Miami locks in first visit for portal athlete with 43 schools reaching out
Miami (FL) football is transfer portal hunting now. The Hurricanes are turning to this new era of college football recruiting to attempt to land major recruits who started their collegiate careers elsewhere. And that includes Eric Rivers, who already has 43 different programs reaching out after leaving his school.
The now former Florida International University wide receiver has locked in his list of future visits, his agent David Ben-Zaken told On3.com’s Hayes Fawcett. But first up for the FIU 1,000-yard wideout? The local power conference university — which comes in two days.
Miami: December 13-14
Nebraska: December 15-16
Penn State: December 19-20
Colorado: December 21-22”
Rivers is a red hot name in the portal. He’s more than a top 20 portal talent for On3.com and 247Sports’ 11th best portal WR. Fawcett reports that Rivers has heard from 43 programs across the Football Bowl Subdivision landscape.
Miami needs WRs, hence interest in highly coveted portal talent
The 10-2 Hurricanes will look vastly different after the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward is soon off to the NFL. Ward’s go-to wideout Xavier Restrepo is off to the league too, following his record-breaking career at “The U.” Miami also lost running back Ajay Allen and cornerback Robert Stafford III to the portal Monday, on the day it first opened.
But whoever succeeds the QB mantle post Ward will need a dynamic WR to throw to. Miami gains an early advantage in trying to siphon Rivers.
The 5-foot-11, 174-pounder put together his finest season yet near “The U.” He compiled 62 receptions, 1,172 yards and 12 touchdowns for Florida International. Rivers ranked fifth in the nation in receiving yardage. The Chattanooga, Tennessee native also cracked the top five for touchdown receptions.
Rivers started his career with Memphis as a 2021 signing. He never caught a single pass for the Tigers. He’ll now head to his third university stop.
Miami, however, faces fierce competition to land Rivers’ services. Nebraska follows the Hurricanes as his next visit. Penn State, who clinched a College Football Playoff berth, is among Rivers’ other visits. Then there’s Colorado in the fold — with the Buffaloes renown for aggressively recruiting from the portal under Deion Sanders. Colorado is among the most WR-needy teams this offseason as the Buffs are set to lose all their top WRs — including Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn.
The portal remains open until Dec. 28. Colleges can use this time to host former CFB athletes on campus and offer scholarships. Rivers is the first known prominent portal entry to set up a Miami visit.
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