Sizing up the Miami Hurricanes’ additions and subtractions and who’s still in play
With transfer rules loosened considerably, you need an eraser board to keep up with your favorite college football team’s roster. Taking stock of who’s coming, who’s going and who’s possibly coming for the Miami Hurricanes, with the second signing period beginning on Wednesday:
QUARTERBACK
▪ Who’s leaving: D’Eriq King, who will try to make the NFL as a multi-position weapon (quarterback, receiver, returner). Jake Garcia’s lucrative deal with John Ruiz’s LifeWallet makes it very likely he will stick around at least another year, backing up Tyler Van Dyke.
▪ Who’s coming: Four-star Georgia-based Jacurri Brown, who signed in December, and enrolled early. “He’s got the presence you want from your quarterback, accurate, good pocket presence,” coach Mario Cristobal said. “He’s natural throwing the ball. [And] he’s a winner.”
RUNNING BACK
▪ Who’s leaving: Cam’Ron Harris, who will try to make a NFL team.
▪ Who’s coming: Mississippi transfer running back Henry Parrish, who ran for 553 yards on 105 carries (5.3 yards per carry) with three touchdowns and caught 21 passes for 173 yards last season. The former four-star Miami Columbus player - rated by Rivals as the 150th player in the 2020 class - is versatile enough to play in the slot and has the foot quickness to make defenders miss.
Keep in mind that UM’s new running backs coach - Kevin Smith - coached Parrish at Mississippi and knows him more than any of UM’s other backs. So Parrish figures to get a chance to compete with Don Chaney Jr. and Jaylan Knighton to start, with Thad Franklin and Cody Brown competing for the fourth spot.
“I remember when I was in high school I was going so fast,” Parrish said several months ago. “When I got to college it slowed down. Coach Smith, he talks about tempo all the time. That’s our main key. Show your ability. Put it on tape.”
Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin, before last season, called Parrish “a special player with a very high ceiling. He was a skinny kid when he came in here. He looks completely different.”
▪ Who’s considering coming: Four-star Louisiana-based Trevonte’ Citizen, who is reportedly leaning toward Auburn.
WIDE RECEIVER
▪ Who’s leaving: Charleston Rambo (turned pro); Mike Harley Jr. (used up eligibility); Mark Pope (left team at midseason; now at Jackson State); Dee Wiggins (left team at midseason; now at Louisville).
▪ Who’s coming: Four-star freshman Isaiah Horton and Clemson transfer Frank Ladson.
Cristobal said Horton “doesn’t look like a wide receiver. He looks like he plays outside linebacker or defensive back. Big, physical, fast, gets behind guys. Does a great job on the contested catches.”
Ladson, from South Dade High, was Rivals’ No. 56 player in the 2019 class but battled injuries and didn’t play as much as he expected at Clemson, finishing with 31 catches for 428 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games over three seasons.
At 6-3, he has the size and instincts to make contested catches, a player compared to DeVante Parker coming out of high school.
Keyshawn Smith, Xavier Restrepo, Ladson, Jacolby George, Romello Brinson, Brashard Smith and Michael Redding give UM a strong top seven receiver group. The first two assuredly will play, and competition among the latter five will be fascinating. One local prep coach predicts George will emerge as a star.
TIGHT END
▪ Who’s leaving: Nobody to this point, though the situation with Larry Hodges bears monitoring.
▪ Who’s coming: Four-star IMG Academy star Jaleel Skinner, rated by Rivals as the 103rd best player in this class. The ability of Cristobal and tight ends coach Stephen Field to flip Skinner from Alabama to UM was one of Miami’s biggest wins of this recruiting cycle. Rivals say he’s “arguably the best tight end in the class.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
▪ Who’s leaving: Navaughn Donaldson and Jarrid Williams (both have used up their college eligibility); Corey Gaynor (transferred to North Carolina), offensive tackle Kai Leon Herbert (destination TBD).
