Hurricanes lose former 4-star EDGE rusher to transfer portal

​Miami Hurricanes redshirt freshman edge rusher Elias Rudolph has entered the NCAA transfer portal, as confirmed by On3's Hayes Fawcett. Rudolph, who redshirted during his lone season in Coral Gables, will have four years of eligibility remaining.

As a prospect in the class of 2024, Rudolph was rated by 247Sports as four-star recruit, the No. 26 overall edge rusher in the country and a top 15 overall player in the state of Ohio. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Rudolph was a three-star prospect. Both sites agreed that he was a top-15 prospect in Ohio but the ratings differ at position nationally and overall. On3 had him as the No. 39 edge rusher nationally and the No. 404 overall prospect in the 2024 class. Standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 220 pounds, Rudolph was a highly sought-after recruit regardless of the difference from recruiting sites, holding over 60 scholarship offers during his recruitment process.

Initially, Rudolph committed to the University of Michigan before flipping his commitment to Miami in August 2023. Despite the high expectations, he saw limited action during his freshman year, appearing in just four defensive snaps. Rudolph appeared in two games for Miami last season recording one tackle in the Hurricanes blowout win over Ball State.

Rudolph's decision to enter the transfer portal comes on the opening day of the spring transfer portal window. He joins wide receiver Ny Carr, safety Zaquan Patterson and defensive tackle Joshua Horton as players from the Hurricanes to enter the portal during the current spring window.

Mario Cristobal and Miami were already going to target DT, safety and WR this spring as they are young at all three of those positions entering the 2025 season. Now, they will need to address the defensive line with an extra emphasis as they continue to build their roster for the upcoming season. The loss of a promising talent like Rudolph shows the new era of college football and there is likely to be more players hopping into the transfer portal in the coming days.