Previewing the Miami Hurricanes’ cornerbacks entering the 2023 season | Summer camp series
The Miami Hurricanes struggled in Year 1 under Mario Cristobal, going 5-7 and missing out on a bowl game. But newcomers and returning players could give Miami fans reasons for hope as the 2023 season gets closer.
Each week, we’ll take a look at Miami’s position groups and see where they stand as the college football season rapidly approaches.
Last week, we previewed Miami’s linebacker group. This week, we take a look at the Hurricanes’ cornerbacks.
Who left
The Hurricanes lost key contributors to the NFL and several players to the transfer portal in the offseason.
Miami’s starting duo of outside cornerbacks, DJ Ivey and Tyrique Stevenson, both departed for the pro ranks.
Stevenson went to the Chicago Bears in the second round of April’s NFL draft. After transferring from Georgia before the 2021 season, Stevenson provided a solid presence in his two years with the Hurricanes. Last season, he had 25 tackles, two interceptions and seven pass breakups.
Pro Football Focus gave Stevenson a 76.5 defensive grade and a 79.4 coverage grade, which ranked first among the team’s cornerbacks.
Ivey, a five-year Miami veteran, was dependable during his college career. He had 38 tackles, two interceptions and five pass breakups.
Ivey notched a 75.2 defensive grade with a 76.2 coverage grade. The Cincinnati Bengals picked Ivey in the seventh round of the draft.
The Hurricanes took several hits in the transfer portal, losing five cornerbacks during the offseason. However, the cornerbacks who departed played just a combined 140 defensive snaps last year.
Former four-star prospects Isaiah Dunson, Khamauri Rogers and Chris Graves Jr. left via the transfer portal. Additionally, Malik Curtis, a former three-star prospect, was not listed on UM’s fall roster.
A potential veteran addition, Terry Roberts, transferred to Miami before spring camp but then left and transferred to Michigan State in the summer.
Dunson left for Baylor, Rogers went to Mississippi State and Graves went to Ole Miss. Curtis has not announced a new destination.
Who returns
The Hurricanes’ cornerback group might have seen the most turnover of any position group in Coral Gables. Only two cornerbacks, Te’Cory Couch and Daryl Porter Jr., return from last year’s team.
Couch, a fifth-year senior, was on the field for most of Miami’s defensive plays last year, playing 670 defensive snaps over 12 games (with 11 starts). Playing primarily as a nickelback, Couch had 37 tackles and six pass breakups. He earned a 66.5 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus with 65.3 coverage grade, allowing 64.3 percent of passes against him to be caught.
Couch, a Chaminade-Madonna alumnus, has been primarily practicing at outside cornerback this fall, but defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said he will also get time in the nickel role, too.
“He’s playing on the outside, as well,” Guidry said. “We’re going to move him, start playing a little bit of nickel. He isn’t playing a lot of nickel yet.”
Porter, a fourth-year junior, is also a South Florida native, graduating from Plantation’s American Heritage. Porter started his college career at West Virginia before transferring to Miami before the 2022 season.
In his fist year with the Hurricanes, Porter played 205 defensive snaps, primarily in a reserve role. He had 11 tackles and one pass breakup. Pro Football Focus gave him a 64.1 defensive grade with a 61.7 coverage grade. Porter allowed catches on 62.5 percent of the time he was targeted.
Porter also scored high in tackling, earning an 85.8 tackling grade.
Who arrived
Although the Hurricanes return only two cornerbacks, they brought in a big group of newcomers. Miami added four players from the college or junior college ranks and two touted freshmen in their high school recruiting class.
“We have a lot of different guys we can plug and play,” Guidry said.
Davonte Brown, Jaden Davis and Jadais Richard arrived via the transfer portal, while Demetrius Freeney enrolled at UM after playing at the College of San Mateo.
Brown, a fourth-year junior, announced his transfer in December and joined the team in time for spring practice. The former American Heritage standout and UCF starter stands in 6 foot 2 and 185 pounds.
Brown started 14 games and played 711 defensive snaps last season. He earned a 64.8 defensive grade and a 63.6 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. Brown had 30 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and four pass deflections last season.
“He picked up right where he left off in spring,” Cristobal said. “He had a good spring.”
Another South Florida native returned home during the offseason. Davis, a St. Thomas Aquinas alum, transferred after spring practice ended. Davis, a 5-foot-10, 182-pound redshirt senior, played in nine games (all starts) and played 372 defensive snaps. He missed three games due to injury.
Last year, Davis had 65 tackles, a tackle for loss and two pass breakups. Pro Football Focus gave him a 65.7 defensive grade and a 63.6 coverage grade.
Guidry said Davis has been “playing the Star position probably the best” early in fall camp.
Richard, a sophomore, played just one season at Vanderbilt before transferring to Miami. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound corner had six tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and two pass breakups last season, spending most of his playing time at wide cornerback and slot cornerback. Pro Football Focus gave Richard a 62.4 defensive grade and a 60.3 coverage grade last season.
Richard made a strong first impression in the Hurricanes’ first fall practice, picking off a pass in a seven-on-seven drill.
“He’s a very experienced player, and he’s long,” Cristobal said. “He’s a big, strong, explosive guy.”
Freeney, a sophomore coming out of junior college, is listed at 6 feet tall and 190 pounds. He had 10 tackles and two interceptions last season.
Miami also added two freshman cornerbacks: Damari Brown and Robert Stafford.
Brown, the younger brother of Davonte Brown, ended a strong career at American Heritage. He was rated a four-star prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings and was listed as the No. 21 cornerback and No. 175 player in the 2023 class.
Stafford is also a native Floridian, coming to Miami from Melbourne Eau Gallie High. Stafford, who is listed at 5-11 and 175 pounds, was rated a four-star prospect and the No. 17 cornerback in the class. He was the No. 156 player in the class.
Although the freshmen are just starting their college careers, they are working toward trying to get on the field in their first seasons.
“Me and Damari Brown, he’s my roommate,” Stafford said. “We always talk late nights about how to understand the playbook and how to get better to play as a freshman.