Since being named the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, Manny Diaz has been making splashes and already has the fan base excited about what is to come. Some of the biggest news is his success in bringing in transfers and the possibility of bringing in more.
It isn't just that he has brought in a few recruits, but the positions these prospects play is so important. The Hurricanes lost some key pieces off the 2018 squad, so there are some holes to fill. Instead of just settling for the talent on the roster, however, he has decided to look elsewhere to bolster the depth of the team.
With the recent additions of wide receiver K.J. Osborn and safety Bubba Bolden, it is obvious Diaz wants to bring in players who can help immediately and fill spots that he may not be confident in. He is also chasing other possible transfer options at multiple positions, the most obvious one at quarterback.
Osborn will come to Miami as a graduate transfer form Buffalo with one year of eligibility. Last season while playing in the MAC, he caught 53 passes for 892 yards with seven touchdowns. In three seasons, he caught a total of 96 passes for 1,490 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was also a solid punt returner, averaging 10.3 yards per return on his 33 career returns.
Wide receiver may not have been a huge need for the team with a ton of young talent at the position, but there is a lack of experience in the group with the losses of Ahmmon Richards, Lawrence Cager, Darrell Langham and Jeff Thomas. Those four players accounted for 70 catches for 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. With Osborn added to the group of Mike Harley, Dee Wiggins, Brian Hightower, and Mark Pope, the group should be just fine to go along with a group of awesome tight ends.
Bolden, a safety who played his high school career with Canes tight end Brevin Jordan, is transferring from USC after playing his freshman season and sitting out last season. Bolden was the seventh-ranked safety by 247Sports coming out of high school and has three years of eligibility remaining, with also having the ability to play right away.
There is a current hole at safety with the loss of senior safeties Jaquan Johnson and Sheldrick Redwine. There is still quite a bit of talent at the position, but just inexperienced players since Johnson and Redwine were both multi-year starters who rarely missed time. Between Gurvan Hall, Amari Carter, and some others, the safety position should still be a strength of the team.
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With the hire of Dan Enos as offensive coordinator, the next transfer people are looking to is Jalen Hurts. Enos was the quarterbacks coach at Alabama last year and apparently built a pretty good relationship with Hurts. Diaz has said he will do anything to improve the quarterback play at Miami, including adding a transfer.
Hurts would be a great get, but also a short-term solution for what has been a long-term problem for the Hurricanes. Hurts would have one year of eligibility left, but he also has a ton of great experience and has shown he is as mature as they come, something that could benefit the program and the young quarterbacks that are already on the roster(assuming they don't take off as soon as he commits to becoming a Cane).
Another name circling in the transfer portal is Tate Martell, a highly-touted recruit who was at Ohio State for the past two seasons but would have three years of eligibility. He decided to transfer after Justin Fields committed to transferring to the Buckeyes. Martell played at Bishop Gorman High School is Las Vegas with Jordan and Bolden. West Virginia is expected to be a contender for him, too.
Other big news in the transferring world for the Hurricanes is about Jeff Thomas. The team's leading receiver from last year had left the team toward the end of the season and had committed to playing at Illinois. But he has apparently showed interest in returning to Miami and has removed all mention of the Illini in his Twitter bio.
