Miami Hurricanes land potential replacement for Rueben Bain, Jr. in the transfer portal from SEC school
The Canes picked up a big piece of the puzzle for their 2026 roster on Thursday.
The Miami Hurricanes came incredibly close claiming the program’s sixth national championship on Monday night, losing to Indiana 27-21 after Carson Beck’s late heave into the Hoosiers’ red zone was picked off.
Naturally, the focus for Miami fans is on next season and how the Hurricanes can take that next step further and get back to the mountaintop. One major concern has been the loss of key personnel on the defensive side of the ball, particularly uber-talented edge rushers in Rueben Bain, Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, both of whom should be first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
On Thursday, the Hurricanes landed a huge commitment that could help ease that loss. Per ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, Missouri edge rusher Damon Wilson II has committed to Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes.
Miami lands transfer portal commitment from Missouri edge rusher Damon Wilson II
On3 Sports has Wilson II as their No. 6 overall ranked transfer in their rankings and their third-ranked edge rusher behind Princewill Umanmielen (Ole Miss to LSU) and Chaz Coleman (Penn State to Tennessee).
Wilson II is from Venice, Florida and began his career at Georgia. He appeared in 26 games for the Bulldogs from 2023-24. He totaled 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks in 2024 with the Bulldogs before transferring last year to Missouri. He had a breakout year in 2025 with the Tigers, totaling 9.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks, which earned him second-team All-SEC honors.
Now, he should be all but penciled in to start on one side of the Hurricanes’ talented defensive line. The Canes also got a boost earlier in the day when was revealed that senior defensive tackle Ahmad Moten, Sr. is expected to come back to Miami for his senior season, which is a massive boost for the interior of the Hurricanes’ line.
Now, Miami’s defensive front just got significantly better on Thursday. With Wilson II on one side and Hayden Lowe and/or Marquise Lightfoot coming off the other end, opposing offenses won’t get much of a break in 2026 when taking on the Hurricanes.
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