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Former Miami Hurricanes football star Alonzo Highsmith joining athletic department

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•05/25/22

One of the most respected talent evaluators in the National Football League is leaving his post in the NFL to join the Miami Hurricanes’ athletic department. Alonzo Highsmith, a legendary fullback for the ‘Canes who was a longtime NFL scouting executive, will assume the role of General Manager of Football Operations for Mario Cristobal’s staff, per the Miami Herald. His contract with the team is a multiyear contract.

Highsmith, 57-years old, will work alongside the Hurricanes’ head coach Mario Cristobal and new athletic director Dan Radakovich in a scouting-intensive role. According to the Miami Herald, the former Miami fullback will be overseeing all recruiting operations. Highsmith will be in Miami to begin his new role on Monday.

Most recently, the former NFL executive served as a senior executive advisor to Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider. During his playing days with Miami, Highsmith helped lead the Hurricanes to their first national title in 1983 under head coach Howard Schnellenberger.

He finished his collegiate career with 1,914 rushing yards (third in school history), 2,935 all-purpose rushing yards (fifth in school history), 25 career touchdowns (tied for fourth place in school history), and five 100-yard rushing games (tied for second in school history).

In 1997, Highsmith was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. One of the top running backs in Hurricanes school history — he was great at both blocking and catching passes in the open field.

The Hurricanes legend was also recently a candidate for the athletic director position at Miami that went to Dan Radakovich. Highsmith was also nearly hired in a Hurricanes football administrator/general manager type role after previous head coach Manny Diaz’s first season in 2019.

As a player in the National Football League, he suited up for three different teams–the Houston Oilers (1987-1989), the Dallas Cowboys (1990-1991), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1991-1992).