Miami Hurricanes Reload Pass Rush with Addition of Missouri Transfer DE Damon Wilson

The Miami Hurricanes defense thrived this year in large part because of the domination of edge rushers Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor. With both gone, the cupboard certainly isn’t bare with the likes of Armondo Blount (2.5 sacks) and Marquise Lightfoot (5.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) returning plus plenty of young talent including a guy we see as a future star in Hayden Lowe.

But Mario Cristobal doesn’t just want to rely on young defensive end talent.

And the team has now landed a massive playmaker in Missouri transfer DE Damon Wilson. The former five-star picked the Canes over Texas Tech and LSU.

This past season after transferring from Georgia to Missouri, the 6-4, 250-pounder earned second-team All-SEC honors after ending with 23 tackles, 13 QB hurries and nine sacks. He passed up on the NFL to return to college and increase his draft stock and has one year of eligibility remaining (in 2024 at UGA he started two games and had three sacks; in 2023 as a freshman he played in 12 games off the bench and had four tackles).

Per Pro Football Focus Wilson graded out at 78.0 percent this season in 509 reps (66.2 run defense, 63.7 tackle grade with three missed tackles, 81.4 pass rush grade). He was noted with 55 QB pressures.

Wilson also was pursued hard by Miami out of Venice (Fla.) High School.

Now he’s come full circle. The hope is he will help make this Cane D line similarly dominant to how it was during the national title run this season … even if Bain and Mesidor are gone to the NFL.