South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Hurricanes have big shoes to fill at wide receiver
The South Florida weather is getting warmer, and spring football is in the rearview mirror. The college football season is approaching.
With Mario Cristobal and a new coaching staff bringing optimism to Coral Gables, the Miami Hurricanes will look to improve on their 7-5 record in 2021 and compete for an ACC title.
Each week, we’ll take a look at
Miami’s position groups and see where they stand entering the 2022 season.
This week, we’ll examine a position group where UM has to replace historic production: wide receivers.
Who Left
The Hurricanes got record-setting production out of two departing wide receivers: Mike Harley Jr. and Charleston Rambo.
Rambo had a historic season in his one year in Coral Gables. He racked up a school-record 1,165 receiving yards and caught seven touchdowns. He had a 78.8 (out of 100) receiving grade from Pro Football Focus. Rambo was at his best when getting the ball downfield, receiving high grades for passes of more than 20 yards (95.7) and medium passes between 10-19 yards (94.1).
Harley was also a UM record-setter, notching a school-record 182 career receptions, and he racked up 2,158 yards with 15 touchdowns. Last year, Harley had 57 catches for 543 yards and five scores.
Harley had the second-highest receiver grade among Miami receivers with more than 15 catches last year, earning a 73.8 receiving grade. Like Rambo he earned strong grades on deep passes (94.3) and medium passes (91.3). He also did well on passes behind the line of scrimmage, earning an 89.9 grade.
UM also lost third-year receiver Dazalin Worsham to the transfer portal. He departed Miami and went to Auburn.
Who returns
Miami’s returnees and new arrivals have a lot of production to replace. Rambo and Harley accounted for about 45 percent of the Hurricanes’ receiving yards and 40 percent of their touchdown catches. But Miami’s cupboard is not bare. Third-year sophomore Key’Shawn Smith is the Hurricanes’ leading returning receiver. He had 33 catches for 405 yards and three touchdowns last season. Smith has room for growth this season after earning an overall receiving grade of 54.4 last year.
Smith did well on medium-range passes, earning a 92.9 grade and catching all three of his touchdowns on passes of that depth. But he earned grades in the 70s at all other depths, and Pro Football Focus dinged him for deep-ball drops, giving him a 31.6 grade on those passes, as he made only two catches on 11 targets.
Slot receiver and Deerfield Beach alumnus Xavier Restrepo is UM’s No. 2 returning receiver. Restrepo, a slot receiver, had 24 catches for 373 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He is expected to play a large role for UM this season. He had a 71.9 receiving grade last season and excelled on short passes, earning a 93.3 grade at that depth.
Restrepo, a third-year sophomore, can also continue improving, as he had a 37.6 drop rating on medium passes. However, he still earned an 89 grade on medium passes and a 90.4 on deep passes. Both of his touchdown catches were on deep passes.
“Xavier Restrepo has been doing it all, all spring long,” Cristobal said on April 14. “Really been a game-changer for us.”
The Hurricanes don’t have any other returning wide receivers who had more than 14 catches last season, so they will be looking for increased production from a variety of sources.
Sophomore Jacolby George, a Plantation alum, is expected to play a bigger role this season after making eight catches for 176 yards last season.
“He’s looking real good and [there is]
consistency from him, making every catch thrown his way,” quarterback Tyler Van Dyke said on March 26.
Miami native Brashard Smith, a former four-star prospect, had 14 catches for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns last season. In his limited action, he had the highest receiving grade on the Hurricanes, notching an 88.3 grade. Cristobal said Smith improved toward the end of spring practice.
“I mean really just these last three, four practices, [he] turned the corner,” Cristobal said on April 14. “I grabbed him when he was going off the field because it was noticeable what a difference he made for the offense . ... And he’s physical. He’s a tough guy.”
Miami could also see some production from sophomore Romello Brinson, who missed spring ball with an injury, and Michael Redding III, a third-year redshirt freshman who played in seven games in 2020 and two games last season.
Who arrived
Miami added two wide receivers in the offseason: one through the transfer portal and one in its high-school recruiting class.
The newest addition is freshman wide receiver Isaiah Horton, a 6-foot-3,
190-pound Tennessee native. Horton was rated a four-star prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings, and he was listed as the No. 56 wide receiver in the 2022 class.
Horton led Murfreesboro (Tennessee) Oakland High with 732 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches as his team went
15-0 and won a state title last year.
The transfer, Frank Ladson Jr., is more likely to see a lot of time on the field this season. Ladson, a Miami native, transferred to his hometown school after spending three seasons at Clemson, catching 31 passes for 428 yards and six touchdowns in those three seasons.
Last year, Ladson played in only five games and missed the end of the season after having surgery on his groin. He had four catches for 19 yards. However, he was healthy for the Hurricanes’ spring practices and made a quick impression.
“He’ll bring a lot to the table,” Miami cornerback DJ Ivey said. “I’ve played with Frank since high school. Played with him and against when we played Clemson. So I know what he can do and I know what he will do.”