**according to david lake of 247
The Miami Hurricanes football program is set to hold its first scrimmage on camp on Saturday.
I just wanted to provide some quick buzz I’ve gathered on UM going into the scrimmage. A long way to go and these scrimmage performances will determine quite a bit in terms of who plays, but here you go…
- QUARTERBACK: Cam Ward continues to impress during these practices going into the first scrimmage. We will get into the defensive line later, but that position group is giving the UM signal caller lots of good work in an iron-sharpens-iron type of way. UM’s offensive line is doing a good job in protection for the most part, but that pocket doesn’t last for long with this defensive line. Ward’s ability to extend plays is where he is special—and different from what the Hurricanes have had at the position over the past decade.
Plenty of rotation between Reese Poffenbarger and Emory Williams right now. The sense I get is that Williams has been more consistent with moving the ball down the field, but plenty of time for this battle to continue.
- RUNNING BACK: Damien Martinez has been one of the more impressive players on offense during camp. His vision, patience, and ability to hit the hole is going to make him a productive back. Martinez has ripped off some long runs and he will bring a consistently explosive element to the run game that has been missing during this Mario Cristobal era. As Cristobal has said, Mark Fletcher is going to be brought along slowly, but he is running and cutting and the progress is encouraging. Jordan Lyle and Ajay Allen are getting plenty of work to earn the trust of offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson—particularly from a pass protection standpoint. Chris Wheatley-Humphrey flashes some dynamic speed to the outside at times. Overall, the run game has looked strong and UM will have plenty of balance on offense because of Martinez.
- WIDE RECEIVER: Xavier Restrepo is still the top guy of this group in terms of production and consistently making plays that moves the chains. He is steady, consistent, and he simply makes impressive contested and/or acrobatic catches when he needs to. Isaiah Horton and Sam Brown are pushing each other and going back and forth making plays—which speaks to the development of Horton because Brown is a proven commodity. Brown is getting his feet under him at Miami during this first week and there is a sense that he is ready to explode soon and start stacking some dominant practices once he gets settled in. Jacolby George is still arguably the most talented receiver with his route running, ability to make impressive catches, and quickness in the open field, but he needs to continue to put all his gifts together on a consistent basis. Ray Ray Joseph continues to take steps forward year-over-year and his dynamic speed impresses at times. JoJo Trader has flashed at some points during the first week. This is a deep group that most ACC secondaries will have trouble containing.
- TIGHT END: Elijah Arroyo continues to impress as a pass catching threat. Riley Williams has impressed as taking the next step as an all-around player with his blocking and pass catching. Elija Lofton brings a unique skill set that allows for the offense to line him up everywhere. McCormick brings leadership and physicality to the group. This group is being asked up to line up in a lot of different spots. They will be important to what Miami does from a formation and alignment standpoint.
- OFFENSIVE LINE: One thing that stands out about the first team in particular is the way they are winning at the line of scrimmage in the run game. This Miami offensive line will move people. Matthew McCoy and Samson Okunlola are battling it out to be UM’s fifth starting offensive lineman. UM’s staff is high on the talent and upside of McCoy and want to give him an opportunity to show he can play with consistency at left guard. Okunlola is also pushing for more playing time and has taken a step forward. As Alex Mirabal mentioned, UM is also giving looks to Mauigoa at guard, which means players like Okunlola and Markel Bell can get some looks with the first team. Performances in the two scrimmages will go a long way toward setting the starting five. The feistiness of Ryan Rodriguez has impressed the UM staff as he continues to take strides as the back-up center and be a player that can also be a back-up guard. Miami wants to identify its top eight to nine offensive linemen each year and right now I’d say that group is: Jalen Rivers, Anez Cooper, Zach Carpenter, Francis Mauigoa, Matthew McCoy, Samson Okunlola, Ryan Rodriguez and Markel Bell. The other thing worth noting is that the depth has improved dramatically with this group compared to two seasons ago. Miami’s body types on the offensive line on the second team—and frankly the third team—look much, much better. Miami’s offensive line is getting tremendous looks in practice, going against UM’s defensive line. Many in the program are confident that UM’s defensive line is the best this Hurricanes offensive line will see all season—and they are definitely holding their own in some back and forth battles.
