Podcast: Portal madness, recruiting season and what it all means for the Miami Hurricanes

From the transfer portal to the early signing period, the craziness of the college football offseason is starting earlier than ever this year, and it means there’s no rest for Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes.

Their season has been done for almost two weeks and the coach is busier than ever, sorting through the give and take of the transfer portal, and trying to put the finishing touches on his Class of 2023.

On a new episode of the Eye on the Podcast, David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Hurricanes beat writer for the Miami Herald, sort through what all the latest offseason developments mean for the Hurricanes.

For this week, most of the focus is on the portal and the dozen-plus players Miami is losing to transfer.

Of course, not all transfers are created equal, so Wilson devised a taxonomy to analyze the three different types of transfers and which category all these former Hurricanes fit into.

The big one is the major losses and Miami has at least one of those with defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr. headed to play for the Florida State Seminoles after one extremely promising season in South Florida.

The departures of running back Jaylan Knighton and wide receiver Key’Shawn Smith shouldn’t just be ignored, either, as both played important roles for the Hurricanes this year.

As for the rest of the losses, those two fit into two broader categories: There are those who have flashed potential and those who have yet to make any sort of real contribution at this level.

In the former, sit wide receiver Romello Brinson and defensive lineman Elijah Roberts. In the latter, there are young players like defensive lineman Allan Haye and safety Keshawn Washington.

Wilson and Degnan examine what each of these departures will mean for Miami this offseason and next year.

At the end, they take quick look at some of the major recruiting storylines, including commitment dates for elite linemen Samson Okunlola and Rueben Bain, with the early signing period set to begin Dec. 21.

As always, thanks for listening and please continue to rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.