Miami Still Awaits the Arrival of Multiple Talented Transfers

While Tate Martell, K.J. Osborn, and Tommy Kennedy enrolled in January, Miami is awaiting the arrival of transfers that will make a difference on the defensive side of the ball.

Defensive tackle Chigozie Nnoruka, defensive end Trevon Hill, and safety Bubba Bolden will not enroll until the summer. Both Hill and Nnoruka are already potential starters on Miami’s defensive line based on their potential shown at their previous schools. Getting the extra practice in spring would’ve been nice — but now they have the summer to train and condition before fall camp.

Nnoruka played more of a reserve role in 2018 for the UCLA Bruins, but started 10 games in 2017 — amounting 49 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks on the year.

Trevon Hill’s stats show a similar pattern, recording 11 tackles a season ago, and 46 tackles in 2017. Hill has a reason for only amounting 11 tackles in 2018 though, as he was dismissed by head coach Justin Fuente following Virginia Tech’s shocking loss to Old Dominion, reportedly due to a dispute during halftime.

Last but certainly not least, Bubba Bolden is another potential starter that arrives in late June. Bolden is an impressive prospect, placing on the 2016 Parade All-American first team, Prep Star All-American Dream Team, Max Preps All-American first team, and earning USA Today’s All-Nevada Defensive Player of the Year as a Senior.

The controversy surrounding him began during his freshman season in 2017 when he abruptly left the team after appearing in 5 games. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Bolden stated that USC’s Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards “believes that I am responsible for violating the student code of conduct pertaining to underage drinking at an off-campus party back in February 2018 wherein I participated in mutual trash-talking with fellow partygoers…”

Bolden obviously has some things to clear up and improve on, but hopefully, he can move forward and reach his full potential at Miami.

Ultimately, we’ve seen what Miami’s transfers on offense can do — until fall camp begins, we can only predict and wonder what these key defensive players will do.