Canes land defensive tackle, two specialists in transfer portal. A look at what UM is getting

UM landed its third key transfer portal addition of the week on Saturday when defensive tackle David Blay announced that he’s joining the Hurricanes. Blay picked Miami after visiting the school the past two days, after earlier stops at Penn State and Southern California.

The Canes also added two specialists in the portal on Saturday: FAU kicker/kickoff specialist Carter Davis, who struggled on field goals last season, and Charlotte long snapper Adam Booker.

Blay’s addition was the headliner of the day because he was highly coveted; 247 Sports rates him the No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 23 best prospect overall in the portal. South Carolina, Illinois, Penn State, USC and Oklahoma also had been in the mix for the 6-3, 315-pound nose tackle.

Blay, who was a no-star prospect out of Levittown, Pennsylvania, in 2022, had 46 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback pressures and 6.5 sacks this season and was named First Team All Conference USA.

Blay, who played nose tackle this season, had sacks in Louisiana Tech’s final three games -- against Western Kentucky, Arkansas and Kennesaw State. Pro Football Focus rated Blay the 170th best defensive tackle among 881 FBS qualifiers at the position this season.

He appeared in 10 games and had 16 tackles for Louisiana Tech in 2023, after starting his college career at Division II West Chester University.

Blay was a key addition, because UM is losing veteran defensive tackles Simeon Barrow Jr., Marley Cook and CJ Clark. End/tackle Rueben Bain Jr., Ahmad Moten and Class of 2024 five-star prospect Justin Scott are among the returning Canes at the position.

Davis, meanwhile, will compete with Abram Murray to replace NFL-bound Andy Borregales. Davis missed five of seven field goals this season and is 4 for 11 in his career. But he did hit a 51-yarder for FAU this season and is 23 for 23 on extra points in his career. He has a strong leg; 46 of his 61 kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks.

On another front, UM remains very much in the mix to land two high-end cornerbacks. Cornerback Charles Brantley — who is rated by 247 Sports as the No. 9 cornerback and No. 84 overall player in the transfer portal — began a UM visit on Friday after earlier visits to Mississippi, UCF and Illinois. Before his UM visit, he told Canesport that Miami and Illinois were his top two.

Quarterbacks had a 16.6 passer rating when targeting Brantley: 14 receptions in 37 targets for 149 yards, three interceptions and no touchdowns permitted. That 16.6 was the best passer rating against in the country against all FBS cornerbacks targeted at least 20 times.

Brantley told Canesport of Miami: “I’m not going to lie, I really like them. They’ve been after me, say they need me.”

[UPDATE: BRANTLEY COMMITTED TO UM LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON. PLEASE READ COLLEAGUE JORDAN McPHERSON’S STORY ABOUT HIM HERE.]

UM also is expected to pursue former Wisconsin cornerback Xavier Lucas, a former Plantation American Heritage standout who entered the transfer portal this week. 247 Sports predicts “100 percent” that Lucas will join the Hurricanes.

Earlier this week, the Canes added two players in the portal: Jacksonville State safety Zechariah Poyser and LSU receiver CJ Daniels. Other portal players who were booked for UM campus visits the past couple of days include Idaho cornerback Andrew Marshall and Washington State safety Adrian Wilson.