The CaneSport On3: Ranking the top 15 most impactful new players
Mario Cristobal put together a stellar recruiting class that ranked No. 6 in the nation and added a transfer portal class that On3 ranks No. 10. So those two areas of the team are likely to have an outsized impact on Miami trying to turn around its 5-7 season of 2022. Today we rank the 15 new faces we think are most likely to have an instant impact:
15 RB Ajay Allen
Allen was projected to play a lot of reps this coming season at Nebraska but opted to transfer when he wasn’t making headway up the depth chart in spring ball. He’s a more physical back in the mold of a Don Chaney/Mark Fletcher/TreVonte’ Citizen, and with Citizen on the bench and Chaney suffering injury issues the last two years he was needed for depth and talent reasons, too. Allen will compete to work right into the mix, although the team also has a returning starter in Henry Parrish. We also have Fletcher No. 6 on this list, so we are expecting bigger things from the true freshman than the transfer. In 73 reps last year as a freshman at Nebraska (his season ended after four games due to a collarbone injury) he had an outstanding 78.1 percent grade overall with a 79.8 run grade, 58.5 grade as a pass catcher and 40.4 percent in pass blocking (a struggle area for any young back).
14 DT Branson Deen
Deen arrived from Purdue before the spring and spent the 15 practices with the ones. He looks like he can be solid but isn’t going to wow you with his size or quickness. Miami’s issue is defensive tackle talent and depth, and outside of Leonard Taylor there’s no proven real playmakers here. So Deen might be the next best option to start next to Taylor for Miami depending how true freshman Joshua Horton and second transfer window DE/DT Anthony Campbell shake out. Deen had 27 tackles for the Boilermakers last season with 4 TFL and 2.5 sacks along with 4 QB hurries. In 2021 he was All-Big Ten honorable mention after starting 11 games and finishing with 26 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 4 sacks and 4 QB hurries. He has played in 31 career games and has 72 total tackles with 15.5 TFL and 6.5 sacks.
13 CB Jaden Davis
Davis was taken in the second transfer portal window after starting on a not-real-good Oklahoma secondary, and like the other corners on this list he’ll be given every chance to emerge at the wide-open boundary corner spots. It’s a transfer-heavy position given the returning depth issues (no proven guys), and the other portal guys are Ja’Dais Richard, Davonte Brown, JUCO arrival Demetrius Freeney and last year’s West Virginia transfer, Daryl, Porter, Jr. Last year he graded out at 62.3 overall per Pro Football Focus and 60.8 percent in coverage while allowing opposing QBs to hit on 16 of 30 passes vs. him for 202 yards.
12 TE Cam McCormick
McCormick adds a physical element to the tight ends room that Miami was missing desperately last year when the OL faltered as well. An eighth-year guy with a past at Oregon riddled by injury, McCormick was the first-teamer ahead of Jaleel Skinner this spring but is likely to take a back seat to Elijah Arroyo when he returns off injury for fall camp. But McCormick will get lots of reps as a run blocker/pass protector with that his forte. At 6-5 and 260 pounds he graded out at 71.4 percent as a pass blocker and 66.6 as a run blocker last year in 366 reps per Pro Football Focus. Prior to last year he played one rep in 2016, 319 in 2017 (57.5 grade), 11 reps in 2018, 0 reps in 2019 or 2020 and 10 reps in 2021. So really he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities due to his injury history. But when healthy he looks like he can really help this team.
11 WR Ray Ray Joseph
Miami coach Mario Cristobal bemoaned the team’s lack of true speed in the receivers room a year ago, and now he’s got some guys that can fly with newcomers Joseph, fellow true freshman Robby Washington plus 4.24-second portal arrival Tyler Harrell (who checks in at No. 9 on this list). Joseph worked in the slot along with returner Brashard Smith behind Xavier Restrepo this spring, but Shannon Dawson will find ways to get the ball in Joseph’s hands this season. He’s a bigtime playmaker.
