Offseason Additions: Don Chaney (2020 signee), Jaylan Knighton (2020 signee)
Offseason Departures: Deejay Dallas (NFL Draft), Lorenzo Lingard (Transferred to Florida), Realus George (Transferred to JUCO)
Miami loses their leader in carries, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns from 2019 in Deejay Dallas, but you could argue that this year’s room is more talented overall than the previous one.
The clear number one on the depth chart for the Hurricanes is junior Cam’Ron Harris. Harris is coming off a sophomore campaign where he carried the ball 114 times for over 500 yards and five touchdowns mainly as a backup. Harris will have to pick up the slack left behind by Dallas and show he can carry more of the load in 2020 as UM’s primary back over a full season, something he’ll look to start proving in camp.
The only player on the depth chart aside from Harris with college experience is redshirt junior Robert Burns. Burns came out of high school as one of the most athletic running backs in the country according to his athletic testing numbers, but he has yet to put it all together at Miami due to a rash of injuries. Burns finally stayed healthy in 2019, recording 29 carries for 116 yards in a limited role, but he has the opportunity to be a bigger part of the offense this upcoming season.
If Burns is unable to make things click, the true freshmen behind him will pounce at the chance to pass him on the depth chart, as Don Chaney and Jaylan Knighton round out the running back room for Miami. Chaney and Knighton were both high 4-star players coming out of high school and look to bring their explosiveness, playmaking ability, and athleticism to Miami. Both were early enrollees, but Chaney dealt with an injury when he first arrived at Miami, giving Knighton the first shot at valuable reps in spring. With his quickness and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, Knighton is a great fit for what Rhett Lashlee wants to do on offense and he should have a slight early edge on the depth chart ahead of his classmate, but there’s no doubt Chaney will have something to say about that as camp goes along.
Former walk-on fullback Michael Parrott was awarded a scholarship this spring after beating out Realus George for the primary fullback job in 2019, sending George packing to JUCO. Expect Parrott to be used as a specialist in some goal-line and short yardage situations in 2020, but he is unlikely to have a major role in Lashlee’s attack.
Bottom Line
Miami went out and signed two of the top running backs in the country in the 2020 class, which should give a jolt to a room which needed an influx of pure numbers as well as talent. Harris is the bonafide starter heading into the season, and his work during the offseason has only cemented that, but the rest of the depth chart is wide open for Burns, Knighton, or Chaney to carve out a major role. This could easily turn into a situation where Miami gives each backup runner a handful of carries early in the season as an audition, before turning to the hot-hand for the #2 job as the season goes down the line.
Offseason Departures: Deejay Dallas (NFL Draft), Lorenzo Lingard (Transferred to Florida), Realus George (Transferred to JUCO)
Miami loses their leader in carries, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns from 2019 in Deejay Dallas, but you could argue that this year’s room is more talented overall than the previous one.
The clear number one on the depth chart for the Hurricanes is junior Cam’Ron Harris. Harris is coming off a sophomore campaign where he carried the ball 114 times for over 500 yards and five touchdowns mainly as a backup. Harris will have to pick up the slack left behind by Dallas and show he can carry more of the load in 2020 as UM’s primary back over a full season, something he’ll look to start proving in camp.
The only player on the depth chart aside from Harris with college experience is redshirt junior Robert Burns. Burns came out of high school as one of the most athletic running backs in the country according to his athletic testing numbers, but he has yet to put it all together at Miami due to a rash of injuries. Burns finally stayed healthy in 2019, recording 29 carries for 116 yards in a limited role, but he has the opportunity to be a bigger part of the offense this upcoming season.
If Burns is unable to make things click, the true freshmen behind him will pounce at the chance to pass him on the depth chart, as Don Chaney and Jaylan Knighton round out the running back room for Miami. Chaney and Knighton were both high 4-star players coming out of high school and look to bring their explosiveness, playmaking ability, and athleticism to Miami. Both were early enrollees, but Chaney dealt with an injury when he first arrived at Miami, giving Knighton the first shot at valuable reps in spring. With his quickness and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, Knighton is a great fit for what Rhett Lashlee wants to do on offense and he should have a slight early edge on the depth chart ahead of his classmate, but there’s no doubt Chaney will have something to say about that as camp goes along.
Former walk-on fullback Michael Parrott was awarded a scholarship this spring after beating out Realus George for the primary fullback job in 2019, sending George packing to JUCO. Expect Parrott to be used as a specialist in some goal-line and short yardage situations in 2020, but he is unlikely to have a major role in Lashlee’s attack.
Bottom Line
Miami went out and signed two of the top running backs in the country in the 2020 class, which should give a jolt to a room which needed an influx of pure numbers as well as talent. Harris is the bonafide starter heading into the season, and his work during the offseason has only cemented that, but the rest of the depth chart is wide open for Burns, Knighton, or Chaney to carve out a major role. This could easily turn into a situation where Miami gives each backup runner a handful of carries early in the season as an audition, before turning to the hot-hand for the #2 job as the season goes down the line.
