Damon Wilson II was one of the biggest acquisitions in the transfer portal and when the Miami Hurricanes signed the sack specialist, they were expecting he would help fill the void left by the departures of Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor to the NFL.
But the expectations for Wilson haven't met reality and through the first two games, the former Missouri standout was struggling to find his footing with the Hurricanes defense and find the quarterback. It was a bit of a surprise to see Wilson start the season with the second-team edge rushers and even though he's more of a co-starter than anything, it was a sign that maybe there was a little buyer's remorse.
But Wilson was much more active against Wake Forest, recording a sack and drawing a holding call in the end zone that gave Miami a safety.
Damon Wilson forces the hold
— Grant Reacts (@GrantReacts1) September 19, 2026
SAFETY!!! pic.twitter.com/MPODMgBGEb
Damon Wilson II needs to build on his Week 3 performance
Because the expectations around Miami are so big, there isn't much room for patience and Wilson was expected to produce immediately. But this is a new system for Wilson, and it's going to take time for him to adjust to Corey Hetherman's scheme and time for Hetherman to figure out the best ways to use him.
Hetherman decided to amp up the pressure against Wake Forest in hopes of rattling Gio Lopez, and it seemed to light a fire under Wilson, which makes me think that maybe the game plans against Stanford and Florida A&M weren't good for his skill set. As Mario Cristobal mentioned in his postgame press conference, the Hurricanes defensive line could've had several more sacks if Lopez wasn't so slippery.
"I think a ton of credit goes to the defense for just bowing up and executing at a high level. They affected the passer. He’s hard to tackle. He escaped from a lot of stuff. We felt that we had ourselves another four to five sacks, and that obviously will be assessed and worked on," he said.
Hetherman and defensive ends coach Jason Taylor will continue to work with Wilson and the hope is that in a month from now we'll be looking back at his early-season struggles and will just have chalked them up to an adjustment period.
That's the beauty of where the Hurricanes are right now. Miami shouldn't be expected to play perfect football this early in the season, and they have plenty of room to grow from here. Let's see where the Hurricanes are in 4–5 weeks when the top teams begin to peak.
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