CaneSport Roundtable: Why the top three Miami receivers that emerge matters, and our predictions

The Miami Hurricanes return their top two receivers from a year ago – Xavier Restrepo, who ranked No. 19 in the nation with 1,092 yards and was one of 33 1,000-yard receivers nationally, and Jacolby George, who wasn’t far behind with 864 yards.

With a new QB behind center in Washington State star transfer Cam Ward, both could be poised for huge seasons … or perhaps Ward finds another favorite target. Ward helped the Cougars to the nation’s No. 4 passing offense a year ago … with three receivers that all had between 842 and 923 yards (Kyle Williams 842 yards, Lincoln Victor 860 yards and Josh Kelly 923 yards). No other pass catcher on that team had more than 258 yards. In other words, Ward spread the ball around to three main players fairly equally (per Pro Football Focus, Victor had 118 targets, Kelly 92, Wiliams 84 and no one else more than 32).

So while Ward will be working in a different offense under Shannon Dawson, it’s worthwhile looking at who could emerge as Miami’s top three pass catchers in 2024.

Today the CaneSport staff share their thoughts:

CANESPORT ROUNDTABLE SERIES: Is the season-opener at Florida a must-win game for Mario and Miami? …. Will the Miami Hurricanes defense finish 2024 ranked higher nationally than it did in 2023? … Who starts in the secondary, and is it an area that can get the job done? … Will Cam Ward break Miami’s passing records? … Who will be the No. 2 QB behind Cam Ward, and will that be an indication of the starting QB in 2025? … Does Damien Martinez surpass 1,000 yards and get past 1,500 to push Willis McGahee and Duke Johnson for school record? … Three true freshmen that will make the biggest impact for the 2024 Miami Hurricanes … Will Miami average scoring 39 or more points per game for the first time since 2002?

GARY FERMAN

This is an interesting topic because it is more wide-open than anybody can imagine after the late pickup of Houston receiver Sam Brown from the transfer portal. Early reviews I am hearing about Brown from the team workouts taking place right now are that he is flat legit. He is going to play a lot and make a bunch of plays. So what does that mean for Jacolby George, Xavier Restrepo and even more significantly Isaiah Horton, who had a breakthrough spring, and Ray Ray Joseph and Jo Jo Trader and Ny Carr? That’s a lot of guys with expectations, and managing playing time will be one of the key assistant coach responsibilities this season for WR coach Kevin Beard. As the team tries to break through this season and win 11-12 games, there are going to be some guys who are not happy. I am going to predict the top three end up like this — 1. Restrepo, 2. Brown, 3. George. Restrepo is too good to not get a lot of looks. Brown will be the new toy that you can’t resist using. And George makes enough plays after the catch that he will have to be part of the equation every week as well. But there is a subplot to all of this. Shannon Dawson is said to be committed to throwing the ball to the tight end again. And also the running backs. And let’s not forget the presence of an apparent super freshman in Lofton. You get the idea. How in the heck are there going to be enough footballs to go around here? But the question mandates a top three, so I will stick with that threesome with a two-ton dose of curiosity over how this will really turn out. Surprises would not be shockers.

MATT SHODELL

Unlike a year ago when Xavier Restrepo seemed to always have Tyler Van Dyke’s eye and wound up with 29 percent of the entire team’s targets per PFF (George was second with a 22 percent), I expect a much more even approach on offense this year. Yes, Restrepo is one of the nation’s top returning receivers. But you have to think other teams will try to take him away, especially early in the year until other guys show they can hurt a defense. A guy like Cam Ward isn’t going to just try and force the ball in there with other talented targets. Today’s question is who the top three receivers will be on this team, and I’d rank it in terms of targets as 1. Restrepo, 2. George, 3. Sam Brown, 4. Elija Lofton, 5. Damien Martinez. Yes, I think Lofton as a true freshman H-back and Martinez out of the backfield will be very much involved in this offense (Shannon Dawson’s backs had 60 catches his final year at Houston). And I’m honestly not sure if I’d replace Brown with JoJo Trader or Isaiah Horton, since either could wind up beating him out this fall as the team’s No. 3 receiving option. I’m not buying the hype there quite like Gary is. But my guess is that Miami didn’t bring in Houston’s top receiver as a transfer to sit on the bench, so Trader or Horton would really need to shine this fall to beat him out. I’d put Restrepo over 1,000 yards again, George over 900 yards, Brown (or whoever starts as the No. 3 WR) at over 800 yards with Lofton pushing to 400 yards and Martinez getting over 250.

IZUBEE CHARLES

This was a bit difficult for me, but at the end of the day I think Miami’s top three wide receivers next season will be: 1. Xavier Restrepo; 2. Jacolby George; and 3. Isaiah Horton. I know Horton may surprise some, but over the spring Cam Ward and Horton seemed to have built a strong rapport and connected multiple times during Miami’s spring game as well. I debated putting Sam Brown in that third spot, and I have those two guys at pretty much 3a and 3b. I just think Horton will emerge as Miami’s deep and red-zone threat as the year progresses. With those four guys leading Miami’s receiving room, along with underclassmen Ray Ray Joseph, Joshisa Trader, Ny Carr and others, Ward will have no shortage of weapons this fall in Coral Gables. And not to mention the tight ends. If Elijah Arroyo can stay healthy, I do think he carves out a solid role for himself this year, with Riley Williams in the mix as well as do-it-all true freshman Elija Lofton. There are a lot of talented pass-catchers in Miami, and it will be impossible to make everyone happy, but I do think that’s a good problem to have, and things will iron themselves out this fall.

STEPHEN WAGNER

Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George are the obvious top two targets next season, but I wouldn’t sleep at all on JoJo Trader emerging as a third option after he appeared to be much further along this spring than many of us anticipated. Trader looked like a player ready to be in Miami’s receiver rotation after a month of spring practices and three months on campus, and I think he’ll only look better this fall barring injury. So I’m predicting Restrepo and George will be the top two options for Ward this fall, but I think Miami’s receiving options will be spread out after that. With Sam Brown and even Elija Lofton, Riley Williams and Elijah Arroyo at tight end, a player like Trader could easily sneak into the mix as Miami’s third-leading receiver. I’ve been bullish on Trader for most of his time on campus and am ready to predict him to have a breakout year and become an ACC sensation.

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