The Bank (8/12)

DMoney

Aug 12, 2025 3 min read

We've been earning interest at the Bank, so it's time to make a withdrawal. Here's the latest from camp:

- The scrimmage was a success. The team is healthy and the people around the program are as confident as I can remember. Everybody thinks we have a good team and it's genuine.

Three freshmen are making a major leap forward and will challenge for immediate playing time. Bryce Fitzgerald has been a playmaker since he got here, and he did the dirty work at safety in the scrimmage. He's one of the best athletes we've had in the secondary in several years. Malachi Toney is special and reliable beyond his years. I'd be shocked if he's not a major contributor. Josh Moore has a wide catch radius and earned trust from the first team on Sunday. He's trending in the right direction.

- Overall, there are a lot of receivers making a case for playing time. Coaches are excited about the group as a whole, and they're confident in Carson Beck's ability to spread the ball without locking on.

- Much of the focus on the defensive line has been on the four 5-stars we've signed in the past couple years. One in particular is really starting to accelerate- DE Marquise Lightfoot. The pass rush in general has been performing well, led by Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor.

- One source on OL Samson Okunlola: "The light has come on." I expect him to play real snaps this year.

- The corner group has stood out all camp, but one name continues to draw praise- CB Damari Brown. He is healthy and poised to play significant snaps. Ethan O'Connor also has opened eyes with his ability to take the ball away.

- The staff is preparing to be extremely aggressive in the flip market. They hope to use early success on the field, strong relationships, and financial incentives to flip players. Some of the key targets include RB Derrek Cooper, WR Tristen Keys, S Justice Fitzpatrick, DL Nolan Wilson, DT James Johnson, and DB Jett Washington.

If you want to contribute to the war chest, sign up at canesconnection.com/cis and use promo code CIS50 for 50% off your first month. I'll be doing another private Zoom call for Canes Connection members on Thursday.

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Comments (335)

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Aug 13, 2025

DMoney said:
McConathy definitely slowed down after spring but he still played more than Lightfoot, who was a five star.

The guys who had the most momentum this time last year were OJ Frederique and Jordan Lyle as late arrivals. Bryce Fitzgerald's trajectory reminds me a bit of those guys. Lofton's hype was pretty consistent and he would've played even more if not for Arroyo.

Is the bryce buzz more about him or more about us needing a true FS? And depth at safety

LuCane

Aug 13, 2025

DMoney said:
He will get every chance. I hope he does it. He can change games at safety with his athleticism and ball skills.

Who’s he going to play over?

Alex_Dynamix

Aug 13, 2025

JADood said:
Got to wonder how those OSU flips are feeling.

Smh Once they chose to come here they became CANES..they shouldn't give 2 ***s about Ohio State..

Alex_Dynamix

Aug 13, 2025

90scane said:
OJ played due to Brown’s injury
Lyle was 3rd string until injuries
Lofton played some but didn’t have a big impact compared to “he is potentially our best RB and athlete”
Pruitt didn’t sniff the field likely due to tweener…I think he should have played more.
McConathy didn’t produce in the few games he played.

We need Toney like we needed X.
We need a big 50/50 WR like AR. (Moore)
We need a speed rusher. Pickett, Lowe, Lightfoot … don’t want to see Bryant or McConathy.
We need nickel to be a solid backup.

We need the coaches to hit on more kids than miss.

Are u ok?

FrancisSawyer

Aug 13, 2025

JADood said:
Also, more money helps.

True, but would have been paid well anywhere he went. Plus I imagine he had been offered all sorts of things at other schools.

FrancisSawyer

Aug 13, 2025

90scane said:
OJ played due to Brown’s injury
Lyle was 3rd string until injuries
Lofton played some but didn’t have a big impact compared to “he is potentially our best RB and athlete”
Pruitt didn’t sniff the field likely due to tweener…I think he should have played more.
McConathy didn’t produce in the few games he played.

We need Toney like we needed X.
We need a big 50/50 WR like AR. (Moore)
We need a speed rusher. Pickett, Lowe, Lightfoot … don’t want to see Bryant or McConathy.
We need nickel to be a solid backup.

We need the coaches to hit on more kids than miss.

OJ had solidified his starting spot before Damari Brown got hurt. Lyle was 3rd string all through last season. Lofton was a true freshman and he had 3 TEs ahead of him and still managed to play a good amount. What did Andre Johnson, Willis McGahee and Ed Reed do as true freshmen? Xavier Restrepo is UMs all time leader in yards and receptions. What did X do his freshman year?

JohnnyYoung

Aug 13, 2025

AllUcaneat said:
Cole McConathy , haven’t heard his name .

Hoping that’s by design and we see some juice in September and shouldn’t ruminate on it until after then

D
DemCanes10

Aug 13, 2025

We might have the best CB room top to bottom
OJ and Lucas
Brown and O'Connor
Ewald and Jaborree

Hstokes1447

Aug 13, 2025

CaneBear0207 said:
I remember in the 90s when they said, "Miami doesn't rebuild, they re-load." I think we're getting close to that. We could lose 8-10 line of scrimmage players to the pros or graduation. But we should be able to re-load with guys like Blount, Scott, Lightfoot, and Lowe on defense and Okunlola, Kinsler, SJ, and Cantwell on the O-line, instead of searching in the portal. Would be a great position to be in.

