From the Ashes.

[Soapy]

Hurricanes finish with top-3 recruiting class as they go light in the portal, bring back receiver Tyler Rattay
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports Miami Insider

The Miami Hurricanes finish the 2031 recruiting cycle with the nation's third ranked recruiting class behind Oregon and Alabama with the national champions falling just four points shy of having the nation's top recruiting class. The Ducks signed an impressive 32 blue chip prospects, most in the country by a wide margin while the Tide finished with twenty seven and the Hurricanes signed seventeen blue chip prospects along with ten three-stars, many of which are corner as they looked to replenish that position.

Alabama finished with the top ranked transfer portal class, dipping into the portal at key positions such as quarterback, defensive tackle and defensive end while the Hurricanes were more selective, signing just three players in Tulsa safety Stephon Bynum, Florida receiver Brian Trapasso and East Carolina left tackle Tyler Griffen.

At the high school ranks, the Hurricanes were unable to close out the recruitment of running back Randy Evensen, who stuck with his commitment to Nebraska and signed with the Cornhuskers. The Hurricanes did sign Kenyon Henery, a three-star out of Homestead, and have retained receiver Tyler Rattay who entered the portal back in January.

2031 Miami Hurricanes Recruiting Class
High School
Jamie Stumph [ROLB #1]: 6'2", 256lbs | Daytona Beach, FL | 5-star
Kevin Farmer [DT #3]: 6'5", 291lbs | Pompano Beach, FL | 5-star
Morris Jones [RT #2]: 6'5", 286lbs | Clearwater, FL | 5-star
Ezekiel Hooey [ATH #1]: 6'5", 205lbs | Ocala, FL | 5-star
T.J. Blue [LG #1]: 6'4", 310lbs | Orlando, FL | 4-star
Emmanuel Vaccaro [C #3]: 6'1", 311lbs | Miami, FL | 4-star
Alec Baer [QB #7]: 6'5", 208lbs | Savannah, GA | 4-star
Dwayne Gideon [RG #3]: 6'2", 298lbs | Jacksonville, FL | 4-star
Oscar Bermudez [ATH #12]: 6'3", 297lbs | Opa Locka, FL | 4-star
Zach Ghee [ATH #8]: 6'4", 242lbs | Bradenton, FL (IMG Academy) | 4-star
Marques Groy [FS #7]: 5'11", 222lbs | Winter Garden, FL | 4-star
Tony Slye [HB #22]: 6'1", 231lbs | Palmetto, FL (IMG Academy) | 4-star
Silas Soroh [WR #26]: 6'1", 193lbs | Winter Garden, FL | 4-star
Rico Kush [SS #5]: 5'10", 212lbs | Belle Glade, FL | 4-star
Roy Talbott [CB #31]: 6'1", 177lbs | Venice, FL | 3-star
Jesse Street [P #1]: 6'0", 206lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 3-star
Warren Silas [CB #44]: 6'0", 198lbs | Clearwater, FL | 3-star
Marlon Savoy [CB #45]: 6'1", 196lbs | Atlanta, GA | 3-star
Kenyon Henery [HB #76]: 5'10", 174lbs | Homestead, FL | 3-star
Bo Harvin [CB #53]: 6'2", 172lbs | Orlando, FL | 3-star
Rasheem Pelshak [WR #99]: 6'1", 195lbs | Fort Pierce, FL | 3-star
Nick Heurtelou [FS #50]: 5'11", 198lbs | Miami, FL | 3-star
Damion Folsom [CB #88]: 5'9", 183lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 3-star
Russell Kamara [CB #101]: 5'9", 184lbs | West Palm Beach, FL | 3-star
Transfer Portal
Stephon Bynum [FS #2]: 6'0", 215lbs | Weatherford, OK | 4-star
Tyler Griffen [LT #3]: 6'7", 317lbs | Dunnellon, FL | 4-star
Brian Trapasso [WR #2]: 6'4", 200lbs | Miami, FL | 4-star

