July Player Performance Index top 30 deep dive: No. 13 Tyler Harrell

CaneSport is breaking down the top 30 Miami players on the roster, and today we’re at No. 13, WR Tyler Harrell.

THE BIG PICTURE

Off a semi-breakout 523-yard season in 2021 at Louisville, Harrell transferred to Alabama. But he was sidelined to start the year by a foot injury and then never got into the receiver rotation. So now it’s on to Miami for his final year of eligibility. With a 40 time of 4.24 seconds (at a Louisville pro day), Harrell is a downfield blazer who can run by cornerbacks. There’s a very good chance he can win the starting job this fall considering he wasn’t brought in to sit on the bench … and when you see that Miami’s top returning wide receiver from last year had 367 yards (Colbie Young). There was a need for outside speed, and we expect that new coordinator Shannon Dawson is going to find plenty of ways to get the ball into Harrell’s hands and let him go to work. The other new faces at receiver on the roster are true freshmen Ray Ray Joseph (slot) and Robby Washington plus JUCO transfer Shemar Kirk. The first team outside receivers this spring were Young and unproven Jacolby George, so look for Harrell to make his move to the top of the depth chart this fall.

THE ANALYSIS

Harrell has always had the ability to be a star but just has never really panned out. You know from Alabama taking him in the portal last year that they saw the kind of untapped potential there is here, and now it’s up to Miami to unleash it. Originally from Miami Columbus High School (Mario Cristobal’s alma mater), he signed with Louisville as a three-star out of high school. His first years there didn’t result in a lot of production – as a freshman in 2018 he caught two passes, then redshirted in 2019 and only played nine reps in 2020. But he started to show his game breaking ability there in 2021, when he finished with 18 catches for 523 yards (29.1 yards per catch) and six TDs. Last season at ‘Bama he played just 33 reps and had two catches for 18 yards. A 6-0, 194-pounder, in his one season with more than 39 reps played (2021) per Pro Football Focus he graded out at 70.4 overall (70 is considered a good grade) with a 70.9 receiving grade. He caught 18 of 36 targets that year with 11 reps in the slot. Of his 523 yards, 176 came after the catch (9.8 yards per catch) and included a 92-yarder vs. Virginia. He had three drops as well.

THE PROJECTION

Last year Miami receivers that started games were numerous as the team struggled to get consistent play from the position. Jacolby George began the year suspended and started one game, Frank Ladson had nine starts, Mike Redding started four times, Xavier Restrepo was banged up and started twice, Brashard Smith had six starts, Key’Shawn Smith started three games and Young had six starts. There needs to be more consistency from this group, and we see Harrell starting at outside receiver, probably opposite Colbie Young, Jacolby George or Shemar Kirk. Restrepo is expected to start at slot, with Ray Ray Joseph also mixing in there. Joseph and Harrell both add a huge amount of speed to the Miami receiving corps, and in Harrell’s case we see no reason why he can’t have his biggest season yet. Assuming he wins the starting job as we expect look for a 600-plus yard season with six or more TDs. We see huge upside with his skillset in this offense.

THE JUMP HE NEEDS FROM SPRING TO FALL CAMP

Harrell arrived at Miami after spring ball, and the only “jump” he needs to make is quickly acclimating to the Shannon Dawson offense. We saw a year ago how Colbie Young was held back by taking a while to know exactly what to do every play, and Harrell can’t fall into that boat. If he can pick up on all the route trees and show his understanding of what to do and where to be on all plays then he’s going to be a massive speed weapon.

THE QUOTE

“It’s very hard to defend. Being able to go against him in practice makes us better. And just watching him run like that is very scary for opposing defenders to guard.” –Alabama All-American DB Brian Branch, on trying to defend Tyler Harrell’s speed

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