July Miami Hurricanes Player Performance Index top 30 deep dive: No. 17 WR Sam Brown

CaneSport is breaking down the top 30 Miami players on the roster based on projected production, and today we’re at No. 17, Sam Brown .

THE BIG PICTURE

Brown was a second portal window addition for Miami, and he will complement top returning receivers Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George, giving Miami a proven third option with Colbie Young gone to Georgia. Brown arrives as Houston’s leading receiver last year with 815 yards, and he has the speed and open field ability to cause defenses all kinds of problems. Brown will have to hold off talented but inexperienced Isaiah Horton in fall camp as well as others like freshman JoJo Trader, but the Canes didn’t bring Brown in to sit on the bench. Good luck to defenses if he comes through with a big year considering we already know the kind of numbers Restrepo and George can put up after they almost combined for 2,000 yards last year.

JULY PLAYER PERFORMANCE INDEX: No. 30 Elijah Alston , No. 29 Josh Horton , No. 28 Raul Aguirre … No. 27 D’yoni Hill … No. 26 Samson Okunlola … No. 25 Jaden Harris … No. 24 Markeith Williams … No. 23 Akheem Mesidor … No. 22 Jaylin Alderman … No. 21 Damari Brown … No. 20 Wesley Bissainthe … No. 19 Simeon Barrow/CJ Clark … 18. Elijah Arroyo

THE ANALYSIS

Brown was Houston’s go-to receiver last year, ending with 62 catches for 815 yards along with three TDs. In four of the first five games he had 99 or more receiving yards but then faded a bit down the stretch. Still, he has more than enough talent to be an outstanding weapon for Cam Ward. His 20 missed tackles forced after a reception ranked eighth among Power 5 receivers, per Pro Football Focus . Also per PFF in 694 reps last season he graded out at 72.9 percent overall with four drops; he lined up in the slot on 55 of his reps. A 6-2, 195-pound junior, Brown was a backup at West Virginia in 2020 and 2021, then as a redshirt freshman at Houston in 2022 started seven games and had 471 receiving yards with four TDs (of note: that year he was playing under now-Miami coordinator Shannon Dawson). He got the attention of defenses last year but could have more freedom to roam this year given opponents have to worry about Restrepo, George, and a solid run game led by Damien Martinez.

THE PROJECTION

We expect Brown to emerge as the third starting receiver ahead of Isaiah Horton and others like JoJo Trader, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be playing the vast majority of the reps. As the third option at WR and with so many weapons on offense you have to think his 815 yards as a go-to guy last year might be tough to match. So maybe around 500+ yards and a handful of touchdowns would be a fair expectation for Brown.

THE JUMP HE NEEDS FROM SPRING TO FALL CAMP

Brown was a second portal addition, so we’ll find out more about how he looks in a Miami jersey in fall drills. But certainly step 1 for him has to be making the transition to consistently facing taller, faster cornerbacks than what he faced at Houston. Brown also has to beat out Isaiah Horton and JoJo Trader, so certainly he needs to grasp the offense and be on point with Ward in fall drills.

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