Me and Pete are breaking down each position group, post-Portal, on the CanesInSight Daily Podcast. Today is wide receiver. A transcript of our discussion is below:
Peter Ariz: It’s a really good room. On paper, this is the best receiver room Miami’s had heading into a season in a long time. Last year there were a lot of questions about that group, and some of those questions were fair at the time. Now with the emergence of Malachi Toney, that changes the entire conversation going into spring. And beyond him, you’re talking about a group that could realistically be eight or more deep with guys who are capable of playing meaningful snaps right now.
DMoney: It reminds me of what we said last year about the corner room. We thought we almost had too many corners. But at the end of this season, we were running out.
Peter Ariz: When you look at it objectively, you can play eight guys. There will be good competition on Greentree.
DMoney: Another big part of this is quarterback play. Last year you didn’t have a settled situation in spring. No Beck. You had Emory Williams, Luke Nickel fresh on campus, Judd Anderson still developing. You didn’t have a clear QB1 who was building chemistry day after day.
This year is completely different. You have Mensah from day one, healthy, confident, ready to throw. Luke Nickel has a year of experience. Dereon Coleman is an exciting passer. Judd Anderson has another year under his belt. That raises the level of the entire practice. The receivers benefit and the quarterbacks benefit.
Peter Ariz: The defensive backs get better, too.
And when you get into the receivers themselves, Barkate gets a lot of attention because of his connection with Mensah. But I’m a huge fan of both Cam Vaughn from West Virginia and Vandrevius Jacobs from South Carolina. These weren’t top-five portal receivers. They weren’t the splashiest names. But they’re talented players who were in inconsistent passing games. You put them in this system, where they’re not the sole focus of the defense, and I think both guys have a chance to have the best seasons of their careers.
DMoney: I've heard people say that a wide receiver room should look like a basketball team. This group has a nice mix of skills and body types. Malachi does everything. He can throw, catch, run inside, run outside, return, block. Cooper Barkate is a craftsman, good against zone, beats man coverage with route-runnning, catches everything with his hands. Jacobs gives you a true vertical element, a guy averaging over 17 yards a catch in the SEC. Cam Vaughn is that long, outside body type, former quarterback, strong hands, catches outside the frame. They all do different things.
Cam Vaughn
DMoney: Let’s start with Cam Vaughn. He’s a small-town Georgia kid, played quarterback growing up, goes to Jacksonville State under Rich Rodriguez, becomes their best receiver, then follows Rich Rod to West Virginia and becomes their best receiver there, too. And that’s despite being in systems that were run-heavy with bad quarterback play. When you watch the tape, especially against good Big 12 teams — Houston, Utah, BYU, Arizona State — he consistently made plays downfield. Physically, he looks a lot like CJ Daniels. Big hands, strong hands, plucks the ball, not a body catcher. He’s got more acceleration than people think.
Peter Ariz: CJ Daniels might be a little bigger just because he’s older and more filled out, but Vaughn might actually have more speed. If he gives you CJ-level impact, you’re thrilled. And there’s a chance he’s even a little more explosive vertically.
Vandrevius Jacobs
DMoney: Jacobs might finally be the consistent deep threat Miami’s been looking for. Florida kid, Vero Beach. Starts at Florida State behind Keion Coleman and Johnny Wilson, then transfers to South Carolina. Last year he becomes their primary deep threat — 17 yards a catch, big games against Clemson, Texas A&M, Missouri. He’s not skinny. He’s sturdy. Coaches loved him. Teammates loved him. South Carolina fans were not happy when he left.
Peter Ariz: And what really stands out to me is that both Vaughn and Jacobs committed before Miami had Mensah locked in. Jacobs knew exactly who his quarterback was at South Carolina and still chose Miami. That tells you something.
DMoney: Mensah threw for nearly 3,900 yards last year. Cam Ward threw for over 4,200 in this offense. That fed a lot of receivers — Restrepo, Horton, Arroyo, George, others. You can support multiple high-level guys if the offense is good enough.