- DEFENSIVE LINE: There is no way around it, this defensive line is SALTY—and quite frankly this position group has frustrated the offensive rhythm and flow at times during the first eight practices. On Thursday, Mario Cristobal said the defensive side of the ball was beating the offensive side going into the scrimmage and a big reason why he said that was the play of this position group. Rueben Bain has continued to build on his freshman season. Tyler Baron has the tools to be a first or second round pick and has flashed some dominant stretches in camp. Akheem Mesidor is back to being the type of impact player he was in 2022. Elijah Alston executes his job at a high level and can get after the quarterback. Amongst the young defensive ends, Cole McConathy is the one to keep an eye on for this season, but there is a ton of talent there to develop for the future. At defensive tackle, the sense I get is this group is much tougher compared to last year. Simeon Barrow and CJ Clark are veterans who play hard. Ahmad Moten has taken a step forward going into year three as a rotational player. The UM staff is really pushing Justin Scott to be ready to contribute in a role in game one and there is a lot of confidence he will be ready because he is a physical freak and is coachable. You never know how the development of a true freshman defensive tackle is going to go in year one, but Scott’s addition to this team could be very important because he has impact potential. Anthony Campbell has also taken a nice step forward this season and there is a lot of confidence he will help the Hurricanes in a rotational role. The last thing to note about this group is the versatility. We all know how Lance Guidry loves to be creative with his personnel usage. This group can play together in a lot of different ways. This defensive line can be the best in the ACC and if they have relatively good injury luck for the season, they can be one of the best in the country. If Miami’s defense takes a big step forward in 2024—going from a Top 30ish defense to a Top 15-ish group—this defensive line is the reason why.
- LINEBACKER: The most feedback I get regarding this group is about the development of Wesley Bissainthe, who is taking the next step with playing faster and with more confidence. Kiko Mauigoa continues to show why he is one of the most disruptive linebackers in the ACC as well. Bobby Pruitt is the young linebacker name that gets mentioned to me the most because of his athleticism and approach to constant improvement.
- SECONDARY: The way the defensive line has performed has benefited the UM secondary. Meesh Powell and Jaden Harris have been dependable at safety and Damari Brown has made a smooth transition to playing plenty in the nickel role. Compared to the spring, Jadais Richard has improved his consistency level and Daryl Porter continues steadily execute his assignments. Markeith Williams led the Hurricanes in interceptions over the first week, but he must improve is physicality and consistency. Zaquan Patterson flashes a lot of talent and needs to keep stacking positive days. OJ Frederique shows promise that he can potentially be a rotational corner this season and he has many confident that he can be a starter down the road. Safety Dylan Day and cornerback Robert Stafford are speedy young players with impressive ball skills who need to keep sticking with the process.
**the vibes are crazy with this team ... would love for @DMoney, @Cribby, @Coach Macho or any other insider guys to chime in to speak to the validity of these reports
The Miami Hurricanes football program is set to hold its first scrimmage on camp on Saturday.
I just wanted to provide some quick buzz I’ve gathered on UM going into the scrimmage. A long way to go and these scrimmage performances will determine quite a bit in terms of who plays, but here you go…
- QUARTERBACK: Cam Ward continues to impress during these practices going into the first scrimmage. We will get into the defensive line later, but that position group is giving the UM signal caller lots of good work in an iron-sharpens-iron type of way. UM’s offensive line is doing a good job in protection for the most part, but that pocket doesn’t last for long with this defensive line. Ward’s ability to extend plays is where he is special—and different from what the Hurricanes have had at the position over the past decade.
Plenty of rotation between Reese Poffenbarger and Emory Williams right now. The sense I get is that Williams has been more consistent with moving the ball down the field, but plenty of time for this battle to continue.
- RUNNING BACK: Damien Martinez has been one of the more impressive players on offense during camp. His vision, patience, and ability to hit the hole is going to make him a productive back. Martinez has ripped off some long runs and he will bring a consistently explosive element to the run game that has been missing during this Mario Cristobal era. As Cristobal has said, Mark Fletcher is going to be brought along slowly, but he is running and cutting and the progress is encouraging. Jordan Lyle and Ajay Allen are getting plenty of work to earn the trust of offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson—particularly from a pass protection standpoint. Chris Wheatley-Humphrey flashes some dynamic speed to the outside at times. Overall, the run game has looked strong and UM will have plenty of balance on offense because of Martinez.
- WIDE RECEIVER: Xavier Restrepo is still the top guy of this group in terms of production and consistently making plays that moves the chains. He is steady, consistent, and he simply makes impressive contested and/or acrobatic catches when he needs to. Isaiah Horton and Sam Brown are pushing each other and going back and forth making plays—which speaks to the development of Horton because Brown is a proven commodity. Brown is getting his feet under him at Miami during this first week and there is a sense that he is ready to explode soon and start stacking some dominant practices once he gets settled in. Jacolby George is still arguably the most talented receiver with his route running, ability to make impressive catches, and quickness in the open field, but he needs to continue to put all his gifts together on a consistent basis. Ray Ray Joseph continues to take steps forward year-over-year and his dynamic speed impresses at times. JoJo Trader has flashed at some points during the first week. This is a deep group that most ACC secondaries will have trouble containing.
