Miami football adds second Oregon transfer offensive lineman Jonathan Dennis

The Miami football program continued to add depth on the line of scrimmage with former Oregon offensive lineman Jonathan Dennis transferring to the Hurricanes on Saturday night. Dennis is the second former Oregon OL to transfer to Miami this spring following former head coach Mario Cristobal and position coach Alex Mirabal.

The commitment by Dennis allows the South Dade alum to return home. Dennis was committed to the Miami football program for nearly three months in 2018. Miami previously added former Oregon OL Logan Sagapolu. Dennis and Sagapolu are third-year freshmen in 2022 with four years of eligibility remaining.

The pair redshirted in 2020 and received an extra year of eligibility from covid. Dennis split time at center and guard at Oregon. Miami has improved the depth of the interior of its OL with the additions of Dennis and Sagapolu. Dennis is the eighth transfer and fifth player on the line of scrimmage Miami during the 2022 offseason.

Dennis will reunite with his high school teammates, DJ Ivey, Frank Ladson and Keshawn Washington with Miami. Ladson returned home during the 2022 offseason after three years at Clemson. Dennis was hindered by injuries at Oregon and is not expected to be ready until this summer per Inside the U.

Dennis participated in spring practice as recently as last week with Oregon before announcing his decision to transfer last Sunday. Oregon expected Dennis to contend for a spot in the rotation on before getting injured during 2021 training camp. Miami has some uncertainty on the interior OL entering the 2022 season.

Projected starting left guard Jalen Rivers has been out this spring recovering from a knee injury. Justice Oluwaseun and Ousmane Traore have rotated with Sagapolu at guard this spring. Miami will know more about its OL when John Campbell and Rivers return for training camp in August.

D.J. Scaife has graded out better at guard during his Miami career but has been mostly playing right tackle this spring. Cristobal and Mirabal will have a lot of decisions to make in August on an OL that could look very different in four months. The addition of Dennis helps Miami add depth it didn’t have last season.