Malachi Toney
DMoney: We waited long enough. Let’s talk Malachi Toney. We talked about him every show in camp. Led the nation in catches. The key to his game is consistency. Every workout, every meeting, every practice rep, every game rep — he does it with purpose. And he lives clean. That’s why I don’t worry about a sophomore slump unless it’s injury. Maybe the volume dips a little, but the impact should increase.
Peter Ariz: Higher-impact touches.
DMoney: Exactly. Throw a touchdown, run one, catch one, return one. Efficiency up, usage spread out amongst the other receivers. The Percy Harvin comps make sense, but Malachi is a better pure receiver than Percy was. Percy was more explosive as a runner.
I'm watching the yards per catch. Toney was 11 yards per catch last year. Restrepo was over 16 yards per catch with Cam. I think Toney's going to be more explosive in this year's offense.
Cooper Barkate
DMoney: This is Mensah’s security blanket. Third down, fourth down, in traffic, this is his guy. Barkate catches it cleanly every time, which allows him to play faster than his forty time after the catch.
Peter Ariz: I think he’s probably the number two statistically just because of the existing chemistry.
DMoney: Great story, too. He had P4 offers coming out, but said he wanted to graduate from Harvard, transfer to a football school, and go pro. So far, so good on that plan.
Ari Wasserman wrote a great story about him in 2021. Cooper's dad took him to a baseball game when he was a kid. His dad asked him, "What's the best job on the field?" Cooper said pitcher. His dad pointed to the owner's box. Different kind of dude.
Josh Moore
Peter Ariz: The flashes are insane. Mossing guys. Size, speed, strength. It’s about consistency. Josh Sarnoff in the chat just compared him to Devante Parker, and I could see that path.
DMoney: This is a big year for him with Cam Vaughn competing for the same role. That's one of the best battles in camp.
Daylyn Upshaw
DMoney: People forget how important Upshaw's catch and run against Syracuse was. Coming off the SMU loss, vibes were awful. Building was dead. Offense was stuck in the mud early. And then they throw that screen to Upshaw. He catches it, turns upfield, and it’s like you could feel the entire thing shift. Next thing you know, Miami starts rolling. You get the throwback touchdown later in that game. You cover. Then you roll into NC State and play your best game of the year. Then Virginia Tech. Then Pitt. That Upshaw play doesn’t get talked about enough, but it mattered.
Peter Ariz: Not many guys on the roster have the burst to make that play.
DMoney: He had another big play against Virginia Tech on third down. He’s not a specialist. He’s good at everything. Reminds me of Allen Hurns. Not flashy, but productive everywhere. The injury timing stunk because he was coming on. I don’t know his spring status. Foot injuries are weird. But when he’s healthy, I think he helps you.
Somourian Wingo
DMoney: I remember talking to someone during the playoff stretch and just casually asking, “How do things look out there?” Not even specifically asking about the freshmen. And the answer I got was, “Honestly, I’m just glad we don’t have to play Wingo next week because he’s killing us.”
When you watch his hoops tape, he’s handling the ball, he’s creating, he’s not just rebounding and dunking. That shows up in how smooth he is as a receiver. The body control, the way he adjusts to the ball, the confidence catching it clean and immediately transitioning upfield. Every trait goes up a grade because he plays so in control.
Milan Parris
Peter Ariz: With Paris, you’re talking about tools first. Big frame. Long. Verified 4.5 speed. Those laser times were legit, especially for a guy his size. And he’s another basketball player. Akron kid. Multi-sport background.
DMoney: The big thing with him is that the production matched the body as a senior. Miami is taking receivers who had great senior years, not just great junior tape or camp buzz. Parris fits that.
And he's a really good blocker. When opposing coaches watched Miami last year, one of the first things they’d bring up wasn’t scheme, it wasn’t formations — it was how the receivers blocked. That’s culture. Parris already does that in high school. That tells you a lot about how he’s wired.
Peter Ariz: With those taller guys, though, it’s always about the body development. You’re 6’5”, 6’6”, long-levered, strider types. You’ve got to build the core, the lower half, get them strong enough to handle contact without losing what makes them special. Parris has the frame to add that weight the right way. He’s not narrow. Shoulders are there. Once that weight room work really kicks in, he could look completely different physically in a year or two.
