Manny Diaz looks to transfer portal to quickly rebuild Miami Hurricanes

While the Miami recruiting class may be lackluster, Manny Diaz is relying on the transfer portal to quickly rebuild the Canes back to a national power.

When Manny Diaz took over for Mark Richt, after Richt’s unexpected retirement, he used the hashtag #TNM or The New Miami. Diaz set his sights on making Miami a fun place to play that everyone wanted to be a part of.

It was evident the past two years on defense for that Diaz had a different idea than Richt for what Miami should be. Despite Richt being a part of some of the best teams in  Miami history, Diaz embodied what many felt  Miami should be. A South Florida guy himself, Diaz brings the “swag” that Hurricanes faithful swoon for. He was the one who introduced the now infamous turnover chain. It was Diaz who was sending players to the NFL, while Richt’s offense was struggling. With the team under his control, he wants to make sure #TNM is felt across the country.

Wednesday was another look at what that hashtag means. Miami received word from another player inside the NCAA transfer portal. Former Virginia Tech Hokies defensive end Trevon Hill announced his intention to sign with Diaz and the Hurricanes. 

Hill’s announcement is another in a growing list of players Miami is bringing in via the transfer portal. As it stands as of National Signing Day, Miami has landed seven players via the transfer portal. The biggest name is former five-star quarterback and Ohio State transfer Tate Martell.

The list also includes running back Asa Martin formerly of Auburn, defensive tackle Chigozie Nnoruka formerly of UCLA, wide receiver K.J. Osborn formerly of Buffalo, offensive tackle Tommy Kennedy formerly of Butler and safety Bubba Bolden formerly of USC. That list does not include the former number one overall prospect of 2017 Jaelen Phillips. Phillips has yet to announce where he plans on transferring but there is plenty of smoke surrounding the Miami Hurricanes. 

This method of grabbing talented transfers is Diaz’s way of changing Miami on the fly. The Hurricanes recruiting class was mediocre for their standards. Diaz is part of that issue for that. When he left to take the Temple job, the decommits flew in. Now that he is back, he’s struggled to reel those players back in. Miami will likely finish outside of the top-20 in recruiting rankings despite a push late to rise up the ranks.

While Miami fans will be excited about the new talent Diaz brings in, this is not what the team should be focused on. Acquiring talent in college football is focused on recruiting, not the transfer portal. When Miami is at their best it is due to the large talent pool they can choose from in South Florida. An example of that would be IMG Academy, who’s current 2019 recruiting class would be a consensus top-15 group if it was its own college.  

After last year’s recruiting class finished inside the top-10 hopes were high that they could ride that wave into 2019. They were linked to plenty of big names and was able to flip one Alabama recruit in corner Christian Williams. Overall though, they lost more names than it was able to keep. The class, in turn, floundered, leading Diaz onto the charge to find transfers.

The biggest saving grace is the age of some of these transfers. Hill, Nnoruka, Kennedy and Osborn are graduate transfers and true one-year rentals. Bolden will have two years of eligibility. Martin should see three, thanks to Auburn’s botched attempt to redshirt him. Meanwhile, Martell could have three years as well depending on his waiver request status with the NCAA.

Diaz will need to get back on the recruiting trail and get The U set up for long-term success with a strong 2020 class. An early look has Miami as the third-ranked class in 2020 a year away from National Signing Day according to 247Sports. 

Thanks to good recruiting by Richt and staff the past few years, there are pieces in place to pair with those transfers and be competitive in the ACC. Without efforts better than 2019, The New Miami could be a short-lived and uneventful piece of Miami history.