Phillips really only played one season here. Pretty sure he didn't practice in 2019 but I could be wrong. Either way, this was his 4th year out of high school and his potential was finally realized. Kudos to Miami for having him transfer here, and for coaching him up (up until UNC at least) but his breakout season was bound to happen.
Joyner had 3 years to show something at Miami, so if he leaves it's understandable considering he was 3rd team, and might still be even after Phillips/Roche opted out. But it wasn't just Joyner who sat and watched Roche and Phillips all year.
Now don't get me wrong. Having 2 transfer DEs the caliber of Roche and Phillips was a blessing. I just hope we don't try to patch the perceived hole at DE now that they're gone. Instead, I'd like to see what the players already here are capable of despite their lack of experience. The same goes for other positions.
Landing Osborn, Phillips, Bolden, Roche, Borregales, etc was smart. Those guys helped us. But we're entering year 3 under Diaz so there should no longer be a reliance on the portal moving forward. It's time to grow this thing organically.
Recruiting has been good enough lately that we should allow these young and inexperienced players to play instead of having them watch from the sidelines while stop-gap transfers gobble up all the snaps.