Countdown to Canes Football: No. 15 Daryl Porter, Jr.
Today’s college football requires adjusting on the fly at the cornerback position. The Miami Hurricanes have gone through a major change with their cornerback depth chart, and a particular player that came back home via the Transfer Portal one year ago should be a primary key to the defense.
Who’s been discussed before today? Here: Full Countdown to Canes Football List
Daryl Porter, Jr.
Size
: 5-foot-10, 185 pounds
Class
: Redshirt-Junior
Position
: Cornerback
Recruitment and Background
Coming out of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage, Porter decided to take his football talents to West Virginia. He took official visits to WVU, Utah, and Washington State. Miami did not offer him out of high school, and neither did Florida or Florida State. Porter quickly proved he was a worthy player.
West Virginia Statistics
2021: 46 tackles, a tackle for loss, 6 pass breakups and an interception
Miami Statistics
2022: 11 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and a pass breakup.
Looking Back at 2022
Miami used multiple cornerbacks last season, with DJ Ivey playing opposite Tyrique Stevenson at the two primary spots. Porter rotated into the lineup and was a factor for the defense.
Talk About Chemistry in the Miami Secondary
Ironically, with Porter and James Williams, plus the addition of UCF’s Davonte Brown using the Transfer Portal to come to The U, that’s three players from American Heritage that could be starting for the Hurricanes. Pretty wild!
Here’s what Porter said about that back on April 4, as it relates to being reunited with yet another high school teammate.
“I’m just blessed for the opportunity to play with someone I played with back in the day at (American) Heritage. You know, the chemistry is going to be there, James Williams, Davonte Brown. So I feel like, we’re going to be tighter together this year.”
Looking ahead to this next season, however, that’s where the questions begin, as his role will almost certainly increase alongside his former prep teammates.
How Will Miami Use Porter in 2023?
His task, like some of the other Miami cornerbacks, most likely, will be related to being open-minded about moving around and taking on various challenges.
Now, Porter could be too good on the outside for him to play slot. That’s possible. Then again, injuries and other circumstances could force defensive coordinator Lance Guidry’s hand with how and when to move cornerbacks to play over the slot. That’s the nature of college football defenses in 2023. That leads into Miami’s evolving cornerback room.
Porter Needs to Help Lead a New Group
Miami’s cornerback depth chart has been completely overhauled. The number of new faces that already came in since the end of 2022 has been staggering. As a player that’s been at Miami for one season, surprisingly, Porter is one of the most experienced cornerbacks on the roster, especially as it relates to just knowing his way around The U.
It’s expected that Brown will hold down one of the cornerback positions, and Porter has a great shot to be the other starter. That being the case, there’s a long way to go and new faces have signed with the Canes since spring ball concluded.
How the depth chart winds up being aligned will take care of itself in time. It’s just important that Porter competes at a high level and helps at one of the outside cornerback positions, as well as possibly being utilized in the slot if that’s what the coaches call on him to do.
2023 Projection
At the least, Porter will be a player that’s counted on as a part of the rotation, and he’s definitely in contention to start at cornerback after a good spring. His importance as a veteran that’s been through games versus quality competition will also help him take on new challenges, as well as help other transfers and incoming recruits adjust.
If Miami’s cornerback group improves this season, expect Porter to be a big part of that, and do so by making plays on the gridiron while also being a leader.
AllHurricanes.com is your home for all things Miami Hurricanes football, recruiting, basketball and other athletics, all the time. Follow along on social media at @AllHurricanes on Twitter and All Hurricanes on Facebook for round-the-clock news and analysis.
Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.