The CaneSport On3: Miami Hurricanes offensive depth situation fairly good across the board

Depth. It’s an often overlooked preseason aspect of any team, as fans tend to focus more on the level of starters and their potential. But, in the real world, as a season progresses a team’s success can hinge on the play of the backups. Injuries happen on every team, right? And unless you’re a starting offensive lineman or the quarterback, you can expect to be subbed out quite a bit in order to remain fresh. Let’s look how that pertains to Miami on offense.

The Canes last season, per Pro Football Focus , had no running back that played more than 31 percent of the reps (Henry Parrish), no receiver that had more than 75 percent of reps (Xavier Restrepo) and no tight end that had more than 62 percent (Cam McCormick). On defense, for comparison’s sake, the most used lineman played 74 percent of the time (Rueben Bain), the most utilized linebacker 83 percent (Francisco Mauigoa), the most used CB 77 percent (Jaden Davis) and safety 86.5 percent (James Williams). Other starters played less, like WR Colbie Young’s 66 percent, CB Daryl Porter’s 59.3 percent usage or Wesley Bissainthe’s 52.8 percent.

With the above in mind, today we are breaking down the projected offensive key backups by position, including any standouts and deficiencies that need addressing. You’ll see below that all the areas on offense grade fairly well depth-wise, with running back a potential weak link depth-wise:

QUARTERBACK

The starter here, of course, is Washington State star Cam Ward. But, again this article isn’t grading the guy who is starting. It’s looking at the second team and position depth. And in this case we really like how it’s stacked up behind Ward. Albany transfer Reese Poffenbarger is a 6-0 dual threat who hit on 58.7 percent of his passes in 2023 for an FCS-best 3,603 passing yards along with 36 TDs and 13 INTs. He also ran for five more scores with 187 rush yards. He looked good enough to lead the offense this spring and will battle next year (when Ward is gone) with Emory Williams, who started two games as a true freshman last season and was up-and-down but has flashed at times, along with young, inexperienced QBs. The fourth scholarship QB is true freshman Judd Anderson, a 6-6 3-star early enrollee who needs some time to develop. But the depth here is excellent with two backups that have starting experience and talent. DEPTH GRADE: A

RUNNING BACK

Damien Martinez is the star portal addition from Oregon State, and it’s to be determined who will get the first reps behind him. Mark Fletcher is coming off a serious foot injury and could be best served with a redshirt. If he’s healthy he’d be the No. 2 back, of course, after rushing for 514 yards and flashing as a freshman. With Henry Parrish and TreVonte’ Citizen transferring out this spring, there aren’t a lot of numbers here if Fletcher is on the shelf, a reason we saw freshman H-back Elija Lofton getting carries this spring (something that could continue into the season). Perhaps it makes the most sense to have Ajay Allen as the No. 2 back if Fletcher is limited – he arrived last year as a Nebraska transfer and was good enough with 361 yards and five scores in nine games off the bench. The others competing for reps are Christopher Johnson, a speedy change-of-pace back who got into four games last year as a true freshman and had 11 carries for 73 yards and a TD, and true freshmen Jordan Lyle and Chris Wheatley-Humphrey. It’s hard to rely on first-year guys, although perhaps Lyle is physically ready for the challenge of a sizable immediate role. If Fletcher is healthy the depth grade here is an `A’. But that’s very much a question mark. DEPTH GRADE: B-

WIDE RECEIVER

Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George are proven weapons here after combining for 1,956 yards and 14 TDs. With Colbie Young gone to Georgia, the team has several options that could step up behind those two. Miami brough in Sam Brown from Houston, where he was the team’s leading receiver last year with 815 yards. Then there is Isaiah Horton, who is looking for a breakout season after playing 292 reps as a backup last year (and starting the bowl game vs. Rutgers when Young opted out). He ended with 13 catches for 168 yards. Ray Ray Joseph is in his second year and has the speed and elusiveness to be a difference-maker when called upon to spell Restrepo in the slot, and true freshman standout JoJo Trader could push Brown and Horton for reps (right now it’s probably most likely that Brown is the third starter). Freshman Ny Carr also looked this spring like he can do some things to help the team if needed, and Chance Robinson is a touted summer arrival while others here include JUCO WR Shemar Kirk, who had some bright moments this spring, Mike Redding and Robby Washington. There’s a lot of talented depth at this position. DEPTH GRADE: A

TIGHT END

A year ago this position was a nonfactor in the passing game with no tight end finishing the year with more than 72 yards (that was freshman Riley Williams). Cam McCormick was the starter, but he was a blocking tight end. There was no true dual threat guy at this position that a defense needed to account for. That is set to change this year with Elijah Arroyo back healthy with the talent to make an impact as a receiver and blocker. Williams looked bigger and was running smooth routes this spring, and a big addition here is true freshman H-back/TE/RB Elija Lofton. He was lining up all over the place this spring, including getting carries in the backfield, and we would not be surprised if he winds up as the leading pass catcher from the tight ends room. The woes of last year at this position seem to be over. DEPTH GRADE: B+

OFFENSIVE LINE

Last year’s Miami line didn’t exactly give the backups a lot of room for experience – Anez Cooper and Jalen Rivers each played 878 of the team’s 907 total offensive reps, Francis Mauigoa played 866 and Matt Lee and Javion Cohen played 792 and 771, respectively, despite both opting out of the bowl game. So it’s good news here starting-wise that three guys are back (Cooper, Rivers and Mauigoa), and that the team’s added veteran starting center Zach Carpenter from Indiana. But the depth, as you can tell from the above, is very much unproven. The left guard spot is the one that’s open, and Matthew McCoy could be a decent fit there after splitting reps in the bowl game along with Luis Cristobal, Jr. (who is now a walkon at UM). But our prediction is that it’s Samson Okunlola who emerges as the fifth starter. He was rated a 5-star in 2023 for a reason, and we didn’t get a chance to see a lot of him last year as a freshman due to an early-season injury. He has NFL potential. There’s also JUCO arrival Markel Bell, a massive tackle who could fit into the starting lineup if Mauigoa moves from tackle to guard. So you really have a few backups who we think are serviceable at guard/tackle. The real issue here depth-wise is at center, where it’s probably Ryan Rodriguez as the next guy up. As an aside, we also think Tommy Kinsler will develop into a reliable lineman, but he has to get some reps under his belt. There’s more depth here than last year, but it’s a question just how talented it is given there have been some limited reps to this point. DEPTH GRADE: B

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