DMoney: Route running will need polish. That’s normal. But the willingness to do the dirty work in high school gives me confidence that he will work on his game.
Vance Spafford
DMoney: Tom Lemming said he looks like a surfer kid, and that's perfect. He's a skinnier guy, chill demeanor, kind of slouches. And then you see him actually play football and it’s like, wait a minute, this dude is running by everyone.
He’s a legit 4.3 guy. Laser verified. Fastest time at the Future50, which is an elite, invite-only camp. And it’s not track speed playing football — he’s a real receiver. At the best 7on7 tournaments, he’s cooking defensive backs from Miami, from the South, from everywhere. Running real routes. Setting guys up. Finding the ball. Hands catcher.
Peter Ariz: The concern with him is durability and size. He hasn’t been healthy consistently, and when you add weight to someone built like that, the question is always, does the speed stay?
DMoney: From a pure skill standpoint, he reminds me a lot of Phillip Dorsett. Similar build. Similar speed. Similar ability to run routes and track the ball deep. Neither guy is the best punt returner or a major threat after the catch. But they are true receivers with elite speed.
Cooper Barkate is from the same town in California (Mission Viejo) and they know each other. Hopefully, he can help Spafford with the transition to college.
Tyran Evans
Peter Ariz: He feels like a long-term play.
DMoney: Big. Long strider. Downfield-oriented. His junior year, he was number one in the On3 database in yards per catch. He wants to go deep, kind of like Tommy Streeter.
His senior year was uneven. Some injuries. Some inconsistency. That’s why I think a redshirt makes sense. And that’s not a negative. With the depth Miami has, he doesn’t need to play right away. Let him live in the weight room. Let him learn the offense. Let him refine his routes. But he'll have a chance to compete in spring and show what he's got.
Peter Ariz: I’ve seen him around. He’s already a big human. If you give Kevin Beard a year with that body and that skill set, you could have something. He was wanted by the SEC for a reason. Tennessee didn’t want to lose him.
youtu.be
Peter Ariz: It’s a really good room. On paper, this is the best receiver room Miami’s had heading into a season in a long time. Last year there were a lot of questions about that group, and some of those questions were fair at the time. Now with the emergence of Malachi Toney, that changes the entire conversation going into spring. And beyond him, you’re talking about a group that could realistically be eight or more deep with guys who are capable of playing meaningful snaps right now.
DMoney: It reminds me of what we said last year about the corner room. We thought we almost had too many corners. But at the end of this season, we were running out.
Peter Ariz: When you look at it objectively, you can play eight guys. There will be good competition on Greentree.
DMoney: Another big part of this is quarterback play. Last year you didn’t have a settled situation in spring. No Beck. You had Emory Williams, Luke Nickel fresh on campus, Judd Anderson still developing. You didn’t have a clear QB1 who was building chemistry day after day.
This year is completely different. You have Mensah from day one, healthy, confident, ready to throw. Luke Nickel has a year of experience. Dereon Coleman is an exciting passer. Judd Anderson has another year under his belt. That raises the level of the entire practice. The receivers benefit and the quarterbacks benefit.
Peter Ariz: The defensive backs get better, too.
And when you get into the receivers themselves, Barkate gets a lot of attention because of his connection with Mensah. But I’m a huge fan of both Cam Vaughn from West Virginia and Vandrevius Jacobs from South Carolina. These weren’t top-five portal receivers. They weren’t the splashiest names. But they’re talented players who were in inconsistent passing games. You put them in this system, where they’re not the sole focus of the defense, and I think both guys have a chance to have the best seasons of their careers.
DMoney: I've heard people say that a wide receiver room should look like a basketball team. This group has a nice mix of skills and body types. Malachi does everything. He can throw, catch, run inside, run outside, return, block. Cooper Barkate is a craftsman, good against zone, beats man coverage with route-runnning, catches everything with his hands. Jacobs gives you a true vertical element, a guy averaging over 17 yards a catch in the SEC. Cam Vaughn is that long, outside body type, former quarterback, strong hands, catches outside the frame. They all do different things.
