Point / Counterpoint: CaneSport staff weighs in on which freshman will make the biggest impact this fall

The Miami Hurricanes rebuilding process continues under Mario Cristobal, who has now brought in 26 transfers and seen 39 players with eligibility to return jettisoned/leave for the portal.

Ultimately, the goal is to build the team through Cristobal’s strength – recruiting. That becomes self-sustaining. Instead of a portal guy who maybe has one or two years left of eligibility (in general) as a quick fix, you develop top recruit after top recruit. Then they replace each other when a starter leaves.

It’s the best path to building a self-sustaining championship program.

Cristobal helped hold together the No. 13 ranked recruiting class after taking over in early December, 2021, then made his mark with the sixth-ranked class last year in his first full cycle as head coach. The effort continues in this year’s class and into the future.

Given the roster inadequacies that were laid bare in Miami’s 5-7 2022 season, there’s little doubt that true freshmen will have a big impact on this year’s fortunes. In the spring you saw 5-star Francis Mauigoa with the first team at right tackle, 5-star Samson Okunlola as the second-team left tackle (and with a good chance to start since it would allow Jalen Rivers to move back to his more natural guard spot), DL Rueben Bain notching three sacks in the spring game, Ray Ray Joseph with a long TD to end the spring game and flashing his electric ability with the ball in his hands. Dylan Joyce will be your starting punter, and coaches aren’t expecting much of a drop off from Lou Hedley, who was one of the ACC’s best. Riley Williams is turning heads at tight end, and QB Emory Williams showed poise beyond his years in the spring and has the accuracy that current presumed No. 2 backup Jacurri Brown does not.

Summer arrivals include RB Mark Fletcher, who is expected to push Henry Parrish for the starting job, RB Christopher Johnson with his state championship track speed and Marcellius Pulliam, who is turning heads at linebacker.

All of the above can and should have a role this season in some shape or form. Other true freshmen could emerge as well.

It’s the backbone of the future of the program, with an assist from a 2022 class that included guys that could flash this year like DE Nyjalik Kelly, TE Jaleel Skinner, LB Wesley Bissainthe, WR Isaiah Horton and others.

Today the CaneSport staff is taking a closer look at the newest Miami Hurricanes, with the challenge to pick one that will make the biggest impact this fall.

GARY FERMAN

One? Who came up with the idea of picking only one. Well……the other day the team was in the weight room and Francis Mauigoa cleared 500 pounds. He’s a freak, ridiculously powerful for a true freshman. He will start at right tackle. So he’s the easy pick. But I never take the easy way out, so I’ll move in another direction and go with Ray Ray Joseph. I expect Joseph to get extensive reps on offense and also as a return guy on kickoffs and punts. That should be ample opportunity to emerge as the most impactful freshman of 2023. I almost went with Mark Fletcher, who I expect to very quickly establish himself at the running back position as a big banger. But Joseph’s contributions will be a bit more flashy, so I’ll ride with him. I would not sleep on Samson Okunlola emerging as a starter at left tackle either.

MATT SHODELL

It’s easy to point to RT Francis Mauigoa as the guy here. But I’m never one to go with the easy choice. Yes, Mauigoa will start. But as for biggest impact? It’s not easy for a true freshman offensive tackle to dominate the way a younger guy can at a skill position. Mauigoa is coming from a high school level plus spring ball experience in which there wasn’t facing the same kind of defensive end competition he’ll see in-season (Akheem Mesidor and Jahfari Harvey were out in the spring). So has Mauigoa really been tested at this level? I’d feel better about Mauigoa if I saw him shutting down Mesidor, for example. So we’ll see on that one. Ray Ray Joseph is also an easy one to put down here and I do think he’s going to get the ball in his hands a lot in a variety of ways. I think Shannon Dawson will try to do the quick hitter approach with him and let him go to work since with a true freshman you don’t want to make things to complicated … on longer plays if he runs the wrong route, turns the wrong way, bam it can be an interception. Plus Joseph will back up Xavier Restrepo in the slot and Brashard Smith is also talented and works there. So my pick as the biggest impact true freshman is going to be … RB Mark Fletcher. I was already right once in what seemed a crazy prediction at the time – last summer I put in a prediction of Fletcher to Miami when he was still committed to Ohio State. A couple of months later he flipped. So now I feel like a couple of months from now we’ll be watching Fletcher and seeing shades of some of the former great running backs at Miami. Frank Gore, Duke Johnson and others all had outstanding freshman seasons. Even if Fletcher is a backup to returning starter Henry Parrish in Game 1, I think by the midway point of the year it’ll be Fletcher as the featured back. He’s got the speed, power and vision other backs on the roster simply don’t possess. All that might slow him down is learning the nuances of the playbook and showing he’s an adept blocker in pass protection. I project an 800+ yard season for Fletcher (rushing and receiving combined – he’s also good catching the ball out of the backfield). Now that would be a heck of an impact.

IZUBEE CHARLES

With this one, I was stuck between three guys: Francis Mauigoa, Mark Fletcher, and Rueben Bain, but in the end, I ultimately chose the Miami Central product, Bain. While I know some may say the clear answer is Mauigoa, I honestly think Bain will have a much larger impact on the defense than Mauigoa will have on the offense. After watching Bain in the spring practices and during the spring game (when he had three sacks), I was shocked at how well he performed and looked. Now, I’m not saying Mauigoa did not look good; he looked amazing, but Bain was on another level, in my opinion. If Bain can stay healthy throughout the year and produce at the level he has shown he is capable of, I would not be surprised to see him in contention for a spot on the freshman All-American team.

STEPHEN WAGNER

Francis Mauigoa. It isn’t close, and I don’t think it’s complicated. Yes, I think Fletcher is an instant-impact running back, Joseph will emerge and Okunlola could be a candidate if he earns a starting job, but Mauigoa is the once-in-a-class offensive lineman who could start on almost any offensive line in the country, and he had a tremendous spring. I’ve got no problem taking “the easy way out,” because sometime the obvious decision is the easiest one to make. Mauigoa was a Five-Star Plus+ offensive lineman and arguably the best offensive lineman in the 2023 class for a reason, and I don’t think this needs to be an overly complicated discussion. Trust your eyes on this one, folks. Mauigoa can and WILL be great (barring injuries).

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