Miami football: prepare for a wild opening transfer portal day
Monday is the first official day that players can enter the transfer portal. Ten Miami football players have already announced their intention to transfer. Mario Cristobal and his staff are expected to be busy recruiting potential transfers. Transfers other than graduates cannot be contacted until Monday.
The cycle of new head coaches nationally are not at as many high-profile programs as last season. Programs with new head coaches are the ones to watch with players leaving to transfer to new schools and to join teams with new staffs. In the second year under Cristobal, expect Miami to have a high turnover on its roster.
Miami has 22 commits for 2023. The Early National Signing Period is December 21-23. The NCAA set transfer portal windows earlier this year. Postseason transfers are allowed to enter the portal officially two days after the conference championship Saturday in December. The portal remains open for 45 days after that.
January 18, 2023, is the deadline for this year. The second transfer portal window is after spring practice from May 1-15. According to ESPN “1,695 FBS players entered the portal in the 2019-20 cycle, and that number increased to 3,085 in 2021-22.” Teams are using transfers to increase depth and add experience.
When asked about player leaving to the transfer portal, Mario Cristobal says that he meets with every player after the season and that “not everybody’s asked to return.”
— Luke Chaney (@luke_chaney4) November 27, 2022
ESPN also reported “10.7% of FBS starters were transfers. This season, that number nearly doubled, to 20.9%, according to SportSource Analytics.” Six of the Miami starters in the season finale against Pittsburgh were transfers. Expect the Miami football team to rely heavily on transfers again in 2023.
Hundreds of players have already announced their intention to transfer. On Monday those players and hundreds more will enter the transfer portal. Expect some surprises like current USC quarterback Caleb Williams from Oklahoma and wide receiver Jordan Addison from Pittsburgh were last season.
Colorado will be a program to watch with the Buffaloes hiring Deion Sanders on Sunday. Sanders going to Colorado after the possibility of being hired at Auburn will likely significantly reduce any recruiting battles with Cristobal and Miami. Auburn frequently recruits players from South Florida.
General Manager of Football Operations Alonzo Highsmith and the Miami football staff have evaluated players throughout the 2022 season. College football programs have a big board of players who have entered the transfer portal or players who were potentially interested in leaving their programs.
There will be a lot of reports and speculation about who has entered the transfer portal, which teams are interested and what contacts have been made. Several players who Cristobal recruited to Oregon have announced their intention to transfer and are worth watching for Miami. The Hurricanes added two former Ducks last year.
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Patience will be needed in relation to Miami adding transfers. Many if not most players in the transfer portal will want to visit and in many cases re-visit schools before making a decision on their next destination. Previous relationships are often critical. Keep an eye on players from South Florida who might want to return home.