Miami Hurricanes defensive tackle Greg Rousseau has opted out of the 2020 season . In an announcement made by Manny Diaz during his press conference on Thursday, the tackle is not coming back to Miami.

Last season, he completely tore up the gridiron for Miami. He recorded 54 total tackles and 15.5 sacks. In addition, he forced two fumbles. His best game of the 2019 season came against Duke. In what was a 27-17 loss for the Hurricanes, he was a bright spot. Rousseau recorded nine tackles and two sacks.

This is a huge loss for the Miami Hurricanes, as he is considered a top draft prospect. He was also considered a first-round selection for the 2021 Draft.

As expected, reactions poured in from the Miami coaching staff. As the announcement came during his press conference, Diaz had nothing but support for his player.

“As a coach we are for these young men and advocates for them,” Diaz said. “We want what is best for him and if that is what he has chosen, we support that.”

Defensive coordinator Blake Baker also showed support for his player.

“Really couldn’t be happier for Greg. We support him 100 percent in his decision. We’d had some conversations with him in the previous days and knew that it was something on his mind. But at the end of the day, like I said, we support him 100 percent in that decision.

“Obviously, guys have got to step up and that’s why you sign a guy like Quincy Roche and obviously Jaelan Phillips from a year ago and Jahfari Harvey… It’s by far, our deepest position, probably, on the defensive side of the ball. Definitely excited by the guys that are going to be playing for us this season as well.”

Those aforementioned players have some big shoes to fill. However, Miami definitely has some talent at the position, and it just speaks to how important their last couple pickups have been. It will be interesting to see what the Hurricanes do to offset this loss defensively and if in fact Harvey and Phillips can step up.