Miami Hurricanes 50-1 Countdown: Ranking the top 50 post-spring players … No. 34 Dylan Joyce

No. 50 Miami DT Thomas Gore … No. 49 Malik Curtis … No. 48 Kaleb Spencer … No. 47 Ahmad Moten … No. 46 Jaden Harris … No. 45 Logan Sagapolu … No. 44 Markeith Williams … No. 43 Frank Ladson … No. 42 Chris Graves … No. 41 Keontra Smith … No. 40 Robby Washington … No. 39 Emory Williams … No. 38 Jacurri Brown … No. 37 Brashard Smith … No. 36 Terry Roberts … No. 35 Samson Okunlola
CaneSport is breaking down the top 50 post-spring players on the roster, a list that doesn’t include any post-spring roster additions. Today we break down No. 34, Dylan Joyce.
NO. 34 MIAMI P DYLAN JOYCE
Why he’s No. 34
Part of why we rank Joyce on this list is because he better be on this list by the end of the season or it won’t spell good news for Miami’s special teams. The Canes brought in Joyce as a signee to replace the departing Lou Hedley, and while it’s hard to expect Joyce to fill Hedley’s shoes (pun intended) there’s no reason that the new punter can’t win the field position battle for UM more games than not. He looked like he had a very solid leg this spring, and like Hedley he was signed out of Prokick Australia and has a background in Australian rules football. Joyce is a 6-2, 213-pound punter with the leg strength to put the ball 60 yards downfield in the air.
What he needs to do to move up this list
Perform consistently well, averaging solid distance and hang time and help Miami win the field position battle. The biggest question mark for any new kicker or punter is how they will respond to gameday pressure. So really even though Joyce has all the tangible qualities you want in a top punter in terms of leg strength, until he performs in real games it’s hard to say the impact he’ll make. Joyce is the only scholarship punter on the Miami roster.
Realistic season objective
Not to be Lou Hedley, since he was one of the nation’s best, but to simply be solid and when called upon to get the ball 40+ yards down the field and give the coverage teams time to get there to corral the returner. A good sign here? PK Andy Borregales was asked about Joyce this spring. “I think we’re not going to miss a beat in our punting game,” Borregales said. Also a good sign: His Prokick Australia coach, Nathan Chapman, says “I would say what you’re probably going to see is Lou Hedley with less tattoos. You’ve got the same skillset. You’ve got the same body type. You’ve got the same athlete. You’ve got the same movement. You’ve got the same speed, strength, all those types of things.”
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