Cristobal dishes on new defensive tackles and new receiver. And Canes nuggets
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Thursday, after spring practice session No. 5:
▪ The Canes have snagged several defensive tackles in the transfer portal in recent years, from excellent players (end/tackle Akheem Mesidor) to good players (Simeon Barrow, David Blay) to functional rotation players (CJ Clark).
On Thursday, coach Mario Cristobal sounded confident that Keona Davis (via Nebraska) and Jarquez Carter (Ohio State) will help a tackle rotation that has two very good returning starters (Ahmad Moten, Justin Scott) but a need for more behind them.
Though Armondo Blount can play tackle, UM appears inclined to use him primarily at defensive end. (Everything, of course, is fluid.)
That would leave a potential four-man tackle rotation of Moten, Scott, Davis and Carter, with Mykah Newton pushing and freshman Keshawn Stancil among others worth keeping an eye on.
Cristobal raved about Carter on Thursday: “He’s going to be a great player.”
Listed at 6-2 and 290 pounds, Carter was a four-star prospect out of Newberry High in north central Florida, where he was a high school teammate of UM’s Newton. He played in six games as a freshman for the Buckeyes last season and had one tackle in limited playing time.
“We knew him in high school, recruited him to the end, were finalists,” Cristobal said. “Nowadays in recruiting, second place is worth something a year or two or three years later. He fits our defense extremely well, is off to a great start. A tough, hard-nosed, physical guy, really smart. … He’s going to be a great player; he really is.”
Davis, as a sophomore at Nebraska last season, led Cornhuskers defensive linemen with 32 tackles, with 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 13 games.
Last season, Davis played 204 of his 402 defensive snaps as an edge rusher and 198 on the interior of the defensive line.
“Keona is 6-5, 270, 285 pounds, really explosive,” Cristobal said. “He fits great into what we do.”
▪ Cristobal on transfer portal receivers Cam Vaughn (who came over from West Virginia) and Vandrevius Jacobs (South Carolina):
“You are looking at two guys with a lot of experience at a high level and lots of production. Blocking the way we block is a little bit of a new thing [for them], but you see guys working hard to earn a spot. We do have some good receivers. That competition is wide open.
“We envision playing a lot of guys. I’d like to see the outside receivers win more. I thought our [defensive backs] did a really good job getting after them and being physical. Credit to our DBs, they’re doing a good job. It’s been good, but there are areas we need to improve and are going to improve.”
▪ It won’t be surprising if Josh Moore beats out Vaughn or Jacobs for a starting job. Moore practiced fully Thursday after being limited earlier in camp.
“We are counting on him,” Cristobal said. “Had a couple of catches today where he looked really good. We always felt he will be a bigtime player here. [We have] big plans for him. I don’t think he got enough credit for the way he blocked down the stretch in the playoffs.”
▪ Freshman offensive lineman Ben Congdon has impressed everyone.
“He’s doing great,” Cristobal said. “Massive individual, tough. 4 a.m up in the mornings working. He’s the right kind of guy, exactly what you look for in a competitor, tough guy. Early indications are that guy is going to be a great football player. We throw him in there with the ones, twos and he’s responded really well. Obviously a long way to go, but early indications are he’ll be a factor this year.”
▪ UM’s success rate in the portal was off the charts last season, and Cristobal has credited many people for that, including players, coaches and UM’s football executive director Dennis Smith.
Cristobal studies tape of all portal targets to get a sense of their skill set, potential, effort level and whether they’re good scheme fits.
“We have point to attack tapes to get a feel for what the ceiling is; if the ceiling is [high], you jump right into game tape,” he said. “You want to see them play against the best competition. You want to watch the good and bad. We burn our eyes on tons and tons of tape. That’s why our eyes are red, big bags.”
▪ Draft-eligible Canes, including Rueben Bain Jr., have been attending practices.
“For them on their free time to be hanging around as much as they do is a strong indication that they valued and enjoyed their time here and value being a Miami Hurricane, want to impart some of their knowledge to the younger guys and be around,” Cristobal said. “I promise you that some of those guys will wind up coaching here one day.”...
Second-year edge player Hayden Lowe is “handling some personal stuff, he’s doing OK,” Cristobal said.
▪ New running backs coach Favian Upshaw, who succeeded Matt Merritt after working as the Denver Broncos’ assistant running backs coach for three seasons, will try to help lift Jordan Lyle back to the form he flashed as a freshman before a disappointing sophomore season.
Lyle opted to stay at UM after a season in which he sustained an ankle injury in the opener against Notre Dame (a game he started) and had just 35 carries the rest of the way. Lyle averaged 3.1 yards on those carries after averaging 7.4 yards on 54 carries as a freshman.
“A really good player; There’s nothing he can’t do,” Upshaw said. “My biggest thing with him is get his confidence back. I want him to be what everybody in the state of Florida knows he can be.”
Upshaw said of freshman running back Javian Mallory: “Oh, my goodness, he’s going to be special. He’s going to be a really good player. I’m excited for him. He has so much to learn, though. He’s picking up the offense at a really high rate.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 4:36 PM.
