombardi, who has joined his old pal Bill Belichick with the Tar Heels, referenced UM in discussing the importance of the GM job in the modern era of college football.
“That job will entail player evaluations, developing a grading system, building a team around what you want to become,” Lombardi said.
“That’s so important, you know. In college you have all these first-round picks. Well, you still got to build a team. I mean, Mario Cristobal has been wonderful in recruiting, but they haven’t been able to get to the final 12. You got to build a full team, it’s not about winning the recruiting battle. It’s about making the team the best it can be. So, for me that’s the job.”
UM’s Dennis Smith, the school’s executive director of football, responded on X: “Mike Lombardi — you on the job for 3 days and you firing stray bullets! We got our head coaches back! Join the list!”
Former Hurricanes great Alonzo Highsmith served as UM’s GM before leaving for a front-office job with the New England Patriots in Februrary. The Canes rely on coaches and several front-office staffers for evaluations of players.
This story was originally published December 18, 2024 at 10:27 AM.