▪ Who’s coming: Oregon transfer Logan Sagapolu will be a third-year freshman who has yet to play a snap in college. Sagapolu, who missed last season with an injury, can play guard or center.
▪ Who could be coming: UM is a finalist for four uncommitted linemen: Washington-based guard Dave Iuli, Washington-based tackle Josh Conerly, Alabama-based tackle Anez Cooper and St. John’s, Fla.-based Matthew McCoy. All except Conerly are expected to make decisions on Wednesday; Conerly has said he will wait until March so that he can visit two Pac-12 schools in March. Cooper is down to UM and Oregon. The Canes have a good chance to land three of the four.
DEFENSIVE LINE
▪ Who’s leaving: Jon Ford, Zach McCloud and Deandre Johnson (all three used up their college eligibility) and Nesta Silvera (transferred to Arizona State).
▪ Who’s coming: End/tackle Jacob Lichtenstein (the Southern Cal transfer), end Antonio Moultrie (the UAB transfer) and four-star defensive prospects Nyjalik Kelly (Fort Lauderdale Dillard) and Las Vegas-based Cyrus Moss. All four enrolled last week.
Cristobal said Kelly “is as good a pass rusher as you will find in the entire country. Fast, physical, big. This is a 250-pound edge guy that can play the run and set edges. On third down, has an unbelievable variety of moves. Great with his hands, bull rush.”
Moss, a skilled pass rusher, is Rivals’ No. 104 prospect in this class, and UM beat out Alabama to land him. “Moss has the quickness, frame, and natural aggressiveness college coaches dream of,” Rivals recruiting analyst Adam Friedman said.
And Lichtenstein - from Cypress Bay High - could play defensive end or could be one of UM’s top three tackles, with Leonard Taylor and Jared Harrison-Hunte. Lichtenstein produced 28 tackles, six tackles for loss, and four sacks for the Trojans last season, starting eight games at defensive tackle.
Moultrie -- who had 62 tackles and two sacks and eight tackles for loss at UAB last season -- will compete for a rotation spot at defensive end.
▪ Who could be coming: UM is in the mix for four players expected to make decisions on Wednesday: Miami Monsignor Pace star end Shemar Stewart, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons defensive tackle Ahmad Moten and defensive end R Mason Thomas and Georgia-based defensive tackle Christen Miller. The Gibbons players will announce at 1:30 p.m. It’s a UM-Texas A&M battle for Stewart.
Jacksonville-based end Jack Pyburn is expected to announce his choice at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, among Auburn, UF and UM. He visited Auburn and UF but didn’t take an official visit to UM. Update: Pyburn picked UF.
LINEBACKER
▪ Who’s leaving: Bradley Jennings Jr. (transferred to Indiana),
▪ Who’s coming: Miami Central four-star prospect Wesley Bissainthe, an early enrollee who figures to play immediately at a position of need.
“He’s a fast, rangy, instinctive, hard working leader. He’s a game-changer at a position we really need guys to help us,” Cristobal said.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
▪ Who’s leaving: Bubba Bolden (NFL-bound), Gurvan Hall (transferred to Utah State).
▪ Who’s coming: Cornerbacks Khamauri Rogers, Chris Graves and Jaden Harris and safety Markeith Williams.
Cristobal said Rogers, the one early enrollee of these four, “is about as agile, athletic a DB as you’ll find. He has so much value, not only on defense, but also on special teams. Willing tackler. Instantly allows you to plug him in nickel and dime packages…. Chris Graves could just as easily play on offense. But he’s a corner for us.”
Cristobal said Harris has “a different kind of ball skills [having played soccer, too]. The way he’s in and out of breaks [is impressive]. Excellent athletic ability, combined with instinctive movements.”
And Cristobal said Williams “is another physical safety, another guy that can run the alley and play those perimeter bubbles. Another guy that can set edges. Unique to have that length and still be able to play man to man coverage on some of those smaller slots.”
Note: The team’s punter (Lou Hedley) and kicker (Andres Borregales) are both returning in 2022.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 12:06 PM.