2031 Miami Hurricanes Recruiting Board
High School
Randy Evensen [HB #175]: 5'10", 234lbs | West Palm Beach, FL | 3-star

247Sports Top 25 Recruiting Class
1. Oregon
2. Alabama
3. Miami
4. Notre Dame
5. Colorado
6. USC
7. Georgia
8. Michigan
9. Florida State
10. Texas
11. Ohio State
12. LSU
13. Kansas State
14. Penn State
15. Clemson
16. TCU
17. Tennessee
18. Oklahoma
19. Nebraska
20. Wisconsin
21. Syracuse
22. Ole Miss
23. Texas Tech
24. NC State
25. Washington
--------------
29. Auburn
30. Kentucky
33. Florida
36. Texas A&M
41. Arkansas
68. Missouri
102. Vanderbilt
110. Mississippi State
111. South Carolina

Notable Transfer Portal Players
#1 Shaquille Dozier [ROLB #1]: Prev Team: Pittsburgh | Signed With
#2 Vernon Tant [FS #1]: Prev Team: Duke | Signed With
#3 Iosefa Pouha [QB #1]: Prev Team: Arizona State | Signed With
#4 Kenny Kindred [ILB #1]: Prev Team: Eastern Michigan | Signed With
#5 Tim Wagner [CB #1]: Prev Team: SMU | Signed With
#6 Eric Lucien [WR #1]: Prev Team: Florida | Signed With
#7 Brent Sampson [QB #2]: Prev Team: Kansas | Signed With
#8 Stephon Bynum [FS #2]: Prev Team: Tulsa | Signed With
#9 Brian Trapasso [WR #2]: Prev Team: Florida | Signed With
#10 James Parish [WR #3]: Prev Team: TCU | Signed With
#11 Angelo Best [WR #4]: Prev Team: Oklahoma | Signed With
#12 Rafael Barmore [RG #1]: Prev Team: Virginia Tech | Signed With
#13 Quincy Square [TE #1]: Prev Team: Cincinnati | Signed With
#14 Donnie Paul [DT #1]: Prev Team: Oklahoma | Signed With
#15 Ethan Burns [ILB #2]: Prev Team: Rutgers | Signed With
#16 Pat Welsh [DT #2]: Prev Team: Texas State | Signed With
#17 Tyrone Abrams [RT #1]: Prev Team: Louisiana Tech | Signed With
#18 Reggie Avant [LG #1]: Prev Team: Cincinnati | Signed With
#19 Lyle Randall [WR #5]: Prev Team: Washington State | Signed With
#20 Major Gibbs [CB #2]: Prev Team: LSU | Signed With
#21 Enrique Cheek [HB #1]: Prev Team: Louisiana Tech | Signed With
#22 Dom Chau [QB #3]: Prev Team: Kentucky | Signed With
#23 Miguel Barbosa [WR #6]: Prev Team: Oklahoma | Signed With
#24 Storm Addae [ROLB #2]: Prev Team: Boston College | Signed With
#25 James Jennings [C #1]: Prev Team: Arkansas | Signed With

[Soapy]

Jeff Beavers and Terrance Harris beginning to separate themselves from the pack for Miami football starting QB
Carlos Navarro -- The Athletic Staff Writer

Miami Hurricanes quarterback Jeff Beavers first heard about current teammate Terrance Harris when Beavers was a high school senior at St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) and Harris, a sophomore at the time, had led Miami Central to the State Championship in Orlando, one classification below Beavers and STA. Despite being the more accomplished player at the time, it was Harris was that was the higher ranked prospect and the talk of the tournament.

"I always kept an eye on him and followed him after that," Beavers recalls, "Everyone was saying he was the best quarterback in South Florida already and I play in South Florida so I wanted to see for myself."

Beavers would meet Harris for the first time a few years later when Harris, now a five-star recruit, had shown up to Miami's Legend Camp while Beavers was already enrolled at Miami. Harris improved the coaching staff with his showing, throwing in front of head coach Mario Cristobal and then offensive coordinator Chris Weinke. The Hurricanes made Harris a priority soon after, putting him on a collision course with Beavers and Miami's other quarterbacks.

"I've been in competition with him longer before he even got here," Beavers says with a smile, "He just now knows it and so does everyone else."

Miami is replacing Bernie Flowers who was part of Miami's two national championships and led them to an SEC Championship last year and is now preparing for a shot at the NFL after being drafted in the fifth round by the Seattle Seahawks. On Tuesday, following Miami's third spring practice, Beavers met with the media first followed by Harris, just like they began the spring on the depth chart.

