The state’s single-game record holder and the current season’s sack leader, Spanish Fort senior defensive end Cole McConathy, announced he flipped his commitment from the Louisville Cardinals to the Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

After he initially committed to Louisville on July 6, McConathy has produced a standout senior campaign that has him in first place on MaxPreps’ sack leaderboards as of Thursday with 19 sacks for 102 yards of total loss. His 37 quarterback hurries are also tops in the state with seven more than the next defender, Daphne junior Talib Graham who added 7 sacks for 48 yards lost.

Through the 11 games he’s played so far, McConathy has racked up 102 total tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles and 3 blocked field goals.

McConathy delivered three sacks for 25 yards lost in the Toros’ first-round shutout of Bessemer City last week. Now as a Hurricane pledge, McConathy and Spanish Fort will hit the road in the second round to face the Pike Road Patriots this Friday with revenge on the mind.

One of three Toro defenders with triple-digit tackles, McConathy has complemented efforts from senior Sterling Dixon, an Alabama signee, and junior Bishop Burkhalter, already a Power 5 target.

Dixon is the team’s leading tackler — despite missing a game — with 120 total which was good enough for 34th in the state. Burkhalter has racked up 104 total tackles (69th in the state) in addition to 17.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. McConathy’s 102 total tackles sat 75th in the state overall.

With 12.5 sacks for 56 yards lost, Dixon joins McConathy in the state’s top 10 where his sack total sat tied for 10th.

The Miami Hurricanes started this season with four straight victories before a pair of losses were followed by two straight overtime wins, over Clemson (28-20) and Virginia (29-26).

Miami enters this week’s contest against No. 9 Louisville with a 6-4 overall record and a 2-4 mark within the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Hurricanes are set to close their regular season with a road trip to face Boston College on Nov. 24.

Head coach Mario Cristobal currently owns an 11-11 overall record in his second season at Miami after he spent the previous five seasons as head football coach of the Oregon Ducks where he logged a 35-13 record with four trips to bowl games.

Cristobal began his college head coaching career in 2007 at Florida International where he registered a 27-47 record over six years with two bowl game qualifications. Overall, Cristobal sits 73-71 with a 3-3 record in postseason contests across 13 seasons.