The CaneSport On3: Predicting the role of every Miami Hurricanes true freshman

Last year six then-freshmen wound up starting games: QB Emory Williams, RB Mark Fletcher, OL Francis Mauigoa, DL Rueben Bain, CB Damari Brown and P Dylan Joyce. Of those, Fletcher, Bain, Mauigoa, Brown and Joyce were regular starters by the end of the season. Tight end Riley Williams was another freshman that played a lot in the two-deep, with 316 reps. The point is well taken: Miami isn’t shy about playing first-year players.

Which brings us to this year’s team. And the most recent recruiting class.

Which of them will contribute, or perhaps emerge as starters at some point? We share our thoughts below with fall practice around the corner:

QUARTERBACK

Judd Anderson . Anderson stands out in the Miami QB room with his 6-6 height, but he’s going to need some more work before he’s ready to stand out on the field. He’s in line for a redshirt working behind Cam Ward, Reese Poffenbarger and Emory Williams.

RUNNING BACK

Jordan Lyle . Lyle is a summer arrival, but his combination of speed and power is something Mario Cristobal covets. If Mark Fletcher isn’t back off injury at full strength (a good sign is he is cleared for fall camp) then we can see Lyle competing with Ajay Allen and others to be the No. 2 guy on the depth chart.

Chris Wheatley-Humphrey . It’s a thin running backs depth chart, but Wheatley-Humphrey might be at the back of it right now. He could wind up at cornerback down the road, but Miami needs RB numbers and if there are injuries he could get some work.

WIDE RECEIVER

Ny Carr . Carr had some bright moments this spring but probably is best served in a special teams role given there will be guys like Sam Brown, Isaiah Horton and perhaps even Shemar Kirk and fellow freshman JoJo Trader ahead of him. He’s already established himself as one of the fastest Canes on offense, a good sign for an explosive future.

Chance Robinson . Robinson is a highly touted prospect but it doesn’t help that he wasn’t able to arrive in January. It’s a tall task for a summer arrival to make a big impact, and fellow freshmen receivers like Ny Carr and JoJo Trader got a jump on him by being here early. With the returning talent at WR we can see a redshirt in store for Robinson.

JoJo Trader . Trader shined in the spring and is a highly touted prospect with a bright future. But with Sam Brown, Isaiah Horton and Jacolby George proven veterans on the outside we see Trader mainly working in a second team role. Don’t be surprised if he gets more and more reps as the year goes along, though. We have him tabbed as a future star.

TIGHT END

Elija Lofton . Lofton wowed in the spring as the first-team H-back, running smooth routes and showing off soft hands. He also flashed his athleticism and versatility by lining up split out wide and even taking handoffs out of the backfield. We think he could lead the tight ends room in catches and receiving yards as a true freshman, even with veteran Elijah Arroyo looking good coming back off injury.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Nino Francavilla . Francavilla could emerge as Miami’s center of the future, but his time is not right now with Indiana’s Zach Carpenter on board. He’ll spend the year learning behind Carpenter and then looking to battle for the first team job next year.

Juan Minaya . Minaya is a talented prospect who is likely headed for a redshirt given the team has experienced tackles ahead of him, including returning starters Jalen Rivers and Francis Mauigoa.

Deryc Plazz . We expect Plazz to redshirt as he hones his technique and works to get bigger, faster and stronger.

DEFENSIVE LINE

DL Armondo Blount . We can see Blount getting limited reps early in the year and emerging with a bigger and bigger role as the season goes along. That’s in part because at 6-4 and 260 pounds he has the size and strength to be versatile as a run stopping end who can also chase down the QB … or even moving inside in passing situations. A lot will hinge on how he looks in fall drills.

DT Artavius Jones . The 6-3, 280-pounder has great strength but is a summer arrival and most likely is destined for a redshirt year where he can continue to hone his technique and learn the defensive system.

DE Marquise Lightfoot . He’s likely in line for a redshirt season with good veteran talent at the end position and a need to put on some strength/weight at 6-5 and 230.