- TIGHT END: Elijah Arroyo continues to impress as a pass catching threat. Riley Williams has impressed as taking the next step as an all-around player with his blocking and pass catching. Elija Lofton brings a unique skill set that allows for the offense to line him up everywhere. McCormick brings leadership and physicality to the group. This group is being asked up to line up in a lot of different spots. They will be important to what Miami does from a formation and alignment standpoint.
- OFFENSIVE LINE: One thing that stands out about the first team in particular is the way they are winning at the line of scrimmage in the run game. This Miami offensive line will move people. Matthew McCoy and Samson Okunlola are battling it out to be UM’s fifth starting offensive lineman. UM’s staff is high on the talent and upside of McCoy and want to give him an opportunity to show he can play with consistency at left guard. Okunlola is also pushing for more playing time and has taken a step forward. As Alex Mirabal mentioned, UM is also giving looks to Mauigoa at guard, which means players like Okunlola and Markel Bell can get some looks with the first team. Performances in the two scrimmages will go a long way toward setting the starting five. The feistiness of Ryan Rodriguez has impressed the UM staff as he continues to take strides as the back-up center and be a player that can also be a back-up guard. Miami wants to identify its top eight to nine offensive linemen each year and right now I’d say that group is: Jalen Rivers, Anez Cooper, Zach Carpenter, Francis Mauigoa, Matthew McCoy, Samson Okunlola, Ryan Rodriguez and Markel Bell. The other thing worth noting is that the depth has improved dramatically with this group compared to two seasons ago. Miami’s body types on the offensive line on the second team—and frankly the third team—look much, much better. Miami’s offensive line is getting tremendous looks in practice, going against UM’s defensive line. Many in the program are confident that UM’s defensive line is the best this Hurricanes offensive line will see all season—and they are definitely holding their own in some back and forth battles.
- DEFENSIVE LINE: There is no way around it, this defensive line is SALTY—and quite frankly this position group has frustrated the offensive rhythm and flow at times during the first eight practices. On Thursday, Mario Cristobal said the defensive side of the ball was beating the offensive side going into the scrimmage and a big reason why he said that was the play of this position group. Rueben Bain has continued to build on his freshman season. Tyler Baron has the tools to be a first or second round pick and has flashed some dominant stretches in camp. Akheem Mesidor is back to being the type of impact player he was in 2022. Elijah Alston executes his job at a high level and can get after the quarterback. Amongst the young defensive ends, Cole McConathy is the one to keep an eye on for this season, but there is a ton of talent there to develop for the future. At defensive tackle, the sense I get is this group is much tougher compared to last year. Simeon Barrow and CJ Clark are veterans who play hard. Ahmad Moten has taken a step forward going into year three as a rotational player. The UM staff is really pushing Justin Scott to be ready to contribute in a role in game one and there is a lot of confidence he will be ready because he is a physical freak and is coachable. You never know how the development of a true freshman defensive tackle is going to go in year one, but Scott’s addition to this team could be very important because he has impact potential. Anthony Campbell has also taken a nice step forward this season and there is a lot of confidence he will help the Hurricanes in a rotational role. The last thing to note about this group is the versatility. We all know how Lance Guidry loves to be creative with his personnel usage. This group can play together in a lot of different ways. This defensive line can be the best in the ACC and if they have relatively good injury luck for the season, they can be one of the best in the country. If Miami’s defense takes a big step forward in 2024—going from a Top 30ish defense to a Top 15-ish group—this defensive line is the reason why.
- LINEBACKER: The most feedback I get regarding this group is about the development of Wesley Bissainthe, who is taking the next step with playing faster and with more confidence. Kiko Mauigoa continues to show why he is one of the most disruptive linebackers in the ACC as well. Bobby Pruitt is the young linebacker name that gets mentioned to me the most because of his athleticism and approach to constant improvement.
- SECONDARY: The way the defensive line has performed has benefited the UM secondary. Meesh Powell and Jaden Harris have been dependable at safety and Damari Brown has made a smooth transition to playing plenty in the nickel role. Compared to the spring, Jadais Richard has improved his consistency level and Daryl Porter continues steadily execute his assignments. Markeith Williams led the Hurricanes in interceptions over the first week, but he must improve is physicality and consistency. Zaquan Patterson flashes a lot of talent and needs to keep stacking positive days. OJ Frederique shows promise that he can potentially be a rotational corner this season and he has many confident that he can be a starter down the road. Safety Dylan Day and cornerback Robert Stafford are speedy young players with impressive ball skills who need to keep sticking with the process.
**the vibes are crazy with this team ... would love for @DMoney, @Cribby, @Coach Macho or any other insider guys to chime in to speak to the validity of these reports