10 WR Tyler Harrell
Harrell had a 500-plus yard season in 2021 at Louisville but injury cost him last year at Alabama when he missed the first half of the season and then was a backup. Now he’s got new life at Miami, and his 4.24-second speed should give Tyler Van Dyke a viable downfield threat on the outside. We think Harrell has a really good shot to start given the team’s WR room issues last year (when the top receiver was Colbie Young with all of 376 yards). It will be a massive battle for reps in fall camp with guys like Isaiah Horton and Jacolby George looking good in the spring plus Young and Frank Ladson guys who started games last year on the outside. In Harrell’s lone season with more than 39 reps played, 2021, he had 374 reps and per Pro Football Focus 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 that season, 176 came after the catch (9.8 yards per catch) and included a 91-yarder vs. Virginia. He has that explosive element Miami missed in 2022.
9 OL Samson Okunlola
5-star signee Samson Okunlola spent the spring as the second team left tackle behind Jalen Rivers, who previously played guard at Miami. But let’s face it, Rivers’ best position is guard and the team would benefit greatly if Okunlola can step up this fall and man the starting LT spot. He’s got the physical tools to do it, just has to show he “gets” it and understands what to do in Shannon Dawson’s offense. We think that happens, which is why Okunlola is so high on our list. A wildcard here is if former starting LT Zion Nelson can return to health off knee issues.
Davonte Brown (photo by Neil Gershman)
8 CB Davonte Brown
The UCF transfer Brown spent the spring as the first-teamer opposite Daryl Porter, Jr. with last year’s starting boundary corners DJ Ivey and Tyrique Stevenson gone. But Canes coaches wanted more competition and to up the level of talent in the room, which now makes it questionable who will start at the two CB spots. We still like Brown’s chances, but second portal window additions were Jaden Davis, Ja’Dais Richard and JUCO pickup Demetrius Freeney, so there’s no sure things here. Brown comes in with 36 games of playing experience, and in his time at UCF he had 91 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, a sack, 21 pass deflections and a forced fumble. He had 30 tackles, two INTs and four PBU this past season, and he also started every game as a sophomore in 2021 and ended with 13 PBU and an interception. In 2020 as a freshman backup he had 23 tackles while starting five games. His Pro Football Focus grades? Last year in 711 reps he graded out at 65.5 percent (70 is considered good) with a 63.6 cover grade and 46.7 tackle grade. In 2021 he had 763 reps at UCF and graded out at an elite 82.3 percent overall (84.0 cover grade, 55.7 tackling). In 2020 he played 411 reps and graded out at 66.5 (63.2 cover grade, 81.8 tackle grade). In 116 career targets he’s allowed 64 receptions for 838 yards and four TDs per PFF.
7 RB Mark Fletcher
Fletcher arrived this summer and the true freshman has gotten rave reviews for his size, athleticism and work ethic. He will have to translate that onto the field when fall drills begin, but we think with the ball in his hands he has the most upside of anyone in the running backs room right now. The question is if he can handle the pass protection aspects and other nuances needed at this level. Henry Parrish, of course, is the returning starter, but he’s a smaller back while Fletcher adds that physical element. Don Chaney also hopes to have something to say about the reps, as does newcomer Christopher Johnson and transfer Ajay Allen (TreVonte’ Citizen is expected to be slowed at the start of fall off a major knee injury dating to last year).
6 P Dylan Joyce
Don’t sleep on the true freshman Joyce as a guy who can win games for Miami this fall. He takes over for departing All-ACC punter Lou Hedley, so those are literally some big shoes to fill. We’re hearing that Joyce already has as strong a leg as Hedley, so the key now is to just make sure he’s mentally ready to get the job done on the big stage when the lights come on. Joyce, like Hedley, is from Australia, so maybe in the end the biggest difference between the two will be that one has a ton of tattoos and the other doesn’t.
