This offseason, for the Miami Hurricanes football program, all eyes will be monitoring the offensive side of the ball.

But one of the most interesting storylines to follow for the 2020 Hurricanes will be on the defensive side of the ball.

That’s because UCLA transfer Jaelan Phillips will now be eligible to contribute after sitting out the 2019 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Phillips is an intriguing player because he was rated the number one recruit in the country for the 2017 cycle, according to the industry generated 247Sports Composite. He ranked ahead of other five-stars like RB Cam Akers, OL Alex Leatherwood, DT Marvin Wilson, DE Chase Young, CB Jeff Okudah, WR Jerry Jeudy, and QB Tua Tagovailoa.

At 6-feet-5 and 255 pounds, Phillips has special athleticism at his size and the potential to form a potent pass rushing duo with rising sophomore Gregory Rousseau is an exciting prospect to think about.

During his two seasons at UCLA, Phillips totaled 41 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks.

Due to injuries, Phillips never played more than 261 snaps in a season. He played 261 snaps as a true freshman in 2017 and 159 snaps as a sophomore in 2018.

The best game of Phillips’ career might have been the first game at the college level, when the Bruins took on Texas A&M in a season opener in 2017.

Phillips finished that game with five tackles and 1.5 sacks. According to PFF, Phillips finished that game with seven quarterback pressures on just 24 pass rushing snaps. (Just for a point of reference, a rate of one pressure for every six pass rushing snaps is considered elite.)

When combining his first two seasons, Phillips totaled 25 quarterback pressures on 175 pass rushing snaps.

In 2019, Trevon Hill totaled 27 quarterback pressures on 207 pass rushing snaps. Scott Patchan had 26 quarterback pressures on 197 pass rushing snaps.

This spring will be an interesting time to see how effective Phillips can be after taking some time off from football.

Ever since Phillips arrived at UM during fall camp, his focus has been on getting stronger, gaining plenty of muscle and good weight, and healing up his body from injuries he sustained during his time at UCLA.

Phillips has been working in the strength and conditioning program—and has gotten noticeably bigger since arriving—but he has not been practicing the entire fall.

This spring will be everyone’s first glimpse at Phillips in a UM jersey on the football field. If he lives up to his enormous potential and athletic ceiling, the Hurricanes can potentially have one of the best pass rushing duos in the country in Rousseau and Phillips.