Despite having just played in the National Championship game and being just seven points away from winning it all, the Miami Hurricanes have seen a somewhat surprising exodus from the program through the transfer portal.
Since the game ended and the extended transfer window opened for the Canes, 19 players have decided to take their talents elsewhere.
The unsurprising part of it all is that quite a few of those players have taken a misstep and seen a downgrade in the program that they call home.
Players who downgraded by transferring from Miami
Obviously, not every star on a college roster is going to be a star, but there were a few departures from Miami that hurt. Seeing those players commit to a program on a lower tier applied a little salve to those burns.
Wideout Joshisa Trader was undeniably one of the biggest losses for the Canes and one of the best transfer prospects out of Miami this offseason. In 2025, his sophomore season, Trader earned 178 yards and one touchdown on just 13 receptions, finding the end zone in Miami's loss to SMU.
Out of the transfer portal, Trader announced he had committed to the NC State Wolfpack, one of the lower-tier teams in the ACC.
Leaving the National runners-up for a team like the Wolfpack, which just finished seventh in the conference with an 8-5 overall record, was irrefutably a downgrade for the young wide receiver.
Nino Francavilla wasn't a star for the Hurricane quite yet, but he had already appeared in four games as a sophomore offensive lineman on the roster. Surrounded by a plethora of elite linemen, it shouldn't be surprising that Francavilla saw minimal playing time.
Even though he didn't play a lot, transferring from the Hurricanes to the Buffalo Bulls was a misstep. At the very least, transfer to another Power Conference program so that you stand a better chance at returning to the College Football Playoff.
Buffalo ended the 2025 season with a 5-7 overall record and a sixth-place finish in the MAC, but at least Francavilla will likely be a starter for the Bulls...
Yet another wide receiver who transferred to yet another ACC program was Ny Carr, leaving the Hurricanes for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Carr's misstep in the portal might be an even bigger downgrade than Trader's was. While Wake finished the 2025 season with a 9-4 overall record, the Deacons were far from an elite program, and their success felt more like a fluke than an actual solidification of a winning team.
While he earned just 45 yards on three catches last season, the young wideout had a lot of promise in his back pocket. Next season, Carr will face his former team in the first conference game of the season for Wake Forest as the Demon Deacons are scheduled to host the Fri, Sept. 18.