Less than two weeks out from the Week 0 clash against Florida in Orlando, Miami has lost a veteran defensive back.

“To the Miami Nation effective today, I would like to inform you, I am no longer on the University of Miami football team. I would truly like to thank the Coaches Mark Richt, Manny Diaz, Ephraim Banda, and my recruiting Coach Todd Hartley for the opportunity and the experience. I will always love Miami Nation. My name is in the portal and I am open for recruitment,” junior S Derrick Smith tweeted late Tuesday night.

Earlier this month, David Lake of 247Sports included Smith on a list of ten most improved Miami players since the 2018 season:

Perhaps no player has improved more since the spring on the defensive side of the ball than Smith, who has shed some weight and is making plays during the first week of practices. Smith is working with the second team at safety right now, but he is also getting some work with the first team on occasion. If Smith is going to be a part of UM’s playing rotation at safety this year, he needs to be better in coverage than he was in 2018. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith was targeted ten times by opposing quarterbacks and allowed nine receptions for 111 yards. To be fair, the majority of Smith’s snaps in 2018 were in the striker role and this camp he is primarily playing safety.

The junior out of Jacksonville, Florida appeared in 25 of the Hurricanes’ 26 games over the past two seasons (2017-18), mostly on special teams, recording 24 total tackles.