College football season is fast approaching, with the Hurricanes opening their 2025 campaign with a
big home game against Notre Dame on Aug. 31.
Miami is coming off a 10-3 season that started promising but ended with two late-season losses, which cost UM a shot at an ACC title and a
College Football Playoff berth.
The Hurricanes’ season ended with a loss to
Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
But the 2024 season is in the rearview mirror. The Hurricanes are looking to improve their defense from last year. Last week, we looked at
Miami’s defensive line
. Now we move to their partners in the front seven, the linebackers.
The Hurricanes lost only one linebacker from last year’s team, but he was a crucial part of the team’s defense.
Francisco Mauigoa departed after two strong seasons at Miami, making back-to-back All-ACC second teams. The veteran middle linebacker had 96 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception. He earned a 74.6 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus.
Mauigoa was rewarded for his standout performance at UM, getting
picked by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the NFL draft.
Miami brings back most of its linebacking corps from next year, but they will have a new coach. New defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman is taking over the position group, with former linebackers coach
Derek Nicholson coaching at Missouri.
Hetherman has several talented linebackers to work with.
Senior Wesley Bissainthe played more than any returning linebacker, starting every UM game last year. The Miami Central alum has developed into a solid linebacker. Bissainthe had 59 tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks last season, earning a 78.2 defensive grade with a 77.7 run-defense grade, a 60.9 pass-rush grade and an 82.7 coverage grade (which was 12th nationally among linebackers with 200 or more snaps in coverage).
Bissainthe said in the spring that he will play both middle and weak-side linebacker in Hetherman’s 4-2-5 defense this season.
“I feel like I’m experienced, so I feel like once I learn the whole defense, I’ll be able to be versatile throughout it and make more plays,” Bissainthe said at the start of spring practice.
Jaylin Alderman, a former Louisville linebacker entering his second year at UM, played the second-most of any returning linebacker. He had 218 snaps and started three games, notching 24 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Alderman is a solid rotational option, earning a 67.9 defensive grade. He was best against the run, notching a 75.2 run-defense grade.
The Hurricanes will also turn to some up-and-coming linebackers who have been developing on the roster for a few years.
Raul “Popo” Aguirre Jr. performed well over the course of 171 snaps last year. As a sophomore, Aguirre had 14 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack in his time on the field. PFF rated him highly, giving him an 82.5 defensive grade. Aguirre will likely get a bigger opportunity this season.
“It’s going to be a huge year for him,” Bissainthe said.
The Hurricanes also return veteran Chase Smith, redshirt sophomore Bobby Washington Jr. and true sophomores Bobby Pruitt and Adarius Hayes.
Smith’s career has been marred by injuries, and he played 102 defensive snaps last year — the most of his career. Washington had 23 defensive snaps.
Hayes and Pruitt are intriguing options this season. Pruitt played 72 defensive snaps and performed well, and he also had standout moments on special teams. Hayes only played a few snaps on defense, but he is a former four-star prospect entering his second year in the system.
Miami also brings back Malik Bryant and Booker Pickett Jr., who are listed as linebackers on the roster but will likely spend more time as edge rushers.
The Hurricanes added an intriguing group of linebackers through the portal and in their high school recruiting class.
Miami brought in two linebacker transfers: Kamal Bonner and Mohamed Toure.
Bonner arrives from N.C. State where he played two seasons. He had 56 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, with one sack as a redshirt freshman, earning a 60.2 defensive grade from PFF.
The second addition, Toure, comes from Rutgers, where he previously played under Hetherman. Toure has been in college for six seasons, but he missed two due to injury.
When healthy, Toure is an effective linebacker. He was an All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2023 after racking up 93 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He had a 76.4 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus that season.
In his career, Toure, a redshirt senior, has 168 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks and two interceptions.
Miami signed two freshmen in its 2025 class: four-star Kellen Wiley and three-star Ezekiel Marcelin Jr.
Marcelin, a Miami Central alum, was a three-star prospect and the No. 56 linebacker in the class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. Wiley, out of Seffner Armwood High, was more highly touted; he was listed as the No. 27 linebacker in the class.
“Those guys have been awesome,” Hetherman said at the beginning of spring camp. “They come in all the time. They’re constantly studying football. They’re constantly learning the game. You can see them in (individual drills), taking the step every single day, getting better. On the field right now, you can tell things are moving fast, but that’s expected.”