Cam Vaughn
DMoney: Let’s start with Cam Vaughn. He’s a small-town Georgia kid, played quarterback growing up, goes to Jacksonville State under Rich Rodriguez, becomes their best receiver, then follows Rich Rod to West Virginia and becomes their best receiver there, too. And that’s despite being in systems that were run-heavy with bad quarterback play. When you watch the tape, especially against good Big 12 teams — Houston, Utah, BYU, Arizona State — he consistently made plays downfield. Physically, he looks a lot like CJ Daniels. Big hands, strong hands, plucks the ball, not a body catcher. He’s got more acceleration than people think.
Peter Ariz: CJ Daniels might be a little bigger just because he’s older and more filled out, but Vaughn might actually have more speed. If he gives you CJ-level impact, you’re thrilled. And there’s a chance he’s even a little more explosive vertically.
Vandrevius Jacobs
DMoney: Jacobs might finally be the consistent deep threat Miami’s been looking for. Florida kid, Vero Beach. Starts at Florida State behind Keion Coleman and Johnny Wilson, then transfers to South Carolina. Last year he becomes their primary deep threat — 17 yards a catch, big games against Clemson, Texas A&M, Missouri. He’s not skinny. He’s sturdy. Coaches loved him. Teammates loved him. South Carolina fans were not happy when he left.
Peter Ariz: And what really stands out to me is that both Vaughn and Jacobs committed before Miami had Mensah locked in. Jacobs knew exactly who his quarterback was at South Carolina and still chose Miami. That tells you something.
DMoney: Mensah threw for nearly 3,900 yards last year. Cam Ward threw for over 4,200 in this offense. That fed a lot of receivers — Restrepo, Horton, Arroyo, George, others. You can support multiple high-level guys if the offense is good enough.
Malachi Toney
DMoney: We waited long enough. Let’s talk Malachi Toney. We talked about him every show in camp. Led the nation in catches. The key to his game is consistency. Every workout, every meeting, every practice rep, every game rep — he does it with purpose. And he lives clean. That’s why I don’t worry about a sophomore slump unless it’s injury. Maybe the volume dips a little, but the impact should increase.
Peter Ariz: Higher-impact touches.
DMoney: Exactly. Throw a touchdown, run one, catch one, return one. Efficiency up, usage spread out amongst the other receivers. The Percy Harvin comps make sense, but Malachi is a better pure receiver than Percy was. Percy was more explosive as a runner.
I'm watching the yards per catch. Toney was 11 yards per catch last year. Restrepo was over 16 yards per catch with Cam. I think Toney's going to be more explosive in this year's offense.
Cooper Barkate
DMoney: This is Mensah’s security blanket. Third down, fourth down, in traffic, this is his guy. Barkate catches it cleanly every time, which allows him to play faster than his forty time after the catch.
Peter Ariz: I think he’s probably the number two statistically just because of the existing chemistry.
DMoney: Great story, too. He had P4 offers coming out, but said he wanted to graduate from Harvard, transfer to a football school, and go pro. So far, so good on that plan.
Ari Wasserman wrote a great story about him in 2021. Cooper's dad took him to a baseball game when he was a kid. His dad asked him, "What's the best job on the field?" Cooper said pitcher. His dad pointed to the owner's box. Different kind of dude.
Josh Moore
Peter Ariz: The flashes are insane. Mossing guys. Size, speed, strength. It’s about consistency. Josh Sarnoff in the chat just compared him to Devante Parker, and I could see that path.
DMoney: This is a big year for him with Cam Vaughn competing for the same role. That's one of the best battles in camp.
Daylyn Upshaw
DMoney: People forget how important Upshaw's catch and run against Syracuse was. Coming off the SMU loss, vibes were awful. Building was dead. Offense was stuck in the mud early. And then they throw that screen to Upshaw. He catches it, turns upfield, and it’s like you could feel the entire thing shift. Next thing you know, Miami starts rolling. You get the throwback touchdown later in that game. You cover. Then you roll into NC State and play your best game of the year. Then Virginia Tech. Then Pitt. That Upshaw play doesn’t get talked about enough, but it mattered.