"I'm not really too worried about a decision or anything like that," said Harris, a second-year freshman who played in three games last season to preserve his redshirt. "The coaches are going to make the best decision for the team so for me it's all about just showing up every day and being the best version of myself. If that's not good enough to start at the University of Miami, I need to get better, plain and simple."

Cristobal said that the Hurricanes are currently in open competition at all positions but that Beavers and Harris have shown him certain traits throughout the offseason program that he's looking for in a starting quarterback.

"Talent isn't really an issue with [Beavers and Harris] and they're high character guys which you feel great about," he said, "It's really about decision making and who can minimize the mistakes. They're both playmakers and they can make plays that we as a coaching staff can't draw up so it's really about figuring out when and where to make things happen outside of the structure of the offense and knowing when to just operate within it."

Of the other quarterbacks, Cristobal said that true freshman Alec Baer is still learning how to play the position at the college level while for third-year sophomore Tyler Boozer, who was actually Beavers' backup for one season at St. Thomas, it's about doing the little things right, all the time. Chances are that the competition to be the starter will roll into summer workouts and then preseason practices.

Some other notes as spring ball opens up

Stephon Bynum appears to be an outside corner
Tulsa transfer Stephon Bynum played nearly 1,600 snaps for the Golden Hurricanes, all at safety and primarily as a single-high safety, the position that Miami's lone returning starter in the secondary Bobby Haslam occupies. It was expected that Bynum would play strong safety or perhaps the nickel at Miami, given his background as a high school corner, but so far this spring, Bynum has exclusively warmed up and worked out with the outside corners in Miami's defense.

Miami defensive coordinator Brandon Harris, a former Miami defensive back himself, was non-committal on what position Bynum would play in Miami's defense.

"He's a defensive back," Harris said, "Besides that, it's too early to make any declaration on where anybody is playing."

Bynum's move to corner, if permanent, is a much needed one for the Hurricanes that return only two scholarship corners on the roster and only one 'experienced' player in sophomore Siaki Tu'ikolovatu who played primarily in the slot as a five-star true freshman. The pairing, should they both be moved to the outside, would give the Hurricanes two six-foot-plus, two-hundred-pound plus outside corners with good movement skills and ball skills.

The rest of the room remains unproven in redshirt freshman Tremaine Thompson, a former three-star, and six true freshmen in Roy Talbott, Bo Harvin, Russell Kamara, Damion Folsom, Marlon Savoy and Warren Silas.

Miami's depth at defensive tackle is breath taking
Not a lot can be gleamed from the public portion of Miami's spring practices as the media is only allowed to present for thirty to forty five minutes of practice which is mostly composed of dynamic warmups and non-competitive periods.

The biggest takeaways from these semi-open practices are body type evaluations and depth in terms of raw numbers and perhaps no position is more impressive than defensive tackle. Miami's top four returning players at the position all look impressive in former five-stars JaMichael Sloman, Karl Tuten, Rashad Garnes and four-star Javonte Dye.

What's even more impressive is behind them are a couple of young and unproven but highly touted prospects in true freshman Oscar Bermudez and Kevin Farmer, another five star, and then a couple of third year players in Brian Deaderick, Maka Ivy, Matt Randall and Oscar Sash as well as second-year four-star Jeremiah Sprinkle.

The Hurricanes are loaded at the position and will likely need to thin out the herd following the spring as guys will look for better chance to play elsewhere but in terms of stacking talent, nowhere has Miami gotten it more right than at defensive tackle.

[Soapy]

A hard hat and a meal plan, Baraka Tejada looks to follow in Jason Peters' footsteps
Carlos Navarro -- The Athletic Staff Writer

Throughout the Miami Hurricanes winter workouts, which often concluded with multiple sets of sprints, the gap between fourth-year junior Baraka Tejada and the next offensive lineman in his group would often be comical by the last sprint. Miami's feisty and energetic offensive line coach Alex Mirabal would scold the rest of his group, urging them to close the distance on the next one.

The lead would only get bigger and bigger for Tejada, despite the rest of the group being in pretty damn good shape. The program's strength and conditioning coach, Aaron Feld, had a different idea. He placed Tejada in the 'mids' group with linebackers, edge rushers and tight ends. While the six-foot-seven, 311-pounder at the time would no longer finish first, he certainly wasn't finishing last.

