ANALYSIS: Best guess Miami Hurricanes two-deep offensive depth chart

With Miami spring ball now well in the rear view mirror, a look at the depth chart on both sides of the ball is revealing not only for top end talent or a lack of it but also the guys waiting in the wings to step up.

So today we start with a look on the offensive side and what we project for the coming season:

FIRST TEAM MIAMI OFFENSE DEPTH CHART

QB: Tyler Van Dyke

RB: Henry Parrish

WR: Colbie Young

WR: Jacolby George

SLOT: Xavier Restrepo

TE: Elijah Arroyo

LT: Zion Nelson

LG: Javion Cohen

C: Matt Lee

RG: Jalen Rivers

RT: Francis Mauigoa

ANALYSIS: At quarterback it’s clearly Van Dyke head and shoulders above Jacurri Brown and Emory Williams, and Van Dyke looked on point this spring in the new Shannon Dawson offense. At running back we think at the end of the day Dawson will go with the experienced guy in Parrish even though he wasn’t very productive as a starter last season. But it’s just hard to put a guy like Mark Fletcher or Christopher Johnson right into that starting role as true freshmen, and Tre’Vonte Citizen still has a long road back off his knee injury. Don Chaney was a bit heavy this spring but if he rounds into shape he can be very effective … although he has been through a lot of injuries dating to high school. We like the wide receiver room depth, but the Young/George/Restrepo projected first team is a bit underwheling when it comes to “been there, done that.” None of those guys have proven themselves as consistent playmakers, so there’s a bit to be desired there and maybe the portal can help address that. At tight end we like the upside of Arroyo coming off injury and see him as a better do-everything option than Cam McCormick or Jaleel Skinner. Arroyo can be really good as Will Mallory’s replacement. On the Miami O line we’re going to go ahead and be optimistic that Zion Nelson can come back off his knee issues and be effective. He’s dropped some weight to keep pressure off his joints and he can be really good if he’s back full go. Assuming that, the team would be able to put Rivers back inside where he probably best fits … or at right tackle. But given how 5-star early enrollee Francis Mauigoa looked at RT we love Rivers at RG with Alabama transfer Javion Cohen at LG after he started for the Crimson Tide last year. Matt Lee arrived as a UCF transfer at center and was everything you want at that spot, so that was a great pickup too. Overall the O line should be improved from last year and Dawson’s new system fits this unit much better than what Josh Gattis ran. Is this a top end championship-level first team roster? Well, these guys haven’t proven it yet. But there is potential for a really good year on this side of the ball.

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE DEPTH CHART

QB: Jacurri Brown

RB: Mark Fletcher

WR: Isaiah Horton

WR: Ray Ray Joseph

SLOT: Brashard Smith

TE: Cam McCormick

LT: Samson Okunlola

LG: Tommy Kinsler

C: Ryan Rodriguez

RG: Anez Cooper

RT: Matthew McCoy

ANALYSIS: At QB, true freshman Emory Williams will push Brown, but the good news is Brown showed much better accuracy this spring after really struggling in that area last season. Williams showed poise beyond his years as a Miami early enrollee and excellent accuracy, so it’ll be an interesting battle for the backup role this fall camp. At running back we are slotting Fletcher ahead of Don Chaney – we just think Fletcher is too good to keep off the field even in Year 1 and he has a great combination of speed/power. In fact, we would not be surprised if Fletcher overtakes Parrish as the starter before the end of the season Christopher Johnson can be a good third down speed option as well as a true freshman. The Miami wide receiver room is also interesting, and we think Joseph can work out side and at slot and is just too explosive speed-wise to not give him some opportunities. Horton came a long way this spring and will push for reps, and Smith is a guy who can get some rush attempts and take quick hitters for good gains. His big issue is holding onto the ball a bit better. Also don’t rule out Frank Ladson/Mike Redding/Robby Washington from getting some reps, but they will have to prove they deserve it this fall. At tight end we have McCormick getting reps ahead of Jaleel Skinner because (a) that’s how it was this spring when McCormick was healthy and (b) Mario Cristobal/Shannon Dawson prefers a tight end who can block and catch and Skinner really falls mainly into the latter category. The second team O line has a lot of question marks. Okunlola is a 5-star but is a true freshman who needs to develop. Anez Cooper would be a solid guard backup who has started games, but then you’ve got Kinsler/Rodriguez and McCoy who we are projecting as the next guys up and none of them are proven and all three have not stood out from what we’ve seen/heard to this point. So that’s an issue depth-wise on the offensive line. Overall as you look at this second team offense? Really the guys we are most excited about are young – Fletcher, Joseph and Okunlola. So that bodes well for the future and also points to how Cristobal has to keep building this program through recruiting top guys that can be developed into stars.

The post ANALYSIS: Best guess Miami Hurricanes two-deep offensive depth chart appeared first on On3.