Miami top-100 LB target in recruiting section Saturday night not fazed by stunning loss: “Doesn’t affect how I see them at all”

Vero Beach (Fla.) 2025 four-star linebacker Tarvos “TJ” Alford has maintained a more than steady interest in Miami throughout the 2023 calendar year — so when the Hurricanes lost to Georgia Tech in stunning fashion Saturday night, Alford was quick to reaffirm his favorable view of Miami.

Miami didn’t lose any of of its position with Alford during Saturday night’s loss, and Alford has been much more heavily focused on the relationships he’s built with the Hurricanes’ coaching staff and the effort he’s been recruited with thus far. He was quick to dismiss Saturday’s stunning loss as a one-off fluke seldom seen in college football, and he doesn’t believe it defines Miami’s program.

“(The loss) doesn’t affect how I see them at all,” said Alford, who was in the recruiting section Saturday. “Because everybody has to take a loss at some point. It’s just about how you respond to it overall.”

Hurricanes linebackers coach Derek Nicholson has led Miami’s recruiting effort for Alford, currently listed as the No. 73 overall prospect in the On300 and No. 8 linebacker in the 2025 class, and Alford has now visited Miami four times (including twice in the last month for game-day visits). The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine lists Florida as the heavy favorite to land Alford ahead of Miami, South Carolina and Florida State, although the race feels much closer.

Miami began recruiting Alford more heavily at the start of the 2023 calendar year and has contacted the four-star linebacker daily since Aug. 1, when coaches became permitted to directly contact 2025 recruits. He also attended Miami’s Sept. 9 manhandling of then-No. 23 Texas A&M in what has been the Hurricanes’ most impressive performance under head coach Mario Cristobal thus far.

“(Saturday), it was a low blow because they lost, but overall it was a good game,” Alford said. “They faced a lot of adversity and handled it well and kept fighting. The atmosphere was great. It was a packed stadium, all of the fans were there, and all of the fans were turnt, so it was a good atmosphere overall.”

CaneSport’s Take

Alford won’t weigh Saturday’s heartbreaking loss nearly as much as he’ll weigh Miami’s response to it, which starts this weekend in Chapel Hill when the Hurricanes take on North Carolina in a prime time game between two top-25 programs. If Miami bounces back and snags a win over the Tar Heels this weekend or takes down Clemson at home next weekend, the effects of the Georgia Tech loss should be relatively minimized.

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