DE Cole McConathy . He really flashed for Miami this spring, putting himself in position to be a guy that can get some pass rushing reps this season along with Marshall EDGE rusher Elijah Alston. While McConathy still needs to put on more weight and add strength, he has enough going for him even as a freshman that he can make an impact.

DE Elias Rudolph . A summer arrival, the most likely scenario for Rudolph is a redshirt where he can start to pack on some more weight and strength to his lanky 6-4, 205-pound frame.

DL Daylen Russell . He could wind up as a big defensive end or playing inside at tackle, but because he didn’t enroll for the spring he’ll have a big learning curve this fall. The most likely scenario is he redshirts and works to get bigger, stronger and faster.

DT Justin Scott . Normally a defensive tackle who doesn’t enroll early is a longshot to get on the two-deep as a true freshman. But Scott is no ordinary first year guy. The 5-star already has college-ready size, strength and quickness at 6-4 and 310 pounds. With a DT depth chart that is led by transfers CJ Clark and Simeon Barrow and doesn’t have much proven major college talent behind them, there’s every possibility that Scott gets his chance to get on the field.

LINEBACKER

Adarius Hayes . Hayes has a bright future but most likely his biggest impact for Miami this year will be on special teams. This spring it looked like Cam Pruitt was ahead of him development-wise, and there’s top end experience at linebacker with Francisco Mauigoa, Wesley Bissainthe and Louisville transfer Jaylin Alderman.

DE/OLB Booker Pickett . At 6-2 and 224 pounds Pickett’s likely to spend the year bulking up and getting stronger. A redshirt seems most likely to happen here, but with his ability to play OLB or DE there is something intriguing here that could get him on the field early. We wouldn’t be surprised if he works quite a bit at LB given the depth issues there.

Cam Pruitt . Pruitt was a pleasant surprise this spring as a guy who really flies to the ball and hits hard at 6-2 and 200 pounds. With the summer workouts behind him he could flash even more this fall and find a role on a linebacker depth chart that only has three proven guys (Francisco Mauigoa, Wesley Bissainthe and Louisville transfer Jaylin Alderman). He’ll also be an asset on special teams.

DEFENSIVE BACK

S Dylan Day . An athletic 6-2, 200-pounder, Day’s likely biggest impact will be on special teams … unless he really shows out in fall drills, since the safety depth is suspect.

CB Romanas Frederique . We could see Frederique in a similar situation to what Damari Brown had a year ago, where he gets some reps early-on as a backup and then start working more and more into games as the season goes on. He was held back by missing spring, but he has the skillset and length to perhaps be able to help right away at a cornerback position that doesn’t have much proven depth. Early returns on him are very positive heading into fall camp.

CB Ryan Mack . A summer arrival, Mack will have to show out quickly at Miami if he’s going to get on the field for meaningful reps. As we mentioned with Frederique, the depth chart is favorable for a young guy to get into the mix, so he does have a chance to play more and more as the season goes along. He could also wind up at safety if he puts on some more size.

S Zaquan Patterson . This one is interesting, because Patterson looked really good this spring and there isn’t much proven safety production/depth (Washington transfer Mishael Powell could move here from nickel/Markeith Williams and Jaden Harris were atop the depth chart this spring but neither has many reps under their belts). If Patterson has the most playmaking potential of the group then we could see him working in more and more as the season goes along, perhaps even getting some starts by the end of the season. The caveat here is safety is a complex position in Miami coordinator Lance Guidry’s scheme, and Patterson really needs to show coaches they can trust him.

S Isaiah Thomas . We anticipate the 6-2, 200-pound Thomas needing some seasoning before he becomes an asset on defense. But with little safety depth the team may need to press him into action.

PLACEKICKER

Abram Murray . Miami didn’t want to miss out on landing this talented kicker, but he’ll be spending the year learning behind one of the nation’s top returning kickers, Andy Borregales.

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