"He's always been a really talented athlete," said Mirabal of Tejada, who had yet to crack the rotation at Miami after coming in as the No. 5 ranked offensive tackle in the nation.

Known for his powerful run-blocking ability and athleticism coming out of Lakeland, Tejada had a long way to go according to Mirabal in his technique, particularly in pass protection and at the University of Miami, under Mirabal and head coach Mario Cristobal whose background is in offensive line play, it's nearly impossible to get on the field if you can't be trusted to protect the quarterback. But when newly hired offensive coordinator Tim Beck saw Tejada sprinting up and down the field, often beating the tight ends on the roster, he recognized a potential solution to a problem.

Miami entered the spring with just three full-time scholarship tight ends as fullback Ben Casillas, who was projected to play tight end in Beck's offense which doesn't feature a tight end, was splitting time between the position and linebacker. A dominant run blocker that can run as fast as a tight end? That sounded like a tight end to Beck.

"If I could have ten offensive lineman out there and a quarterback, I would," said a smiling Mirabal, "We were certainly open to it as a coaching staff and Baraka [Tejada] is the type of kid that just wants to work hard and help the team any way he can."

Feld and the rest of Miami's strength and conditioning program were activated by Cristobal, Beck and tight end coach Cody Woodiel. Tejada was provided with a meal plan, a weigh-in schedule and a skills development program that he'd need to do on his own to catch up to the other players on the roster due to the NCAA-mandated time restrictions when it comes to organized practices. The Hurricanes gave Tejada the blueprint, he'd need to bring the hard hat.

"I was just really excited about the opportunity," Tejada says of the move to tight end, "I've always wanted to be a left tackle in the NFL but looking at guys like Jason Peters, who played tight end in college and then was an All-Pro left tackle [in the NFL], everyone's path is different so I'm just looking to get to work."

Tejada says he's down to 300 pounds and plans on playing this season at the 285-pound range, which is the goal weight the training staff laid out for him. Tejada, who wears the No. 87 now, will be an interesting player to keep an eye on during Miami's upcoming spring game.

[Soapy]

Biggest takeaways from the Miami Hurricanes' football spring showcase
Manny Ledo -- The Miami Herald Sports Columnist

There were no scores, no designated teams and no official stats were kept as the Miami Hurricanes returned to Cobb Stadium on the University of Miami's campus to put the finishing touches on spring practices. Instead, the Hurricanes brought physicality, intensity and competitiveness according to head coach Mario Cristobal, who forego a traditional spring game.

"We just wanted our guys to come out and compete," said Cristobal of the showcase which was not televised, "I felt like we brought a good deal of physicality and the intensity was pretty high throughout the entire showcase so for us, that's more important than keeping scores or keeping stats. We wanted to value just making a play after play, not worrying about that other stuff and our guys responded well."

While it wasn't an official game, there were plenty of takeaways:

• Jeff Beavers wins the day in battle for QB1
  While the format near the end of the showcase got a bit wacky with the coaching staff playing out different scenarios seemingly at random -- goal line, two minute drills, backed up, etc. -- the early portions mimicked a traditional game with Terrance Harris leading what seemed like the first team offense at quarterback and then Jeff Beavers taking the lead with the second team, perhaps a reflection of where they stood heading into the day.
  
  While Beavers got the advantage of playing against mostly the projected backups on defense, he certainly had the better day of the two quarterbacks. Harris had two bad interceptions and while he seemed in command of the offense, he did not push the ball down the field like Beavers did and the one time that he did, it was negated by a penalty on what was a great throw and catch to receiver Brian Trapasso. Where Harris did shine was with his mobility, scrambling for a touchdown and even in the limited format with no designed quarterback runs, it's clear that Harris is the better athlete of the two.
  
  Beavers did have a really bad interception in the redzone, similar to Harris' earlier in the day, where he scrambled right and tried to fit the ball into a tight window and it was intercepted. It was his lone mistake in what was otherwise a flawless performance, tossing four touchdown passes including a beautiful floater to tight end Brian Killings who caught two passes for 55 yards.
  
  The quarterback competition will likely drag through the spring and into the summer but Beavers clearly won the day.
  -
• Miami's young defensive line raises concern for Miami's offensive line
  The nature of spring games, scrimmages, showcases or whatever you want to call them is that whenever a position group has a standout performance, it's also against the team's own players which brings into question: is the dominant group that good or is the losing side that bad?
  
