The Miami Hurricanes had their most players taken in NFL Draft in nearly a decade
Cam Ward was the headliner of the Miami Hurricanes’ draft class as expected, with the Tennessee Titans selecting the star quarterback No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday.
But over the course of the three-day draft, six other Hurricanes players also heard their names called and another handful have already signed deals as undrafted free agents.
The seven Hurricanes selections in this year’s draft were the most for the school in a single draft cycle since 2017, when they had nine players drafted. The seven draftees were the most among Atlantic Coast Conference schools and tied with Alabama, LSU, Florida and Michigan for sixth-most nationally. Ohio State (14), Georgia (13), Texas (12), Oregon (10) and Ole Miss (eight) were the five schools with the most players picked.
Here’s the full breakdown of Hurricanes players selected:
▪ Quarterback Cam Ward, No. 1 overall to Titans: Ward became just the third player in Hurricanes history to be selected No. 1 overall, joining quarterback Vinny Testaverde (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1987) and defensive tackle Russell Maryland (Dallas Cowboys, 1991). His rise to the top came after a career season at UM, setting the single-season school records for completions (305), passing yards (4,313), passing touchdowns (39) and completion percentage (67.2 percent) en route to being a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
▪ Tight end Elijah Arroyo, No. 50 overall to Seattle Seahawks: Arroyo, marred by injuries for most of his college career, had a breakout — and healthy — season in 2024 that led to him rising up draft boards. He caught 35 passes for 590 yards and seven touchdowns. His 16.9 yards per catch led all tight ends at the Football Bowl Subdivision level this season. His seven touchdown catches were tied for fourth among tight ends.
▪ Offensive lineman Jalen Rivers, No. 153 overall to Cincinnati Bengals: Rivers was an anchor on the left side of Miami’s offensive line his entire career. All told, he played in 40 games with the Hurricanes and making 31 starts. He began his career at left guard before kicking out to left tackle for the back half of his Hurricanes tenure.
▪ Linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, No. 162 overall to New York Jets: In two seasons with the Hurricanes, Mauigoa tallied 178 tackles, including 29 for loss and 9-and-a-half sacks as Miami’s starting middle linebacker. He also forced three fumbles and broke up eight passes.
▪ Defensive lineman Tyler Baron, No. 176 overall to the Jets: Baron, who transferred to Miami from Tennessee for his final season of college football, had 38 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and five-and-a-half sacks in 13 games (nine starts) for the Hurricanes. For his collegiate career, he had 139 tackles, 38 tackles for loss and 19 sacks.
▪ Kicker Andres Borregales, No. 182 overall to the New England Patriots: Over his four-year career, Borregales made 74 of 86 field goals and 183 of 184 point-after attempts. His 405 total points scored are a UM record, as is his 86 percent field-goal mark. Borregales was the first kicker selected in the draft, and the first Hurricanes kicker selected in the draft since Carlos Huerta in 1992.
▪ Running back Damien Martinez, No. 223 overall to the Seahawks: In his lone season with the Hurricanes, Martinez’s rushed for 1,002 yards and 10 touchdowns while splitting time with Mark Fletcher Jr. He’s the first UM player to hit both 1,000 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in the same season since Mark Walton in 2016.
Undrafted free agents
The most notable name among the Hurricanes’ undrafted prospects was wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, who set the school records for career receptions (200) and receiving yards (2,844) but saw his draft stock plummet due to a poor 40-yard dash time at Miami’s Pro Day.
Restrepo wound up signing as an undrafted free agent with the Titans, reuniting with Ward in the process.
Beyond Restrepo...
▪ Wide receiver Jacolby George, who caught 130 passes for 1,929 yards and 17 touchdowns over 42 games (24 starts) in his UM career, has a deal with the Carolina Panthers.
▪ Cornerback Daryl Porter Jr., who played 30 games (22 starts) in three seasons at Miami after starting his career with Virginia Tech, is signing with the Buffalo Bills.
▪ Safety Mishael “Meesh” Powell, whose five interceptions were tied for fourth most in the country last season, signed with the Minnesota Vikings.
▪ Defensive tackle Simeon Barrow, who was first-team All-ACC after setting a career-high with five-and-a-half sacks in addition to eight tackles for loss in his lone season at UM (following three seasons at Michigan State), signed with the Atlanta Falcons.
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