Peter Ariz: Not many guys on the roster have the burst to make that play.
DMoney: He had another big play against Virginia Tech on third down. He’s not a specialist. He’s good at everything. Reminds me of Allen Hurns. Not flashy, but productive everywhere. The injury timing stunk because he was coming on. I don’t know his spring status. Foot injuries are weird. But when he’s healthy, I think he helps you.
Somourian Wingo
DMoney: I remember talking to someone during the playoff stretch and just casually asking, “How do things look out there?” Not even specifically asking about the freshmen. And the answer I got was, “Honestly, I’m just glad we don’t have to play Wingo next week because he’s killing us.”
When you watch his hoops tape, he’s handling the ball, he’s creating, he’s not just rebounding and dunking. That shows up in how smooth he is as a receiver. The body control, the way he adjusts to the ball, the confidence catching it clean and immediately transitioning upfield. Every trait goes up a grade because he plays so in control.
Milan Parris
Peter Ariz: With Paris, you’re talking about tools first. Big frame. Long. Verified 4.5 speed. Those laser times were legit, especially for a guy his size. And he’s another basketball player. Akron kid. Multi-sport background.
DMoney: The big thing with him is that the production matched the body as a senior. Miami is taking receivers who had great senior years, not just great junior tape or camp buzz. Parris fits that.
And he's a really good blocker. When opposing coaches watched Miami last year, one of the first things they’d bring up wasn’t scheme, it wasn’t formations — it was how the receivers blocked. That’s culture. Parris already does that in high school. That tells you a lot about how he’s wired.
Peter Ariz: With those taller guys, though, it’s always about the body development. You’re 6’5”, 6’6”, long-levered, strider types. You’ve got to build the core, the lower half, get them strong enough to handle contact without losing what makes them special. Parris has the frame to add that weight the right way. He’s not narrow. Shoulders are there. Once that weight room work really kicks in, he could look completely different physically in a year or two.
DMoney: Route running will need polish. That’s normal. But the willingness to do the dirty work in high school gives me confidence that he will work on his game.
Vance Spafford
DMoney: Tom Lemming said he looks like a surfer kid, and that's perfect. He's a skinnier guy, chill demeanor, kind of slouches. And then you see him actually play football and it’s like, wait a minute, this dude is running by everyone.
He’s a legit 4.3 guy. Laser verified. Fastest time at the Future50, which is an elite, invite-only camp. And it’s not track speed playing football — he’s a real receiver. At the best 7on7 tournaments, he’s cooking defensive backs from Miami, from the South, from everywhere. Running real routes. Setting guys up. Finding the ball. Hands catcher.
Peter Ariz: The concern with him is durability and size. He hasn’t been healthy consistently, and when you add weight to someone built like that, the question is always, does the speed stay?
DMoney: From a pure skill standpoint, he reminds me a lot of Phillip Dorsett. Similar build. Similar speed. Similar ability to run routes and track the ball deep. Neither guy is the best punt returner or a major threat after the catch. But they are true receivers with elite speed.
Cooper Barkate is from the same town in California (Mission Viejo) and they know each other. Hopefully, he can help Spafford with the transition to college.
Tyran Evans
Peter Ariz: He feels like a long-term play.
DMoney: Big. Long strider. Downfield-oriented. His junior year, he was number one in the On3 database in yards per catch. He wants to go deep, kind of like Tommy Streeter.
His senior year was uneven. Some injuries. Some inconsistency. That’s why I think a redshirt makes sense. And that’s not a negative. With the depth Miami has, he doesn’t need to play right away. Let him live in the weight room. Let him learn the offense. Let him refine his routes. But he'll have a chance to compete in spring and show what he's got.
Peter Ariz: I’ve seen him around. He’s already a big human. If you give Kevin Beard a year with that body and that skill set, you could have something. He was wanted by the SEC for a reason. Tennessee didn’t want to lose him.
This room is SPECIAL! | Canes wide receivers bring dynamic ability and depth
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