30 key Miami Hurricanes for 2025 season: David Blay should be impact transfer
The Miami Hurricanes kick off the 2025 season on Aug. 31 with a marquee matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Hard Rock Stadium (7:30 p.m., ABC).
With the calendar officially flipped to August, the Miami Herald is counting down 30 of the most important players on the Hurricanes’ roster, one per day leading up to the season opener, to provide a closer look at the team heading into coach Mario Cristobal’s fourth season.
Today: The No. 17 player on our list, David Blay.
What to know
Position: Defensive tackle
Hometown: Levittown, Pennsylvania
Year: Fifth-year senior
How he got to Miami: 2025 transfer (Louisiana Tech)
Key stats: 62 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks in two seasons at Louisiana Tech
In summary: The Hurricanes knew they needed to make at least one transfer portal addition to shore up their defensive tackle depth after losing three key contributors in Simeon Barrow, C.J. Clark and Marley Cook. Enter David Blay, who was one of the top defensive tackles in the Conference-USA last season at Louisiana Tech. He led the Bulldogs in sacks (6.5) and was tied for third on the team in tackles for loss (10.5), while contributing at least a half-tackle for loss in 10 of 12 games. Now, he needs to translate that production to an uptick in competition while with the Hurricanes.
What they’re saying
“I wouldn’t say it’s a big jump up. At the end of the day, football’s football. It’s just a matter of technique. That’s one thing I can say we harp on at this level: technique. If you’re not on your technique, it will be shown. And if you’re on your technique, also it will be shown. You’ve got to be on your P’s and Q’s every single play. That’s the biggest difference, in my opinion. Just the technique and how important it is to do it over and over again every single play.” - David Blay on adjusting to the level of play at Miami after playing at Louisiana Tech
“We have a lot of potential, but at the same time, I don’t like to use the word ‘potential’ because potential is something that somebody could say about us, and that can be very good and very bad, determining off what we do with it. So, I feel like we have a lot of talent. … Everybody here is working. We’re working hard, I’m not going to lie. And as long as we stay working, we should be more than good.” - David Blay on the defensive tackles group
The rest of the series
No. 18: Defensive lineman Ahmad Moten
No. 19: Center James Brockermeyer
No. 20: Wide receiver Keelan Marion
No. 21: Defensive back Jakobe Thomas
No. 23: Defensive back Keionte Scott
No. 24: Running back Jordan Lyle
No. 25: Defensive back Damari Brown
No. 26: Defensive lineman Armondo Blount
No. 27: Wide receiver Malachi Toney
No. 28: Defensive back Ethan O’Connor
No. 29: Linebacker Kamal Bonner
No. 30: Running back CharMar Brown
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