ESPN analyst says Miami is ‘sleeper’ in NCAA title chase
Hurricanes now boast top recruiting class for 2018.
ESPN’s K.C. Joyner, in a recent series on the college football teams with realistic hopes to win it all in 2017, included the Miami Hurric anes and their desire to capture the program’s first national crown since 2001.
He calls Miami a “sleeper,” saying if the Canes can get over the hump with Florida State in Week 3, the combination of returning talent and a favorable schedule means a College Football Playoff spot is an attainable goal.
“The Hurric anes’ 2017 schedule includes contests against Duke, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia, four teams that posted a combined 14-34 record last season,” Joyner wrote. “Add games against non-Power 5 foes (Bethune-Cookman, Arkansas State and Toledo), and more than half of Miami’s games will be against subpar teams.
“Miami does have a tough r o a d m a t c h u p a t F l o r - ida State, a team it hasn’t defeated since 2009, but the rest of its ACC opponents posted a combined 20-12 conference mark last season. Add it up, and this is definitely the type of schedule that lends itself to potential national title contention.
“(Miami has) everything in place to post a double-digit win total for the first time since 2003. The jump from there to the College Football Playoff will likely require an ACC championship game win over either Clemson or Florida State, but given the talent level Miami brings to the table, that should be considered an attainable goal for this legitimate national title contender.”
In this view, at this tooearly juncture, there is no reason Miami can’t contend for the ACC title. There is enough talent at each position. If someone sufficiently answers the quarterback question, the Hurricanes have the players, coaching and schedule to win 10-plus — if not more. An ACC champion is almost guaranteed to make the College Football Playoff, so it’s not a stretch to say if Miami has a shot at the league, it has a shot at a ring.
WR boosts 2018 class to No. 1: Signing day is 11 months away, but Miami is off to an outstanding start with its 2018 recruiting.
The commitment Wednesday evening of four-star wide receiver Brian Hightower boosted UM’s class ranking to No. 1 in the country, per 247Sports’ constantly-updated composite ratings. Old-school rival Penn State previously held the top spot.
UM hasn’t finished with a top-10 class since 2012, when it was 10th. Its highest-rated recruiting class in the last decade was 2008, when it signed the nation’s second-best class.
In Hightower, li sted at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Miami adds the 40th-best player in the 247Sports composite, and sixth-best wide receiver. Rivals rates him eighth among receivers and No. 92 nationally.
E S P N, wh i c h h a s h i m fourth at his position and 34th overall, says he has “prototypical size with galloping speed” and is “an imposing player.”
Hightower t ransferred from Calabasas (Calif.) High to Bradenton-IMG Academy last January. This fall, he will catch passes from four-star quarterback Artur Sitkowski, who committed to the Hurricanes last week.
An Army All-American, Hightower is the fourth top100 player (per 247 composite) in Miami’s class of 13 commits. The others are running back Lorenzo Lingard (No. 15), cornerback Josh Jobe (No. 54) and Sitowski (No. 73).
No spring game: UM will not host a traditional spring game because of ongoing renovations to Hard Rock Stadium, it announced earlier this week.
Last year’s spring game was held at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Athletics Director Blake James said last month that would not be an option.
“You have a spring game, you want to have it at your stadium,” James said at the time, adding that his goal was to “capitalize on the excitement and energy that Mark (Richt) and his staff and the team have created around their finish last season, and then the excitement that you all create around signing day. We’re thrilled with it.”
A Dolphins spokesperson said Wednesday that stadium suites and broadcast areas are being upgraded, and some minor resurfacing of parking lots will be done.