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Hurricanes General Manager of Football Operations Alonzo Highsmith leaving Miami to return to NFL with New England Patriots

On3 imageby:CaneSport.com Staff•02/07/24•

CaneSport

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(photo by Neil Gershman)

Alonzo Highsmith’s tenure at Miami has come to an end, as he is heading back to the NFL to take a front office position with the rebuilding New England Patriots, working directly with the head coach and general manager.

Highsmith, the former Canes running back, was a longtime NFL executive when he was hired by Mario Cristobal in 2022 as the General Manager of Football Operations. But his role in the Miami football program never became as significant as initially intended and the Patriots opportunity was too good to turn down.

Highsmith is headed to Boston immediately.

Per UM, Highsmith’s role was to “support all administrative functions of the football program, including budget related items, culture building, program imaging, and working directly with staff members both on and off the field. He also served as a liaison between the administration and football program, as a liaison between former Miami players and staff, assisted with scouting and roster assessment and supervised NFL relations.”

Now it’s back to the NFL for Highsmith, doing what he did for more than two decades in personnel departments. .

Highsmith, who played running back for the Hurricanes from 1983-1986, was senior executive advisor to the general manager for the Seattle Seahawks before joining Cristobal’s staff. Prior to his stint in Seattle, Highsmith served as vice president of personnel for the Cleveland Browns from 2018 to 2019. Before joining the Browns, he spent 19 seasons in the Green Bay Packers’ player personnel department.

Highsmith joined the Packers as a college scout in 1999 and spent 13 years on their college scouting staff. He was promoted to senior personnel executive in 2012 and remained in that role through the 2017 season. During his time in Green Bay, the Packers earned 13 trips to the playoffs, captured nine NFC North division titles and won Super Bowl XLV.

Highsmith’s ties to the Miami area extend to before his time at UM – he starred at Miami Columbus High School before staying home for college.

As a freshman fullback he led the Hurricanes in rushing in the 1984 Orange Bowl, helping Miami defeat Nebraska to win the first of its five national championships. Highsmith led the Hurricanes with a career-high 906 rushing yards as a sophomore, and again paced Miami in rushing yards his senior season (442). He finished his career with 1,914 rushing yards, which at the time was second only to Ottis Anderson on Miami’s all-time rushing yards list. Highsmith amassed 2,935 career all-purpose yards, and 25 total touchdowns. He earned a degree in business administration and in 1997 was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.

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