The first major positional rankings from EA Sports College Football 27 leaves the Miami Hurricanes' 2026 defense with plenty to prove.
Across EA Sports' top-10 rankings for cornerbacks, defensive tackles, linebackers and edge rushers, Ahmad Moten Sr. is the only Miami defender to make the cut. The redshirt senior defensive tackle is No. 6 at his position with a 91 overall rating.
Miami has several defenders with strong ratings, including edge rusher Damon Wilson II at 89, cornerback Ethan O'Connor at 87 and strong safety Bryce Fitzgerald at 87. But Moten was the only Hurricane included in the four major defensive leaderboards released by EA Sports.
The ratings underline the challenge for a Miami defense replacing NFL talent and trying to prove it has enough top-end players to match the program's expectations in 2026.
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) June 25, 2026
Ahmad Moten Sr. earned his place as the top Miami defender
In 2025, he started all 14 games he played, finished with 31 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, and earned second-team All-ACC recognition.
He recorded three tackles for loss and two sacks against Virginia Tech, then added 1.5 sacks at Pittsburgh one week later. He also started throughout Miami's College Football Playoff run.
EA Sports rated Moten with 92 strength, 88 awareness and a 98 injury rating. His 91 overall placed him behind Oklahoma's David Stone, Oregon's A'Mauri Washington and three players rated 92 overall, but ahead of Oregon defensive tackle Bear Alexander and every player ranked seventh through 10th.
Damon Wilson II is perhaps the best transfer Miami has on defense
Wilson is one point away from the top-10 edge-rusher cutoff, just behind Arkansas' Quincy Rhodes Jr., who received a 90 overall rating.
EA Sports gives Wilson 87 speed, 84 strength, 89 agility and 87 awareness.
Miami's cornerback room was lower in the initial ratings
The cornerback group did not place a player in EA Sports' top 10, where Notre Dame's Leonard Moore leads the position at 97 overall and BYU's Evan Johnson holds the final spot at 90.
O'Connor is Miami's highest-rated cornerback at 87 overall, Frederique is next at 86, followed by Xavier Lucas at 85. All three received at least a 90 speed rating, and O'Connor has a 92 change-of-direction rating.
Linebacker is the lowest rated position by EA
EA's top 10 begins with Ole Miss linebacker Suntarine Perkins and Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles at 92 overall. Every player in the graphic received at least a 90 overall rating.
Miami's highest-rated linebacker in College Football 27 is Mohamed Toure, who received an 84 overall rating as a will linebacker. His 92 awareness rating stands out, but the overall rating leaves him six points below the 90-overall floor for EA Sports' top 10.
Chase Smith is Miami's highest-rated middle linebacker at 74 overall, while Kamal Bonner is rated 73. The gap is substantial, and the Hurricanes will need more production from the unit than EA Sports expects at launch.
Bryce Fitzgerald at safety is worth a mention
Miami did not place a safety in EA Sports' top 10, but Bryce Fitzgerald was close.
Fitzgerald is listed immediately outside the top 10 strong safeties at 87 overall. Iowa's Zach Lutmer holds the final top-10 spot at 88, leaving Fitzgerald one overall point from the cutoff. EA Sports gave Fitzgerald 91 speed, 93 agility and 91 change of direction, but an 84 awareness rating helped keep him below the group ahead of him.
Zechariah Poyser is Miami's top-rated free safety at 85 overall, while incoming transfer Omar Thornton is rated 82 at strong safety.
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