Miami coach Mario Cristobal is focusing on the national championship game against the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers on January 19. At the back of his mind is the issue of his roster for next season, as transfer portal activity in college football has ramped up.
The Hurricanes will lose Carson Beck to the NFL Draft after the national championship game, and Cristobal will be left with a quarterback-shaped hole as he attempts to establish Miami as a perennial challenger next season.
Lane Kiffin Steals Another QB Target From Miami
One of the quarterbacks coveted by the Hurricanes, former Arizona State Sun Devils star Sam Leavitt, committed to coach Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers on Monday, leaving Cristibal grasping at straws in the depleted portal.
The news only got worse for the Hurricanes as the week progressed, as some of the quarterbacks linked to the program, including former Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola, committed to the Oregon Ducks. On Wednesday, former USC Trojans QB Husan Longstreet picked Kiffin’s LSU.
After Jayden Maiava announced his return to USC, Longstreet, who is ranked the No. 7 QB and No. 20 overall prospect in the portal, decided to seek new pastures.
BREAKING: USC transfer QB Husan Longstreet has signed with LSU, @PeteNakos reports🐯https://t.co/MCSfKyeAex pic.twitter.com/10wDNdZSzM
— On3 (@On3) January 14, 2026
He is the third quarterback signed by Kiffin in the last week, joining Leavitt and former Elon Phoenix prospect Landen Clark in Baton Rouge.
Ty Simpson Details Hurricanes’ Desperation for Elite QB Signing
Despite declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft last week, the Hurricanes still offered a mammoth $6.5 million deal to Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson to join them for one season. During an interview with On3 on Tuesday, Simpson detailed how Cristobal’s Miami tried to lure him to Coral Gables after losing Leavitt to LSU.
“Miami was kind of like, ‘All right, we’re moving on,’ and then they lost out on Sam Leavitt and came back with that big number,” Simpson said. “And then Ole Miss called again and said they could match it. I had a knot in my stomach. I didn’t know what to do.”
MORE: Lane Kiffin’s LSU Eyes Coach Prime’s Former Colorado QB in Transfer Portal
“I really felt good with my decision to go pro, but that amount of money to play college football again for what amounts to about eight months makes you stop and think. I remember my parents telling me that $6 million was more than they had made the whole time they had been married, but the thing they wanted most for me was to be happy.”
Beck earned a PFSN College QB Impact score of 82.7 after tallying 3,581 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, while adding 50 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the national championship-contending Miami this season. The Hurricanes will seek to replace Beck’s experience and influence with their subsequent quarterback signing.
