Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Intro to Hurricanes: Freshmen acing debut
The Miami Hurricanes have four freshmen wide receivers and two freshmen running backs that could immediately immerse themselves into key roles behind projected starters after all enrolled early for the spring semester.
Running backs Jaylan Knighton and Donald Chaney Jr. will have an opportunity for reps behind junior running back Cam’Ron Harris. Following Michael Harley, Dee Wiggins and Mark Pope at wideout, along with redshirt freshman Jeremiah
Payton, the true freshmen in that corps of Keyshawn Smith, Xavier Restrepo, Dazalin Worsham and Michael Redding III will have a chance as receivers coach Rob Likens envisions playing five or six.
Of the running backs, Chaney, a Miami Belen standout, had to recover from a shoulder injury during the spring. Knighton, who had a stellar high school career at Deerfield Beach, has made an early impression, including in the eyes of starting quarterback D’Eriq King.
“I kind of saw how he ran and moved, but that first spring practice, he opened eyes, a lot,” said King, the redshirt senior star grad transfer from Houston. “He’s a young running back, and a lot of times, those guys don’t get everything as far as picking up protection, stuff like that, but Jaylan is super, super smart and he’s great with the ball in his hands. Since camp opened, he’s made some plays every single day. He’s a great, young player.”
Harris has noticed the work ethic from both Chaney and Knighton.
“They came in with a mindset that they were ready to work, following my steps,” he said. “Just coming after practice, see me after practice lifting, doing more conditioning with [strength and conditioning coach David] Feeley. They see me doing it, so they want to do it too to be prepared.”
The receivers, who bring a variety of skill sets, are building early chemistry with King.
“All those guys are pretty dang good,” King said. “I feel like we have a smart, young receiver group. They’re catching on really, really fast. That’s not something that’s normal in this offense. It’s a lot of choice routes and this and that.”
Added Likens: “You’re going to look back in a couple of years and you’re going to say, ‘Wow, that was a really good wide receiver class.’”
Likens touted the speed and quickness of Smith, saying, “He is certainly practicing in a way, making plays in a way that it’s certainly, definitely possible that you can see him in a game this year.”
Likens said he feels the same of Restrepo, a Deerfield Beach grad who also played at St. Thomas Aquinas and Monarch in high school. Restrepo has been working in the slot where his skill set and football IQ serve him well.
“He’s got the lateral quickness. He’s pretty good in there. He’s a really good football-minded kid,” said Likens. “That just makes you so much better of a player than blindly going out and running your routes. He understands all of the defensive structure stuff, so that gives him the opportunity to be way ahead of schedule.”
Worsham, at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds from Birmingham, Ala., has a similar frame as Smith.
“If I were grading them as pure route-runners, I would say that Daz probably is really ahead of a lot of freshmen at this point in time,” Likens said.
Redding had a wrist injury during the spring, but even with a cast on it, he still showed the initiative to go out on the field during the four practices before the coronavirus pandemic halted spring drills and simulated routes.
“He’s been hobbled just a little bit during fall, so I haven’t had a chance to see him, but I am extremely excited about him,” Likens said.
Harley has noticed Smith for his “flash of speed” and the way he tracks the ball. He calls Restrepo “one of the toughest guys that we have.”
“When they get their shot, they make the most out of it,” Harley said. “They’ll be ready before the first game.”