ANALYSIS: Top 5 Miami Hurricanes breakout players for the coming season … No. 5
With spring practice in the rearview mirror, we are taking a look at five players who have not yet broken out at Miami but appear poised to do so. Today we start with No. 5, WR Isaiah Horton.
NO. 5 MIAMI HURRICANES BREAKOUT PLAYER, WR ISAIAH HORTON
Isaiah Horton played all of 11 reps in four games off the bench last year at Miami as a true freshman. He caught one pass for six yards. So why, after that redshirt year, is he cracking this list?
Well, for one thing there’s his simple level of talent. Then there is a depth chart that is screaming for an outside receiver to step up who has size and the athleticism to go up above DBs to make catches. And then you sprinkle in what we saw from him this spring. It all adds up to Horton looking like a guy who can make an impact for Shannon Dawson’s new offense this year.
Consider this:
Mario Cristobal, during spring ball: “Isaiah Horton is a guy that stands out, doing really well. … Horton has taken another significant step, is an outside guy, we haven’t had much outside production other than Colbie (Young).”
WR coach Kevin Beard, during spring ball, on Horton: “Very talented young man. Really excited about his future. Some people need to develop fundamentally, some need to develop emotionally, some need to develop psychologically. And I think with him it’s a little bit of all of it because he’s been so much bigger than everybody all his life he’s just been able to bully and do what he wants to do. Now everybody is his size so he has to learn the details, the technique and the fundamentals that are going to help him separate himself from the rest of the pack.”
QB Tyler Van Dyke, on April 13 heading into Spring Game: “He’s going to help us. He’s a big body receiver, fast, good hands, still a young kid. He’s definitely come a long way since he came in last summer. I’m excited to see how he grows and develops. He’s done some really good stuff in the spring.”
WR Brashard Smith during final week of spring ball, on Horton: “He’s just going up and attacking the ball,” Smith said.
So while Horton was mainly with the twos this spring, we can see him pushing for a starting job, certainly being in the rotation and making a splash.
He’s a physical presence who can help as a blocker, too – Horton says he has put on 10 pounds from last season, to 205.
The former 4-star prospect out of Murfreesboro, Tenn., had 71 catches over his final two years of high school for 1,345 yards and 17 TDs. His offer list was extensive, including Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, Alabama and Tennessee.
So there’s a lot to like here.
And Horton sees a lot he likes about Dawson’s new attack.
“I love this offensive scheme,” Horton said during the spring. “Coach Dawson, he’s a great offensive coordinator. He’s going to put the right players in the right positions to make the right plays. I love this offense.”
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