Former Miami edge rusher Hayden Lowe is taking his next look in Knoxville.
Lowe, a former five-star recruit from the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, visited Tennessee over the weekend and left with a positive impression of the Vols. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound defender is now at Long Beach City College this season, and he spoke in a video after the trip about what stood out to him in Tennessee’s defensive setup.
"The defense, [they] said they will rotate [defensive linemen] a lot, so it's going to take care of my body when I get to the league," Lowe said.
Lowe’s college path has already taken a sharp turn. He arrived at Miami as a major piece of the Hurricanes’ 2025 recruiting class, but his time there never got rolling.
He missed his first year while recovering from offseason surgery, then spent much of spring camp away from the program. Rumors swirled that he was out with Miami, and Mario Cristobal eventually confirmed it before preseason training camp.
"The University of Miami and Hayden Lowe have parted ways, and we certainly wish him the best in his future endeavors," Cristobal said before the start of preseason training camp.
For Miami, the split closed a chapter that never really got started on the field. Lowe didn’t play a snap for the Hurricanes, so there was nothing tangible lost in the box score, even if the hype around him had been loud. Miami’s defensive line room has some depth concerns, especially with Marquise Lightfoot dealing with an injury in Week 5, but the group that has taken the field has improved week by week and followed up with a strong showing against Clemson.
Lowe still brings the kind of frame and upside that keeps programs interested. He may not have taken a college snap yet, but his talent profile is still enough to draw attention, whether Tennessee ends up being the landing spot or not. Miami, for its part, has kept moving forward with young talent from the 2025 and 2026 classes and the addition of five-star recruit Jaiden Bryant in the 2027 class.
Both sides, it seems, have already turned the page.
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