Just Now: Miami Offices Where Suspended Due To Their C….
Talent acquisition never stops in college football.
The early signing period has wrapped up and the Miami Hurricanes football program has signed the No. 4 class in the country, according to 247Sports.
The window for high school players to officially sign has closed, but the transfer portal for college players is still open through early January—and there are plenty of options that could help UM elevate its roster in 2024.
Miami has already picked up commitments from four transfer portal players with 3-star OL Zach Carpenter (Indiana), 3-star DT Marley Cook (Middle Tennessee State), 3-star DT C.J. Clark (N.C. State), and DB Savion Riley (Vanderbilt) all giving a pledge to the Hurricanes in December.
With plenty of areas on the roster to still address, UM is not done adding players in the portal.
Quarterback is still a key position of need for the Hurricanes to address in the portal with UM zeroing in on top target Cam Ward out of Washington State. In 2023, Ward threw for 3,736 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 66.6 percent of his attempts. Miami has also played host to Kansas State transfer Will Howard.
There are other areas on the roster to address outside of quarterback and this article looks to highlight some transfer portal options that make sense at those position groups.
Miami just missed out on landing 5-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on early singing day with the talented local player sticking with his Ohio State pledge instead of flipping to the Hurricanes. Even though he will be a true freshman in 2024, Smith would have been WR1 for Miami. Stewart is entering his third year at the college level and represents a transfer portal option with WR1 ability.
In 18 games at Texas A&M, Stewart caught 91 passes for 1,163 yards with six touchdowns. At 6-feet and 180 pounds, Stewart is a strong route runner that plays with suddenness when getting in and out of his breaks. In 2023, Stewart caught 11 passes for 142 yards yards in the Aggies’ lost to Miami. Stewart can make plays in the deep passing game and he can generate explosives in the short passing game. He will be highly sought after in the transfer portal. The competition for his services will be fierce.
At 6-feet-1 and 325 pounds, Raikes is a veteran nose tackle with plenty of experience battling on the line of scrimmage in the SEC. Raikes has played 764 career snaps on defense since arriving at TAMU in the 2020 recruiting class. During the recent 2023 season, Raikes played 255 defensive snaps and totaled 17 tackles, three tackles for loss, and one sack while generating five pressures. Raikes won’t produce eye-popping stats, but he is a stout player in the middle of a defense that is difficult to move—which is important in the run defense phase. Raikes earned a 77.3 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus in 2023. At Miami, Raikes would provide a true nose tackle to feature in the playing rotation.
Miami could use an injection of talent at cornerback going into the 2024 season. Harris is going to be one of the most talented cornerback options available in the portal. At 6-feet-1 and 180 pounds, Harris was a five-star recruit coming out of Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama and signed with the Georgia Bulldogs. As a true freshman, Harris played 89 defensive snaps and totaled eight tackles. Harris was targeted nine times in coverage, allowing five receptions for 47 yards.
Adding a player like Harris at Miami would likely push Daryl Porter to the nickel spot with Damari Brown lining up as the other outside corner.
Jackson is another ultra talented option at cornerback that has entered the portal. At 6-feet-1 and 190 pounds, Jackson was a five-star prospect out of the 2022 recruiting class. He played 668 defensive snaps as an outside cornerback for the Trojans in 2023, totaling 33 tackles. Jackson was targeted 31 times, allowing 20 receptions for 411 yards and two touchdowns while in coverage.
