Miami Hurricanes' Taylor, Woodiel Considered 'Rising Star' Support Staffers

Could two of Miami's off-field assistants earn on-field gigs in the near future?

Support staffs across college football have grown dramatically in size in recent years, offering rising assistants off-field coaching responsibilities and impactful roles on the recruiting trail.

Miami and new head coach Mario Cristobal have taken full advantage of the extra spots for assistants, and two of the Hurricanes' current analysts could very well find themselves in on-field coaching roles sooner rather than later.

On3 Sports named Miami's Jason Taylor and Cody Woodiel among their 65 "rising star" support staff members in the FBS on Monday. 

Taylor's inclusion, despite only making the jump from high school to college coaching this offseason, is an obvious one. A Pro Football Hall of Famer and 12-year Miami Dolphins great, Taylor spent the last five years in Fort Lauderdale as a defensive line coach (2017-19) and defensive coordinator (2020-21) at one of the nation's best programs, St. Thomas Aquinas.

Woodiel's naming to the list may have come as a bit more of a surprise as he doesn't have a résumé quite like Taylor's, but he is also a sensible addition to the list. On3 reports that Woodiel turned down at least two FBS offensive line coaching gigs this offseason in order to remain on Cristobal's staff as he moved from one corner of the country to the other. 

Woodiel spent three years across two stints with Cristobal at Oregon, formerly a graduate assistant (2017-19) before returning as an analyst in 2021. He now helps Cristobal and Alex Mirabal develop the Hurricanes' offensive linemen behind closed doors.

It wouldn't be much of a surprise to see these two leave Coral Gables sooner rather than later with an on-field gig waiting for them at a Power 5 program. That is unless Miami promotes them first.

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