UCLA transfer linebacker Caleb Johnson commits to Miami

Caleb Johnson, formerly of the UCLA Bruins, announced his transfer destination on Friday evening. Choosing between the Miami Hurricanes and Texas Longhorns, head coach Mario Cristobal was able to win out. Johnson will now head down to Coral Gables for his final season of college football.

Johnson played in 11 games last season with UCLA, starting 10 of them as an inside linebacker. He made 45 tackles on the year and recorded an interception against the LSU Tigers. Spending two seasons with the UCLA program, Johnson will now be playing for his fourth team after originally going the JUCO route.

Both Miami and Texas were able to get Johnson on campus for official visits. The Longhorns had the last opportunity, hosting the linebacker on Wednesday. In the end, Cristobal was able to bring in another key player through the transfer portal as he looks to rebuild the Hurricanes.

Johnson began his career at Fullerton College before transferring to Texas to play under head coach Tom Herman. Lasting just three games in Austin, Johnson decided to leave after dealing with some injury problems. He ventured back home to the state of California with UCLA and was a starter for two seasons.

Miami Hurricanes quarterback can feel difference under Mario Cristobal

Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke can feel a difference in the air during this year’s spring practice. According to the Hurricanes quarterback, this is primarily because of the transition from former head coach Manny Diaz to current head coach Mario Cristobal.

“You can tell the difference, the discipline and intensity that has changed the program so far,” Van Dyke said. “There’s no more BS going on around here… Always have to be on time or you’re going to face some discipline issues. [Paying attention to] small details will help us on the field. We need that standard and we’ve needed it for awhile.”

Diaz spent three years as the Hurricanes’ head coach after spending his first three years in the program as their defensive coordinator and linebacker coach. During his time at the helm, quite a few believed his Miami teams underachieved. And after going 8-3 in 2020 and 7-5 last season, Van Dyke believes there are no excuses for the Hurricanes to underachieve under Cristobal the same way.

“With him as the head guy, with all that talent, there no more excuses. We have the best coaching staff in college football. There are no more excuses to be 7-5, 8-4.”

” We’ve got to be better with discipline and details…. That’s what gets us beat. The biggest thing is player-led accountability. Me and a couple guys are doing that to make sure everybody does the right thing.”