The college football spring transfer portal is officially closed. One of the more active teams during this cycle was the Miami football team. That should come as no surprise to those who have followed the program since Mario Cristobal took over the program back in 2022.
Going back to the winter window, when the Hurricanes brought in nine transfers, Cristobal has built what he is hoping is a contender in the ACC for the 2024 season. That’s something that Miami football has never been able to say since they joined the conference back in 2004.
Cristobal and Miami football made a big splash in the portal in the winter when they acquired one of the more coveted players in the entire portal, Cam Ward. The former Washington State quarterback hopes to finally be the long-missing answer at signal caller the Canes have sought for over two decades now.
The spring window has also been pretty grand for the Miami football team. The Canes are bringing in five new members to their roster this spring, including two four-star transfers in wide receiver Sam Brown and running back Damien Martinez.
However, with gain in the transfer portal, there is likewise loss. The Canes lost 14 players to the portal this term, according to InsideTheU. It goes without saying that some of those players will likely not be missed. But there will always be some productive players lost in every portal window. Looking at those who chose different schools, there may be one that sticks out as being Miami football’s biggest loss. That being defensive lineman Jared Harrison-Hunte.
Miami football loses Jared Harrison-Hunte to spring transfer portal
Again, losses were expected during this spring window just like every window, but the loss of Jared Harrison-Hunte, who later committed to SMU, came as a bit of a surprise to the Miami football team. Harrison-Hunte was entering his final collegiate season in 2024, where Cristobal and staff were likely hoping he would finish his career. The sixth-year senior had a fairly productive career while playing for the Canes. In four seasons playing in 42 games, Harrison-Hunte has 78 career tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, one forced fumble, and one pass defended. In total, he made 22 starts in his Miami football career. He was coming off his best season that included 26 total tackles, two sacks, and one fumble recovery.
Harrison-Hunte’s kind of experience will definitely be a hit to the Canes’ defensive front this upcoming season. They had already lost defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III, who left early for the NFL but only signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets. They also lost other pieces to their defensive line in defensive lineman Collins Acheampong and Jahfari Harvey and edge rushers Cyrus Moss, Chantz Williams, and Nyjalik Kelly.
Miami was already trying to add depth to their defensive tackle position out of the portal back in the winter with the additions of NC State’s CJ Clark and MTSU’s Marley Cook. At least the team still has defensive tackles Anthony Campbell, Thomas Gore, Josh Horton, and Ahmad Moten returning for next season, who all mostly have some valuable experience. Clark, Cook, and Gore are all redshirt seniors.
Miami football finds a suitable replacement for Jared Harrison-Hunte
Cristobal and the Canes didn’t stop their impressive work in the portal after adding guys like Brown and Martinez to the offense. After a hard fought battle with other teams, they added a valuable piece to their defense with the addition of Michigan State defensive lineman Simeon Barrow Jr. from Michigan State, as was reported by On3’s Hayes Fawcett.
Finding a suitable replacement for guys like Harrison-Hunte, who not only had production but a wealth of experience behind it, isn’t always easy to find in the portal. But Miami football seems to have done that with Barrow.
The 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle totaled 110 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles in three years playing for the Spartans where he started in 30 out of his 34 games played. He also accounted for two blocked field goals and was a two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention selection.
