While Tuscaloosa, Columbus, and Athens filled their college football stadiums with 70,000 or so adoring fans to culminate the end of spring ball, the University of Miami filled Cobb Stadium Saturday afternoon with hundreds of alumni and hall of famers. In front of a more intimate crowd of recruits, family members, former players casually walking the field perimeter, and season ticket holders (me included), the Canes offered a different perspective to this year’s spring game. Coach Cristobal wanted to showcase player and team progress from the comforts of campus, just as he remembers from his days as a player. In true Miami swagger, the game kicked off with the introduction of honorary captains, 2024 NFL Hall of Fame inductees Andre Johnson coaching the white team and Devin Hester coaching the orange team.
Now let’s get down to business and discuss the x’s and o’s as viewed from the bleachers and sideline, starting with the offense, and there is a lot to be excited about!
Quarterback #1:
Five quarterbacks technically saw playing time, but fans only had eyes for QB #1, Cam Ward. In his first ‘official’ game start, Ward did not disappoint as the “alpha” of the team, as coach Cristobal coined Ward in postgame remarks. Ward clearly has a command of the offense and demonstrated his leadership and connection with teammates immediately. While spring games are typically vanilla in scheme and game plan, Ward’s eyes were always locked down field, he was quick out of the pocket when necessary, and able to make something out of nothing a few times with last minute dump passes over the middle. What impressed me most was his off the field time spent on the bench with his receivers reviewing plays between drives. That leadership was sorely lacking in the last few years from the QB position, and it should translate to positive results on the field this fall. My only critique was Ward’s lack of connection on the deep balls, missing at least 3 long passes to his receivers. Overall, not a bad day at the office finishing 19/24, with 324 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Quarterback #2…that’s still up for grabs:
Also seeing plenty of playing time were transfer quarterback Reese Poffenbarger, who had a few bright moments hitting tight end Riley Williams on a strong pass toward to the sideline. Back from injury, Emory Williams threw a nice touchdown strike to Ray Ray Joseph to end the first half of the game. Not to be left out, possible transfer Jacurri Brown once again looked strong on the run and made a few nice long passes, including a touchdown to freshman tight end Jackson Carver, but he is still struggling with accuracy on his shorter throws. The lone interception of the game was thrown by freshman Judd Anderson who looked the shakiest at the position. Just based on spring production, I feel Emory Williams has the best potential to secure the #2 spot and looked overall the most comfortable and accurate of the back-ups, but that could change depending on Brown’s future with the team.
Receivers:
It’s been years in the making for fans and we finally have a stacked group of receivers, and they are fun to watch. As expected, Ward and Xavier Restrepo’s connection is fire and Restrepo just continues to find ways to get open and elude tacklers. The two connected on Ward’s second touchdown pass of the game. Wearing a red, non-contact jersey, Jacolby George found himself in the endzone on Ward’s third touchdown pass of the game. George was solid but will hopefully mature more this season to avoid some of the unnecessary game-day penalties.
The most intriguing relationship developing; however, is between Ward and sophomore Isaiah Horton. Aside from being Ward’s first touchdown recipient of the game, Horton made several impressive catches and was a much bigger part of the offense than last year. It was evident the chemistry between he and Ward will go far this season. During postgame interviews, Ward said of Horton, “He’s going to have a breakout year for sure. I’m excited for him…he’s somebody I can trust out there on the perimeter.”
Also seeing more playing time finally was sophomore Ray Ray Joseph, who put on 15 pounds in the off season and was heavily involved in plays with the second team offense. True freshmen Jojo Trader and Ny Carr looked strong, ran nice routes, showed their speed, and look promising to see playing time in the fall. Finally, JUCO transfer, Shemar Kirk, caught the attention of many fans with several catches during the game.
Return of ‘tight end U’?…
By far my personal favorite position on the football field is tight end and recent seasons at Miami have failed to live up to legacy status. That might be changing this season. While former UM greats like David Njoku and Will Mallory watched from the sidelines, fans in the stands caught a glimpse of a healthy Elijah Arroyo, back from injury, making a few nice catches in the game. Riley Williams back for his sophomore tour, and mega-veteran Cam McCormick are also in the mix, ensuring the tight end room is full of potential. Although, the person who most impressed during the spring game technically played more running back (partly due to lack of depth) than tight end, and that was true freshman Elija Lofton. This player is something special and is extremely adaptable. Comparisons are already being made to likes of Deebo Samuel. Cristobal commented after the game on Lofton’s versatility as an athlete to potentially play multiple positions, even noting he can play on defense. Lofton is definitely someone to keep eyes on in the fall.
The offensive line and running backs:
The offensive line played without starter Francis Mauigoa, and without the permanent starting five come fall, but one person definitely ‘stood out’ literally. Fans in the bleachers couldn’t stop talking about the 6’ 9” junior college transfer Markel Bell. He is one lineman to keep eyes on during fall practice and this coming season. Overall, I’m not too concerned with the experience of the o-line once the season starts with Cristobal and Mirabal at the helm.
Similar sentiments abound for the running backs. There was plenty of opportunity for the young players in the game as projected starter Mark Fletcher, Jr is still recovering from injury, and Ajay Allen was also unavailable. Filling in during the spring, both redshirt freshman Christopher Johnson and true freshman Chris Wheatley-Humphrey out of South Broward High School took most of the handoffs during the game. With Parrish leaving via the transfer portal, one of the young running backs will need to step up or Cristobal might look to pick up someone during the spring portal signing period.
While the offense is ahead of the pack…let’s quickly spread love to the defense.
Defensive line:
Most impressive Saturday was the freshman from Chicago, Marquis Lightfoot. He finished the game with 4 tackles, one quarterback sack, and a fumble recovery leading some to label him this year’s breakout star in the style of Ruben Bain’s performance last year.
Linebackers and Secondary:
Returning veteran Wesley Bissainthe was productive and led the linebackers, while I was most interested to see who would fill in for the losses of Kam Kinchens and James Williams. One player assuming that responsibility was Washington transfer Mishael Powell, who could bring much needed experience to the safety position after playing in last year’s national championship game.
Veteran Darryl Porter, Jr looked strong coming back from his injury. He spent most of the game covering Horton. His experience, along with Damari Brown’s, will be needed to help a younger cornerback group. While seeing limited playing time last season, Demetrius Freeney garnered positive attention during the game making several good tackles and securing a pick-six toward the end of the game.
Final thoughts:
While the white team beat the orange team 30-14 and Andre Johnson went home with bragging rights, the biggest win was a lack of any major injuries. In addition, many of the team’s youngest players, such as early enrollees, experienced quality playing time and showed why experts ranked Miami’s recruiting class so highly.
The spring game only represents a snapshot in time, and there is still another portal transfer period to go before fall. Cristobal is already eyeing any further additions who will fit and push the culture narrative at Miami, and ultimately demonstrate a strong desire to win. By fall, there will undoubtedly be a different looking team compared to spring and fans will have a better idea of how the new season might unfold. Until then, Hurricane fans will spend the next few months analyzing the first game of the 2024 season when everything comes together August 31 in Gainesville.
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