Miami Targets, Commits React To Hurricanes' Win Over Stanford

Trinton Breeze

Sep 5, 2026 4 min read

What a start to the college football season, especially if you're a Miami Hurricanes fan. The team not only beat but dominated the Stanford Cardinal in California to a final score of 45-6. The Hurricanes were getting everything they wanted on the offensive side of the ball, and you can thank Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney for that.

Even though it was a Friday night where multiple key targets and prospects were playing at their high school, the recruits still shared their thoughts on the win with CanesInSight. Check out what the recruits and prospects had to say after the big time victory:

Five-star EDGE Rusher Asher Ghioto: "Miami dominated! Miami is Miami!"

Five-Star DL Kellan Hall: "The replays were really impressive. A high powered offense and got stops defensively. Pretty much what I was expecting from them this year and being in the National Championship conversation."

Four-star Miami defensive lineman commit Ezekiel Ayangbile: "I was very impressed with the teams performance yesterday, nothing unexpected from the program though, super excited to see where the season goes."

Four-star safety Jaxon Flowers: "The “U” is back fr. Miami’s performance didn’t surprise me at all because I know their goal for the season, get back to the national championship and win it. They were dominant on both sides of the ball. Malachi Toney for Heisman."

Four-star Athlete Aden Johnson: "Miami had a great performance. Everyone was eating and Miami was just doing what Miami does. One of the best to do it."

Four-star safety Cyion Smith: "We all expected Miami to dominate. They always dominate. [It] caught my attention quickly that’s how you open up the season."

Four-star cornerback Ryan Drakeford: "The performance was dominant! The U made it look easy. Well rounded squad. Will be fun to watch this year"

Three-star offensive lineman Charlie Pisani: "I love how they dominated like they should’ve. It shows me that they're on the same mission as last year."

Four-star cornerback Logan Thompson: "I think they played great, Mali did his thing, secondary played great aswell defense only allowing 6 points. Nothing changed about how I view the program, interest is still high, looking forward to seeing them progress throughout the season."

Three-star defensive lineman Zylen Little: "I thought its was a dominant performance by both sides of the ball. Mali was amazing I’m predicting he winning the Heisman. Miami remains a top contender with me. I love what they got going on."

Rutgers three-star ATH commit Zion Vilma: "It was great performance. I like how they took control of the game early and didn’t let up."

Three-star inside offensive lineman Hunter Hill: "I thought Miami looked really good yesterday. Being a C/G, I’m always watching the guys up front, and I liked how physical they played and how they controlled the line of scrimmage. You can definitely see Coach Mirabal’s coaching and the mentality he has those guys playing with. It didn’t really change how I view Miami because I already had a lot of respect for the program. If anything, it reinforced what I already thought. I’ve really enjoyed building my relationship with Coach Mirabal and the staff, and I can’t wait to get down there, spend some time with Coach, and see everything in person."

Top-100 safety CJ Craig-James: "Malachi Toney is the best player in the country and Mensah is really good as well! I expect Miami to be back in the championship."

Miami three-star defensive lineman commit Josh Johnson: "Mali is the best in the country and we are winning the natty this year."

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ct cane 044

Sep 5, 2026

Heatherman knows football. He will figure it out lol

Rocketcitycane06

Sep 5, 2026

Brooklyndee said:
It's not really a matter of who I believe should be the starters. I simply know you can't have two dudes that are both carbon copies of each other and their limitations physically on the field together. Chase Smith is constantly out of position and pass coverage and if you run outside without an edge set it's very rare he'll beat the offensive player to the position. I get it you got a reward people that put that much effort into their game. But this ain't participation this is about the best possible lineups on the field together and I'm not questioning heatherman or Mario or anyone else I just know like I said all off season I was worried about how we do setting the edge when it related to replacing Ruben and Mesi because I knew just how good they really were at exactly that and how much it allowed the defense behind them to excel. Now we have people on the edge that are struggling to set the edge against inferior competition and our linebackers in particular are going to have issues with that. So if it was me I would just have someone that's more athletic on the field with Moe then Chase Smith. But that's just me because if we do set the edge better which will come in time then linebacker won't be as much of an issue but until we make these adjustments defense as a whole is going to have issues which we saw sporadically throughout the game yesterday.

Well said brother.

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skeeter

Sep 5, 2026

ct cane 044 said:
And Lightfoot was all over the field 9 tackles. Our pass rush is not close to the same last year. That was obvious but I thought it would show more considering their O line didn’t have 3 starters. We will have to blitz more this year.

We forced how many holds though? I think all on pass plays? Or at least 3.

Last edited: Sep 5, 2026

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Odin

Sep 5, 2026

Brooklyndee said:
They better learn how to set the edge... Cause if we keep playing chase smith & toure as starters & don't set the edge that's gonna cost us in the run game against better comp. Linebacker isn't athletic enough with them on the field if we don't slow down outside development. I'd say oline is gonna be an issue but it's by design right now. We're seeing how lineups play together in live action. Nothing is set there still.

