Hurricanes lose a kicker and a corner to the transfer portal. One just arrived months ago
Cornerback Emmanuel Karnley arrived at Miami just four months ago after transferring from Arizona. He apparently isn’t going to stay beyond that.
Per On3.com, Karnley is re-entering the transfer portal after failing to grab hold of a starting job during Hurricanes spring football.
Also departing: kicker Abram Murray, who was beaten out (for now) by FAU transfer Carter Davis.
UM added four cornerbacks in the transfer portal: Wisconsin’s Xavier Lucas, Washington State’s Ethan O’Connor, Michigan State’s Charles Brantley and Karnley.
By all accounts, Lucas was the best of the group and is a heavy favorite to start alongside OJ Frederique, who was limited by an injury in the spring.
O’Connor and Damari Brown are in line for top boundary backup jobs, while Brantley and Brown are expected to compete for the top slot job in nickel coverage.
Karnley played only 369 defensive snaps for Arizona last season and permitted 22 receptions in 43 targets for 288 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions, which equals a 103.6 passer rating in his coverage area. He had 16 tackles in 2024 after redshirting in 2023.
Karnley, who played high school football in Walnut Creek, California, was rated by 247 Sports as a three-star prospect and the 98th-best cornerback in the 2023 class.
Players changing schools multiple times in an offseason is no longer uncommon.
Last year, former Vanderbilt safety Savion Riley joined UM before spring practice, left for Colorado after spring practice and this week announced he’s joining Georgia Tech.
Defensive end Tyler Barron joined UM last offseason after briefly being committed to two other schools.
As for the kicking job, Murray struggled this spring and leaves a year after joining UM as the No. 4-rated kicker in the country.
That leaves Davis as the front-runner to replace NFL-bound Andres Borregales.
Davis was just 4 for 11 on field goals at FAU but made two 50-plus yard field goals, was perfect on extra points (23 for 23) and has a high touchback rate on kickoffs; 46 of his 61 kickoffs weren’t returned last season.
Here’s my Monday piece on Canes portal targets and visits lined up and Lane Kiffin trolling Carson Beck.
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 2:50 PM.