  Miami's second group of defensive lineman -- led by five-star true freshman Jamie Stumph, were virtually unblockable by the Hurricanes' second crop of offensive linemen that went, from left to right: Max Massey (redshirt junior), Glenn Salaam (redshirt freshman), George Bojorquez (redshirt sophomore), Jay Pierscbacher (redshirt freshman) and Tyler Griffen (redshirt junior).
  
  While they were serviceable in pass protection, Miami's running game was consistently stuffed when this group was on the field, typically with Broderick Booker bearing the brunt of their inadequacies. Booker did break off a long touchdown run that was called back due to a penalty on Massey, who was flagged at least three times during the showcase. The first team unit fared a lot better but were not outstanding in their play either. It was Alex Kenyon, Tobias Salaam, John Armah, Nate Keke and Enrique Sendejo.
  
  Focusing back on the defense, some of the standouts were defensive lineman Rashad Garnes who had a sack, as did JaMichael Sloman, Robert Coutu and Alex York, who had two. In the later portions of the showcase, where the starters were no longer on the field, Stumph got his sack as well as Eric Charles and Danny Bettis.
  -
• Some surprising standouts at receiver
  Projected WR1 Brian Trapasso had a quiet day with his lone big play being called back for a holding penalty. It was notable that Trapasso mostly played with Harris as his quarterback and only played a handful of plays with Beavers before shutting it down for the day.
  
  True freshman Ezekiel Hooey, who many view as Miami's most talented receiver, was targeted seven times by Harris, mostly on underneath stuff and screens and was relatively unimpressive, although he did have a touchdown in one of the situational drills that the Hurricanes went through near the later portion of the scrimmage.
  
  The stars, however, were Tyler Rattay who had a long touchdown and caught several passes from Harris and with Beavers, it was true freshman Rasheem Pelshak that was his top receiver with an 80+ yard touchdown up the right sideline that might have been the play of the day. Redshirt freshman Marcus Cavazos also had a touchdown on an impressive comeback route while true freshman Silas Soroh also showed some flashes.
  
  Now, most of their work was against Miami's young cornerback group, littered with freshmen themselves, but it was still an impressive day for a group that desperately needs playmakers following the graduation and early draft entrees of all of their top receivers from last year.

[James]

Gotta bounce back against that loss to Bama.

[Soapy]

Gotta bounce back against that loss to Bama.

hopefully we get scheduled with them in the regular season, need that lick back

[Soapy]

Miami's Jeff Beavers to enter the transfer portal amid QB battle
Carlos Navarro -- The Athletic Staff Writer

University of Miami quarterback Jeff Beavers has entered the NCAA transfer portal as a graduate transfer, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.

Beavers served as Bernie Flowers's backup last season as the Hurricanes won the SEC Championship before being bounced out by Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoffs and was in a competition for the starting job this spring with Terrance Harris.

The 6-foot-2, 216-pound passer has appeared in three games over his three years in the program and was a standout in Miami's spring game where many analysts and insiders felt that he was the better of the two quarterbacks. He is entering his redshirt junior season and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Beavers moving on as a graduate transfer could clear the way for Harris, the No. 5-ranked quarterback recruit in the 2030 ESPN 300, to take over Miami's offense in his redshirt freshman season. While no official stats were kept during Miami's spring game, Harris threw two interceptions but did find success both as a runner and in the quick passing game. Harris appeared in three games last season, throwing for 77 yards and two touchdowns along with two interceptions. He also rushed for a touchdown.

Beavers' decision to enter the transfer portal was first reported by 247Sports.

2030 Transfer Portal Departures
#9 Jeff Beavers (QB, Rs Junior)
#15 Glen Burns (K, Junior)
#32 Eric Dixon (LB, Rs Senior)
#18 Carl Godwin (S, Rs Junior)
#96 Brian Deaderick (DT, Rs Sophomore)
#90 Matt Randall (DT, Rs Sophomore)
#77 Oscar Sash (DT, Rs Sophomore)

[James]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[Captain Canada]

Wasting no time with the drama

[djp73]

A hard hat and a meal plan, Baraka Tejada looks to follow in Jason Peters' footsteps

Nice article, love the background info. How does he fit in ratings wise? Any glaring deficiencies?