Brooklyndee,I believe our problem is we haven't signed a young stud LB like a Fitzgerald a Dunnigan type that is so talented it makes the decision to play them over the mediocre vets easy.All our young LBs need 2 or 3 years here to get meaningful snaps.We need to spend big on a day one LB like we do at CB,OT,WR,DE or just get lucky and find a gem that comes in and outplays his ranking.

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skeeter

Sep 5, 2026

Brooklyndee said:
They better learn how to set the edge... Cause if we keep playing chase smith & toure as starters & don't set the edge that's gonna cost us in the run game against better comp. Linebacker isn't athletic enough with them on the field if we don't slow down outside development. I'd say oline is gonna be an issue but it's by design right now. We're seeing how lineups play together in live action. Nothing is set there still.

I liked Smith a lot out of high school…. And I think there's a place for him as a rotational backer. But it's alarming to me that no one can unseat him at LB

He looks so slow and stiff in space out there,

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Odin

Sep 5, 2026

skeeter said:
I liked Smith a lot out of high school…. And I think there's a place for him as a rotational backer. But it's alarming to me that no one can unseat him at LB

He looks so slow and stiff in space out there,

We need to bring in a LB that like Fitz last year and JJ this year,they are studs from day one and seats a less talented vet.

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skeeter

Sep 5, 2026

Odin said:
We need to bring in a LB that like Fitz last year and JJ this year,they are studs from day one and seats a less talented vet.

I mean I'm assuming we love the guys from this class and last.

I don't understand what's wrong with Wiley personally? Looks good when he is on the field.

DCs are weird with LBs sometimes. I mean Shannon was infatuated with Glen Cook and Romeo Davis (I believe they were both Shannon guys). Not that we had a Wiley behind them, I can't remember the exact timeline.

TheRichtShow

Sep 6, 2026

Odin said:
We need to bring in a LB that like Fitz last year and JJ this year,they are studs from day one and seats a less talented vet.

It seems like Mario agrees and we have 2 of those LB in Randle & Glover. I also expect a couple of transfers in

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Odin

Sep 6, 2026

TheRichtShow said:
It seems like Mario agrees and we have 2 of those LB in Randle & Glover. I also expect a couple of transfers in

The Pitt LB who Texas beat us for in the portal would have given us a big upgrade at LB.

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genxcane

Sep 6, 2026

This is a good discussion about the defensive front seven but not a single thing to do with the posted topic.

Might as well go ahead and change the thread name.

So did the recruits/targets have anything to say?

Brooklyndee

Sep 6, 2026

Odin said:
Brooklyndee,I believe our problem is we haven't signed a young stud LB like a Fitzgerald a Dunnigan type that is so talented it makes the decision to play them over the mediocre vets easy.All our young LBs need 2 or 3 years here to get meaningful snaps.We need to spend big on a day one LB like we do at CB,OT,WR,DE or just get lucky and find a gem that comes in and outplays his ranking.

Maybe that's the issue. I think it's probably familiarity more than anything cause I think we've had several backers that is be comfortable putting them on the field and letting them get their legs. But that's just me. Results is all that matters to me. Maybe this isn't as much of an issue as it seemed. Maybe Stanford was just that disciplined. Either way these next few games are the ones we have to tinker with the lineup and play the youth. Find the best core group and go to battle when it counts.

Brooklyndee

Sep 6, 2026

skeeter said:
I liked Smith a lot out of high school…. And I think there's a place for him as a rotational backer. But it's alarming to me that no one can unseat him at LB

He looks so slow and stiff in space out there,

Same.

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ct cane 044

Sep 6, 2026

skeeter said:
We forced how many holds though? I think all on pass plays? Or at least 3.

For having Moton, Wilson, Lightfoot, Blount and others I expected more than 1 sack against a team missing 3 O lineman. I don’t expect last years production because it was insane. But I do look forward to seeing more production. Maybe I’m being picky as the defense gave up 6 points. But moving forward I expect more. Esp. Out of Wilson. And not just sacks tackles for loss.

caneforlifeforreal

Sep 6, 2026

ct cane 044 said:
For having Moton, Wilson, Lightfoot, Blount and others I expected more than 1 sack against a team missing 3 O lineman. I don’t expect last years production because it was insane. But I do look forward to seeing more production. Maybe I’m being picky as the defense gave up 6 points. But moving forward I expect more. Esp. Out of Wilson. And not just sacks tackles for loss.

I think Wilson was playing assignment football. I think he was committed to not sacrificing fundamentals for pass rush. I think that pays dividends for us on film. I think he knows if he wants to de drafted where he can be drafted, he has to play fundamentally sound football. The NFL can watch enough film to see a guy get two sacks and get gashed on plays he shouldnt.

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ct cane 044

Sep 6, 2026

caneforlifeforreal said:
I think Wilson was playing assignment football. I think he was committed to not sacrificing fundamentals for pass rush. I think that pays dividends for us on film. I think he knows if he wants to de drafted where he can be drafted, he has to play fundamentally sound football. The NFL can watch enough film to see a guy get two sacks and get gashed on plays he shouldnt.

