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UM position preview: Veterans Mo Toure, Chase Smith set to lead Hurricanes’ linebackers
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- UM position preview: Veterans Mo Toure, Chase Smith set to lead Hurricanes’ linebackers
Spring football is in the rearview mirror, and the Hurricanes' season opener against Stanford is still nearly three months away, but Miami 's roster is set for the upcoming season.
The Hurricanes are coming off their best season in decades, going 10-2 in the regular season before winning three College Football Playoff games and reaching their first national championship game since the 2002 season.
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Expectations are high for the 2026 season, and we will take a look at each of Miami's position groups in the lead-up to the campaign.
Last week, we previewed the trenches: the Hurricanes' rebuilt offensive line and defensive line.
This week, we keep an eye on the Miami defense with a look at the linebackers.
Who left
The Hurricanes lost four linebackers from last year's squad, including one starter.
Wesley Bissainthe, a Miami Central alum, spent four years as a key part of Miami's defense. He played in 54 games over four seasons, starting 41. Over his UM tenure, Bissainthe racked up 204 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and two interceptions.
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Bissainthe, a leader on Miami's defense, had a career-high 71 tackles as a senior with three tackles for loss and a sack. Pro Football Focus gave him a 64.7 defensive grade with a 57.7 pass-rushing grade and a 65.9 coverage grade.
Bissainthe signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent.
"Time flies, man," Bissainthe said at UM's Pro Day in March. "It feels like… I just walked in the building and now I'm leaving for the NFL. Goes to show you time flies."
UM also lost Jaylin Alderman to graduation after having played 125 snaps over the last two seasons.
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Miami lost two linebackers to the transfer portal: Raul Aguirre Jr. and Bobby Washington Jr.
Aguirre spent three seasons at Miami, playing in 39 games. Last year, he played 304 snaps on defense, which was the third-most among Miami linebackers. Aguirre had 43 tackles with two tackles for loss. He transferred to N.C. State.
Washington played sparingly for the Hurricanes, playing in 14 games (primarily on special teams) in three seasons. He had seven tackles and 0.5 sacks. Washington transferred to Missouri.
Who returns
Miami brings back a veteran linebacker corps, led by two players who have more than a decade of college football experience between them.
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"You always want to have the experienced guys back because they understand the communication, the calls, how fast we play with the tempo, what the style is," defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said.
Mo Toure returns for his second year with the Hurricanes (his eighth in college football). Toure, who dealt with two ACL tears during his tenure at Rutgers, was healthy during his first season at Miami. He played 674 snaps, the most of his career.
Toure was a key presence in the middle of Hetherman's defense, leading Miami with 84 tackles. Toure had three tackles for loss, two sacks and six pass deflections. Toure had a 60.5 defensive grade with a 72.9 run defense grade, a 72.7 pass-rush grade and a 41.3 coverage grade. He was an All-ACC honorable mention last season.
A fellow veteran, Chase Smith, joins him in the linebacker corps. Smith has been with the Hurricanes since 2021, having dealt with injuries throughout his career.
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Smith played 265 snaps last season, making 31 tackles. He had a 62.7 defensive grade with a 77.9 run-defense grade, a 67.2 pass-rush grade and a 48.7 coverage grade.
"I thought Chase really, as the season went on, really played at starter-level, especially when we got in the postseason," Hetherman said. "He was playing as well as anyone on the field."
The rest of the returning linebackers have less experience.
Redshirt junior Kamal Bonner transferred in from N.C. State before the 2025 season. He was a key defender for the Wolfpack, playing 486 defensive snaps with N.C. State in 2024. But Bonner did not play much for the Hurricanes in 2025, playing just 30 snaps across four games after dealing with an injury early in the season. He will likely play more this season.
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"He probably would have played a lot more football if he (did not) get hurt early in the season," Hetherman said in March. "He's a guy that's done a better job of taking care of his body, being aware and playing multiple positions now."
Other young linebackers who could earn roles and get regular playing time include junior Bobby Pruitt, sophomore Ezekiel Marcelin Jr. and sophomore Kellen Wiley Jr., who all earned praise from Hetherman during spring practice.
Who arrived
Despite losing one starter and another key rotational linebacker, the Hurricanes did not land a linebacker out of the transfer portal. Instead, UM brought in three freshman linebackers in its high school recruiting class.
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The top-rated high school linebacker Miami signed was Jordan Campbell. Campbell committed to the Hurricanes more than two years before ultimately signing, never backing off his commitment. The Miami Northwestern alum played defensive line and linebacker in high school and was listed as the No. 25 edge rusher and No. 215 player in the class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.
Campbell, a four-star prospect who is listed at 6-1 and 225 pounds, was an Under Armour All-American.
Karsten Busch, a 6-foot-3, 223-pound linebacker from Louisville, Kentucky, was the No. 37 linebacker and No. 456 player in the class. The four-star prospect did not enroll early, so his first full slate of practices at Miami will be in preseason camp.
The third freshman linebacker is Orlando native Justin Edwards. Edwards was a three-star prospect and was listed as the No. 62 linebacker and No. 729 player in the class. Edwards is listed at 6-1 and 205 pounds.
"I think we're excited about what those guys do," Hetherman said, "but there's a lot of guys in that room that'll push to compete."
