One underrated key to UM’s success. And Mensah, Toney, Fitzgerald, Canes chatter
A six-pack of Hurricanes notes on a Friday:
▪ It indeed takes a village to transform a sputtering football program into a well-oiled machine, as the Hurricanes have done. Mario Cristobal always credits many people in every pocket of UM headquarters when he announces the Canes’ recruiting class each December.
But if you want to know the driving forces behind UM’s smart talent identification in recent years, start with two people: Cristobal and football executive director Dennis Smith.
Cristobal and Smith naturally get lots of help from assistant coaches and other staffers. But as one UM source said, those two are the people finding the players to pursue and putting the wheels in motion to acquire them. The source said it’s difficult to overstate how vital Smith is to the program, even though most fans simply know him as the person who, before every UM commitment, tweets: “U KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS” with the Ibis emoji.
That makes Smith one of the most important figures in South Florida sports that not many people have necessarily heard of.
Smith has his fingerprints on every Canes acquisition in Cristobal’s four years here. He’s UM’s de facto general manager without the title, watching the tape of all prospects and sending to Cristobal the film of players that might interest him.
Cristobal studies tape of every player UM signs, but Smith does a lot of the necessary legwork, because even Cristobal — with his tireless work ethic — can’t do everything.
Smith had rarely spoken publicly before a recent appearance on Adam Breneman’s “Next Up” show.
“I remember the third week I was here,” Smith said. “We had a team from a local park and asked them to raise their hand if they grew up a Hurricanes fan. One kid raised his hand…. Fast forward, five years later, to see 200 kids flock to Malachi Toney and… Mark Fletcher Jr. and Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor. That right there tells the story.”
There was another moment that also stands out.
“The very first spring practice in 2022, I watched us practice and I said, ‘Man, I came from a place, Louisiana Tech, where we had four or five players better than players on the field now. I asked: ‘How does that happen?’”
The program has been turbocharged with talent since then.
“The team speed, depth, qualify of talent has changed,” Smith said.
Smith met Cristobal in 2004, when Smith was UM’s student recruiting manager and Cristobal arrived from Rutgers to coach tight ends at his alma mater.
“We shared a passion for recruiting and watching film and trying to go out and recruit the best people,” Smith said. “I wanted to help him live out his dream of coming back and being coach at Miami.”
They worked together at FIU, and then reunited at Miami.
Smith said “Cam Ward changed the trajectory of this place. It’s hard to win games if you don’t have a great quarterback. He’s the guy that helped this place turn the corner.”
In describing his job, he said: “I spend 20 hours a day with the head coach on recruiting, development of players in our program. Bringing people together is what I try to do.”
Even in this new NIL era, “you’ve got to be able to recruit,” he said. “Everyone thinks it’s whoever pays the most money. Everybody is spending money. The top seven programs are all spending comparatively. It’s selling your plan on development, how we’re going to use you.”
Here’s the full show, which is worth a listen.
▪ Pro Football Focus’ list of top 50 FBS players includes three Canes: receiver Toney at No. 5, quarterback Darian Mensah at 29 and safety Bryce Fitzgerald at 42.
Here’s some of what PFF said about each of them:
“While Toney’s numbers weren’t quite as dominant as Jeremiah Smith’s in 2024, they still rank among the best ever by a true freshman wide receiver in college football. Like Smith in 2024, he was the most valuable wide receiver in the nation. Toney led the FBS in yards after the catch (841) and missed tackles forced after the catch (33). He also led the nation with 58 receptions that resulted in either a first down or touchdown, while his 1,211 receiving yards ranked second among Power 4 receivers behind only Smith…
“Mensah paced the Power 4 in passing yards last season (3,951) and could be primed for an even bigger year in Coral Gables. His 85.0 passing grade ranked 12th among FBS quarterbacks, while his big-time throw total ranked sixth in the nation (28)....
“Fitzgerald emerged as an elite playmaker during his true freshman season with the Hurricanes. His six interceptions, including two in his breakout College Football Playoff performance against Texas A&M, tied for the most among Power 4 players. His all-around contributions led to an 80.7 PFF grade that ranked fifth among qualified ACC safeties. He will be the glue that holds Miami’s secondary together this season.”
▪ The work is mostly done on UM’s 20-player 2027 class that is ranked third nationally by multiple recruiting services.
But UM still hopes to flip a few players, including two five-star prospects: Georgia-based edge player DJ Jacobs (an Ohio State commit who is ranked by 247 as the No. 4 player in the country) and North Carolina-based tight end Jaxon Dollar (a Georgia commit rated No. 28 overall in the nation).
▪ ESPN’s Jordan Reid on where Mensah stands as a pro prospect heading into this season:
“He plays with poise and has by-the-book mechanics, with a fluid throwing motion and a strong base. His above-average creativity helps him find extra opportunities, while his confidence allows him to locate and layer throws down the field. His best work came in the red zone, where he was nearly automatic [24 touchdowns to zero interceptions].”
On the flip side: “Ball security was a constant issue for Mensah in 2025. He can be careless with the football, as he had eight fumbles [five lost] last season. His failure to step up in the pocket and inconsistency in feeling pressure points allow edge rushers to swipe the ball out of his hands way too easily. I’d like to see him incorporate more slight pocket moves and be stronger with his hands on the ball.”
▪ Quick stuff part 1: DraftKings has the Canes with the seventh-shortest odds to win the national title at plus 1100, behind Ohio State (plus 600), Notre Dame (plus 650), Texas (plus 750), Indiana (plus 800), Oregon (plus 800) and Georgia (plus 850).... Athlon has UM ranked seventh in its preseason poll... Former UM guard Jordan Miller agreed to a three-year, $15.3 million deal with the Clippers on Friday.
▪ Quick stuff part 2: UM is sending Mensah, Fletcher and linebacker Mo Toure — along with Cristobal — to the annual ACC media event July 15-17 in Charlotte, North Carolina....
With Jacoby Brissett holding out, former UM quarterback Carson Beck impressed during the Arizona Cardinals’ offseason program....
“He’s huge; he looks like a tight end,” Cardinals standout tight end Trey McBride said on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast. “I’m like [expletive] bigger than me, you know? He’s a stud. He throws the ball really well. I think he has a chance to be a really good player in this league. . . . I don’t know about Week 1 unless something crazy happens, but he definitely has a chance to be a guy for sure.”
The Hurricanes baseball program, which ranked 60th in the country with a bloated 4.88 ERA last season, has added eight pitchers in the portal, including Wake Forest’s Blake Morningstar (247’s No. 12 player and No. 1 pitcher in the portal) and Penn State’s Mason Horwatt (No. 67 overall player in the portal). Both are coming off disappointing seasons but have strong stuff.
The hope is that Jacksonville State’s Skyler Hutto (6-3, 2.20 ERA) can follow in the steps of Zechariah Poyser, who became a starting safety (via Jacksonville State) on UM’s national champion runner up.
Also added: Right-hander Daniel Lopez, a Kansas transfer who was drafted in the 12th round in 2025 out of high school; he’s one of six players in the first 12 rounds of the 2025 MLB Draft to not sign a contract. He pitched sparingly, and not very effectively, last season but his fastball has been timed at nearly 99 mph.
This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 3:19 PM.
