Miami Hurricanes 50-1 Countdown: Ranking the top 50 post-spring players … No. 32 Jaleel Skinner
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 … No. 34 Dylan Joyce … No. 33 Jared Harrison-Hunte
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. 32, Jaleel Skinner.
NO. 32 MIAMI TE JALEEL SKINNER
Why he’s No. 32
Skinner was a huge recruiting win for Miami over Alabama, with the rangy 4-star tight end flipping from the Crimson Tide to sign with the Canes in the Class of 2022. Expectations were high that he’d come in as a true freshman this past season and have a big impact, but he struggled with holding onto passes and physicality as he still needs to bulk up his frame. Skinner began the season as the third team tight end behind Will Mallory and Elijah Arroyo, but after Arroyo went down with a season-ending injury he got plenty of reps and wound up starting twice and playing in nine games. Skinner caught nine passes for 129 yards and a TD. His Pro Football Focus grades? Overall he graded out at a not-real-good 52.1 percent (with 70 considered a good grade). He had a 58.0 grade as a receiver, 68.9 grade pass blocking and a poor 35.1 run blocking grade. So there was a lot of room to improve, and while Skinner bulked up a much-needed 20 pounds to 235 this spring he was a backup to Oregon transfer Cam McCormick. That was with Arroyo out injured, so when Arroyo comes back to drills this fall it’s probably that Skinner/McCormick will be battling for backup reps.
What he needs to do to move up this list
Improve his blocking and show improved hands. Skinner added 20 pounds from last year but still looks real tall and lanky with more weight to gain. He’s still too prone to allowing opponents to push past him and make tackles. And while Skinner does a great job getting open and making plays down the field he has to prove that his drop issues of last season are behind him. So there’s a lot of room for him to grow and show that he belongs among Miami’s elite players.
Realistic season objective
We see Elijah Arroyo as the starter, since he’s the best mix of physicality and pass catching ability, while Cam McCormick certainly will have a niche as a strong run-blocking tight end. So that sort of leaves Skinner somewhere in between both those guys. With that said, Skinner has a world of potential. You have to think given the size and speed mismatches he can pose with defenders that new coordinator Shannon Dawson will find some way to get him involved. But maybe somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-300 receiving yards is about what we’d expect right now from Skinner based on the talent we think will be ahead of him on the depth chart.
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