Vanderbilt Defensive Back Ja’Dais Richard Transfers to Miami

First it was Davonte Brown from the UCF Knights in December, then it was Terry Roberts from the Iowa Hawkeyes in January, then came Jaden Davis from the Oklahoma Sooners just a week ago. Miami is now adding their fourth defensive back from the transfer portal since the 2022 season ended, after former Vanderbilt Commodores defensive back, Ja’Dais Richard, announced his commitment to the Hurricanes on Monday evening.

Richard, a 6-foot-2 197-pound defensive back was a former four-star recruit from the state of Louisiana in the 2022 recruiting class, when he flipped his commitment from the TCU Horned Frogs before signing with Vanderbilt University.

He played in 11 games and started one during his freshman season with the Commodores, where he recorded six tackles, one tackle-for-loss, one sack and two pass deflections. Richard’s size and skillset allows him to be a contributor as a boundary cornerback, big nickel or safety in new Miami Hurricanes defensive coordinator, Lance Guidry’s, new defensive system that is being implemented for the upcoming 2023 college football season.

Miami will add two more freshmen defensive backs this summer from their 2023 recruiting class. Four-star signees Damari Brown and Robert Stafford will be joining a defensive backs room this upcoming season that has been completely flipped over during the offseason.

Miami had two cornerbacks selected during the 2023 NFL Draft almost two weeks ago, they were drafted in the second and seventh round. Those two were Tyrique Stevenson and DJ Ivey who went to the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals, respectively. You could say Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae have done a solid job in their attempt to replace two starters from last season’s team. Adding four defensive backs from the transfer portal and two from the high school ranks certainly creates plenty of competition in the defensive backfield.

Hurricane fans might not be able to sleep for a little while considering the amount of buzz and excitement around the football program that is coming. LifeWallet Sports is on commitment watch all week as Miami is expected to land more additions via the transfer portal… stay tuned.