Miami defensive back Robert Stafford III plans to enter Transfer Portal

Miami Hurricanes defensive back Robert Stafford III plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Robert Stafford III played his high school football at Eau Gallie in Florida. There, he was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the 17th-ranked cornerback and the 156th-ranked player nationally in that recruiting cycle.

In 13 games over the course of his two seasons with Miami, Stafford has made seven total tackles and has one pass breakup. He has also briefly turned around and played offense, catching a pass for a seven-yard gain during his freshman season.

Since Stafford only played in one game during his freshman season, he will have three seasons of eligibility remaining at his new school.

As a defense, Miami struggled with consistency during the 2024 season. That showed up in the Hurricanes’ statistics. Miami was just 60th in scoring defense, giving up 23.9 points per game. For the secondary’s part, Miami was 52nd in passing defense, giving up 209.8 passing yards per game. The Hurricanes’ 14 interceptions, in particular, were impressive and tied for 18th in the country.

In the end, Miami finished 10-2 in the regular season. For the Hurricanes, this was their first 10-win season since 2017 under Mark Richt. Before that, Miami’s last 10-win season came in 2003. That was when the Hurricanes were on a stretch of four straight seasons with at least 11 wins.

Despite all of that, the Hurricanes came up short of the College Football Playoff. Instead, Miami is going to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against the Iowa State Cyclones.

The Transfer Portal for the Winter window opened up on December 9th. It will remain open until December 28th. Players will need to enter between those two dates to try and find a new school to play for next season.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.