5 LB Francisco Mauigoa
Mauigoa came to Miami from Washington State and immediately looked the part this spring. He worked with the first team ahead of returning starter Corey Flagg and was consistently breaking into the offensive backfield and showcasing his size (6-3, 230) and agility. He showcased his skill last season across the country – he had 60 tackles, 5.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks this past season as a starter, also forcing three fumbles (tied for the Pac-12 lead) with an interception. That interception was, interestingly enough, against Mario Cristobal’s former team – he took it back 95 yards for a TD against Oregon Sept. 24. As a freshman in 2021 he started twice and had 17 tackles. His Pro Football Focus grades? In 457 reps last season he graded out at a solid 75.7 percent (70 is considered good). He had a 74.1 run defense grade, 69.9 tackle grade, 64.6 pass rush grade and 76.3 cover grade. So all around pretty solid. He also was noted by PFF with five QB hurries and nine missed tackles. Mauigoa only played 58 reps in 2021 as a freshman and graded out at 43.3 overall. Mauigoa will be a starter in the middle of this defense and we think he’ll be a difference-maker.
4 DL Rueben Bain
Bain has all the ability in the world, and while it’s tough for any true freshman on the defensive line to make an impact you could see in the spring game (3 sacks) that this true freshman might be a rare exception to that rule. Will he start? Probably not, with our money on Akheem Mesidor with either Nyjalik Kelly or Jahfari Harvey on the opposite side. But Bain will get his reps and also has the size to work at tackle in passing situations. He can be a difference-maker getting after the quarterback.
Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola (Photo by Neil Gershman/CaneSport)
3 OT Francis Mauigoa
Mauigoa is a 5-star signee who stepped right into the first team right tackle role this spring and looked like a veteran almost right away. IMG prepared him well for the transition and we’ve got Mauigoa penciled in as a starter for Game 1. He’s got NFL written all over him and is a big part of reshaping an offensive line that struggled mightily a year ago (ranking No. 108 in the nation allowing 3.0 sacks per game and No. 95 in the nation with only 128.65 rush yards per game). Helping also reshape the line? No. 2 and 1 on this list … and Okunlola who checked in at No. 8.
2 C Matt Lee
Lee is the nation’s top returning center per Pro Football Focus grades, and he certainly looked every bit of a dominant guy in the middle this spring. Arriving from UCF as a multi-year starter he’s got experience and a motor that doesn’t quit (think KC Jones). Lee picked up his responsibilities in the new Shannon Dawson offense flawlessly and is a tremendous leader at center, which is what you want. Lee’s a huge part of a reshaped line that should be tremendously better off a not-good performance from the unit in 2022. Last year he was at an elite 90.6 pass blocking level with a very strong 80.6 run blocking grade and played 1,059 reps (note that 70 is considered a good grade). He also graded out at 75.6 in 705 reps in 2021 (81.7 pass blocking, 70.8 run blocking).
1 OG Javion Cohen
There’s a reason the top three guys on this list are all offensive lineman – it was a major weak area for Miami last season in the run game and pass protection, and coach Mario Cristobal knew there needed to be a huge shakeup. So enter Cohen from Alabama as a key piece. He started there at left guard last year and will do the same this season at Miami, and preseason publications are already anointing Cohen an All-ACC lineman with high end NFL Draft potential. Cohen only played 28 reps at ‘Bama as a true freshman in 2020, he became a full-time starter at left guard there in 2021, then this past season started 10 games and earned second team All-SEC honors. His Pro Football Focus stats show that in 2021 he accounted for 21 knockdown blocks and played 1,073 snaps over 14 games. Then this past season he played 554 total snaps and had 17 knockdown blocks with 1.5 sacks allowed, four pressures, four quarterback hits and three penalties called against him. His PFF grades? With 70 a good grade, he graded out at 72.5 percent in 2022 including a stellar 80.5 pass blocking grade (and 68.9 as a run blocker). In 2021 he graded out at 61.8 percent overall (49.8 pass blocking, 64.9 run blocking).
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