Miami Hurricanes add 3-star transfer from Houston, Auburn in continued effort to erase defensive struggles

Mario Cristobal is doing everything he can from a roster-building standpoint to turn Miami into a championship contender. But the bigger question remains: can he actually coach the Hurricanes into contention?

Miami came up just short of an ACC Championship appearance — and a potential College Football Playoff berth — last season, after dropping two of its final three regular-season games. Much of that collapse was blamed on a porous defense that struggled to stop even the most mediocre of opposing offenses.

Cristobal and his staff responded by hitting the transfer portal hard during both the winter and spring windows in an effort to fix those defensive issues. Their latest addition, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett, is former Auburn and Houston three-star cornerback Keionte Scott.

Scott becomes the sixth defensive back Miami has landed from the portal this cycle, signaling a full-scale overhaul of the secondary. His arrival also helped push the Hurricanes to the No. 3 transfer class in the country, according to 247Sports.

Last season at Auburn, Scott appeared in 11 games and posted 115 tackles — six for loss — along with one sack and one interception. He also contributed on special teams, returning 43 punts and scoring once. Scott transferred to Houston in the winter and participated in spring practices before re-entering the portal.

After last season’s disappointing finish, when Cam Ward’s electric quarterback play was squandered, everyone knew Miami’s priority had to be defense. Cristobal has done well to address it — particularly during the spring portal window, where he’s long been effective. But as USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer notes, talent acquisition only goes so far.

“No ACC coach matches Cristobal’s recruiting chops,” wrote Toppmeyer, who ranked Cristobal as the ACC’s fifth-best head coach. “He accelerated Miami’s offense behind transfer Cam Ward, then replaced Ward with Carson Beck, another premier transfer quarterback. Cristobal’s coaching is open to criticism, though. Oregon improved after replacing Cristobal with Dan Lanning. Miami assembled enough talent to win the ACC last season, but it squandered its chance with losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse. To be considered a top-tier coach, Cristobal must become more than an ace recruiter.”

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