I did watch the game again and Skeeter was right. We were held alot and alot more then was called. We will see what happens. My guess is we will get better. Blount looked great.

KingB02

Sep 7, 2026

CanesDynasty said:
I'd say he's the most versatile with his ability to slide inside. I am team Lightfoot.. the dude is a menace!

Lightfoot is like that! But we dropped him into coverage way too much! He needs to be using his speed to rush!

KingB02

Sep 7, 2026

Brooklyndee said:
It's not so much that we downgraded on the edge more than it is the dudes playing the positions now don't have the experience in one sense and don't have the strengths to their game that Reuben and Messi had their pass rushers they aren't complete edges. But with due time at least when it comes to Lightfoot I expect him to get a lot better my concern has always been with how the lineup is set now if we would put too much emphasis on the pass rush and neglects run defense. Because you see the strategy that offenses are going to attack us with relates to chipping our tackles knowing the edges aren't anywhere near the concern. So as good as Scott and moten look you got to understand offenses are just going to attack us differently and if we don't make these adjustments we're going to be in some trouble against legit squads. Hopefully this is just a matter of we needed experience and game action to grow and make the adjustments necessary.

Yes it’s just one game (the first one at that) but I would like to see more of Davis in the middle for passing downs and Lightfoot rushing with Blount on the edges. Lightfoot had 9 tackles. He’s not a downgrade. Wilson is a huge disappointment! He needs to see less of a roll until he gets better, cause idk what buddy was doing out there! He looked slow, sluggish and had no pass rush moves! I expected him to get put on his *** a couple of times this year on running plays but it already happened game 1! 3rd Scroggins played a lot and he looks small AF.

Brooklyndee

Sep 7, 2026

KingB02 said:
Yes it’s just one game (the first one at that) but I would like to see more of Davis in the middle for passing downs and Lightfoot rushing with Blount on the edges. Lightfoot had 9 tackles. He’s not a downgrade. Wilson is a huge disappointment! He needs to see less of a roll until he gets better, cause idk what buddy was doing out there! He looked slow, sluggish and had no pass rush moves! I expected him to get put on his *** a couple of times this year on running plays but it already happened game 1! 3rd Scroggins played a lot and he looks small AF.

Issue here is the catch 22 that would put us in. He came here with people thinking he had relatively high draft stock. If his game as a whole is exposed now as a result of his play in our system that's going to hurt us long run with recruits and the portal. I think he'll get better but this game definitely wasn't a good look for him. Myself I would like to see us focus on having him set the edge more than I would on him selling out on getting to the QB. Again this shouldn't be anything new to the people that understand what they're watching. The only question all along has been where his previous stops only asking him to focus on getting to the QB and that's why he struggled in the run game and was setting the edge or was that simply what his game is. Too early to have an opinion on that right now and that's simply all I'm going to hope for. I will say I didn't have a lot of time at camp this off season but when I was there he looked a lot better was setting edges than this. Not sure if he's going through anything or not certainly not that I'm aware of but I hope this was just an off game for him.

252cane

Sep 7, 2026

KingB02 said:
Brooklyndee said:

It's not so much that we downgraded on the edge more than it is the dudes playing the positions now don't have the experience in one sense and don't have the strengths to their game that Reuben and Messi had their pass rushers they aren't complete edges. But with due time at least when it comes to Lightfoot I expect him to get a lot better my concern has always been with how the lineup is set now if we would put too much emphasis on the pass rush and neglects run defense. Because you see the strategy that offenses are going to attack us with relates to chipping our tackles knowing the edges aren't anywhere near the concern. So as good as Scott and moten look you got to understand offenses are just going to attack us differently and if we don't make these adjustments we're going to be in some trouble against legit squads. Hopefully this is just a matter of we needed experience and game action to grow and make the adjustments necessary.

Click to expand...

Yes it’s just one game (the first one at that) but I would like to see more of Davis in the middle for passing downs and Lightfoot rushing with Blount on the edges. Lightfoot had 9 tackles. He’s not a downgrade. Wilson is a huge disappointment! He needs to see less of a roll until he gets better, cause idk what buddy was doing out there! He looked slow, sluggish and had no pass rush moves! I expected him to get put on his *** a couple of times this year on running plays but it already happened game 1! 3rd Scroggins played a lot and he looks small AF.

Huge disappointment after 1 game is wild. Let’s see the guy after a few games first

KingB02

Sep 7, 2026

252cane said:
Huge disappointment after 1 game is wild. Let’s see the guy after a few games first

He was going up against a backup OT from Stanford. I’m not saying he’s going to have a ****** season because of that, but he got put on his *** multiple times and did ONE pass rush move the ENTIRE game! He didn’t even attempt to shed a block! He just bull rushed the whole game! It’s like he forgot how to play football! It’s insane!!