Miami Hurricanes add veteran center in the transfer portal, await word from top receiver

For the third consecutive season, the Miami Hurricanes have added an accomplished, experienced center in the transfer portal.

TCU’s James Brockermeyer committed to UM on Friday after visiting campus on Thursday. Brockermeyer, who has one season of eligibility remaining, allowed just one sack and eight quarterback pressures in 500 pass blocking snaps in 12 games.

He chose UM over FSU and Southern Cal. Pro Football Focus rated him 95th among 293 qualifying centers and graded him far better as a pass blocker than run blocker.

A former prep standout in Fort Worth, Texas, Brockermeyer began his career at Alabama but played just 37 combined offensive snaps there in 2022 and 2023 before transferring.

Ryan Rodriguez, redshirt freshman Nino Francavilla and incoming freshman SJ Alofaituli are UM’s other centers on the roster.

UM also went the veteran-center-transfer route in 2023 with Matt Lee and in 2024 with Zach Carpenter, who was PFF’s 100th rated FBS center this season, slightly behind Brockermeyer.

Meanwhile, UM is awaiting word from sophomore wide receiver Zachariah Branch and redshirt sophomore safety Zion Branch, two USC transfers who visited Miami this week after visiting Georgia and Arizona State.

Zachariah Branch is listed as the No. 4 overall player in the portal and the No. 2 wide receiver by 247Sports. He caught 78 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns in 23 games over two seasons. He was also a noted return specialist during his freshman season, returning both a kickoff and a punt return for a touchdown.

ESPN rated him the nation’s No. 4 Class of 2023 prospect when he came out of Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas.

In his college football debut against San Jose State, Branch produced 232 all-purpose yards, including his first touchdown reception and a 96-yard kickoff return.

In his freshman season, he caught 31 passes for 320 yards. He caught 47 passes for 503 yards as a sophomore this past season, including four for 45 yards in his USC finale against Notre Dame on Nov. 30.

Zion Branch has played in 19 career games for USC, recording 41 tackles, three tackles for loss, one second, three defended passes and a forced fumble.

The Canes also reportedly hosted Temple tight end Alex Bauman on a visit this week.

Miami so far has already received commitments from eight players via the transfer portal: Cornerbacks Emmanuel Karnley and Charles Brantley, defensive lineman David Blay, wide receiver CJ Daniels, safety Zechariah Poyser, kicker Carter Davis, long snapper Adam Booker and now Brockermeyer.