Facts!!

Golsen82

Aug 13, 2025

On3 listed no Miami freshman to watch for. Not even Toney or Lowe

jps2344

Aug 13, 2025

Hegemon said:
Add another 10 years of misery to that pile.

Add a few more in for me as well.

Say what you want about in game decisions. Bottom line is this is the most talented and complete group of actual football players we’ve had since 2003 and it’s not even close. Now just go put it together on the field.

9
90scane

Aug 13, 2025

FrancisSawyer said:
OJ had solidified his starting spot before Damari Brown got hurt. Lyle was 3rd string all through last season. Lofton was a true freshman and he had 3 TEs ahead of him and still managed to play a good amount. What did Andre Johnson, Willis McGahee and Ed Reed do as true freshmen? Xavier Restrepo is UMs all time leader in yards and receptions. What did X do his freshman year?

D is a koolaid producer and most of the time he leads with freshmen that are flashing. I guess I don’t care about the freshmen who are flashing as much as the year 2/3 kids that should be pushing for PT. I also think the coaches have really struggled to get the young talent in a position to perform. Thus, why pump freshmen that will only get 5-10% of the snaps? Is it to help with recruiting?

People that don’t like my POV just want to drink the cool aid. I’m trying to be realistic. The coaches have struggled to get kids more PT that have talent to play AND freshmen are in that group. He didn’t lead with Jojo and the transfers at WR. He didn’t lead with a 2-4 year DB like Williams that has taken the step to start.

At least D has stated the obvious, this is an important year for Mario. Year 4 and he has his finger prints all over this team. Win or lose, this is 100% on him,

Last edited: Aug 13, 2025

HurricanesR1

Aug 13, 2025

SaiyaMan305 said:
Since practice 2 theres been zero mention of the DT room, Jojo and the kickers.

Also if for anyone keeping count can correct me but i think its been 2-3 practices since CJ daniels has been mentioned.....

Just some things to keep in mind, might mean nothing or something

If you want to really know how practiSe is going, wait until next year and ask about this year's fall camp. Everything you've heard and will hear about the current camp is propaganda with orange/green glasses.

There's been no mention of the kickers because they're trash. There's been no mention of Jojo because he's hurt. There's been no mention of the DT room because I think outside of the obvious top 3, there ain't much there in terms of expected production for 2025.

I think CJ Daniels brings leadership to the room more than anything. People can make excuses all they want but he was meh at LSU. People shouldn't expect 5rec 85yds per game.

B
BoxingRobes

Aug 13, 2025

@DMoney

Do you feel Josh Moore is progressing to the point that we can expect him to get enough playing time that he can be as close to a 1-to-1 replacement in a similar role to Isaiah Horton as our X-WR? Could he be a player that could significantly re-produce that 56 catch, 600 yard, 5 TD output?

Or is this group looking more like a sum of parts to reproduce all of last year's receiving production?

---

Beck, the WRs and reproducing the production with an entirely new group, and the very expensive, mostly brand new defensive backfield are the biggest rooms to follow of this team going into the 2025 season. Those groups determine our W-L. I can see the internal chatter being very high as they see these groups in practice playing well.

DMoney

Aug 13, 2025

BoxingRobes said:
@DMoney

Do you feel Josh Moore is progressing to the point that we can expect him to get enough playing time that he can be as close to a 1-to-1 replacement in a similar role to Isaiah Horton as our X-WR? Could he be a player that could significantly re-produce that 56 catch, 600 yard, 5 TD output?

Or is this group looking more like a sum of parts to reproduce all of last year's receiving production?

---

Beck, the WRs and reproducing the production with an entirely new group, and the very expensive, mostly brand new defensive backfield are the biggest rooms to follow of this team going into the 2025 season. Those groups determine our W-L. I can see the internal chatter being very high as they see these groups in practice playing well.

I think Daniels is the Horton replacement. Reliable and strong. Moore will be a bigger play guy imo.

DMoney

Aug 13, 2025

It’s not a perfect comparison, but at this point at camp I would compare to last year as follows:

Restrepo- Toney
Horton- Daniels
George- Trader
Marion- Brown

The top four WR dominated target share last year, along with Arroyo. I could see it being spread out more this season.

9
90scane

Aug 13, 2025

BoxingRobes said:
@DMoney

Do you feel Josh Moore is progressing to the point that we can expect him to get enough playing time that he can be as close to a 1-to-1 replacement in a similar role to Isaiah Horton as our X-WR? Could he be a player that could significantly re-produce that 56 catch, 600 yard, 5 TD output?

Or is this group looking more like a sum of parts to reproduce all of last year's receiving production?

---

Beck, the WRs and reproducing the production with an entirely new group, and the very expensive, mostly brand new defensive backfield are the biggest rooms to follow of this team going into the 2025 season. Those groups determine our W-L. I can see the internal chatter being very high as they see these groups in practice playing well.

Moore has more talent than Horton. can they get him in a position to produce is the bigger question. He is 6-4/5 215 and has extremely good body control for someone that size.