Spring practice can be a slog sometimes. Starters are out, “offenses are behind the defenses,” and nobody has any timing. But today was a show. It was only one-on-one drills in shells, so don’t head to Vegas. What I can say, however, is that these were some of the most fun drills in a minute. Mario Cristobal has significantly upgraded the QB room and infused the WR room with young talent. And the oldest guy in the room continues to make contested catches that defy his 5’9 frame. I broke it all down on the latest CansInSight Podcast, available daily on YouTube and all podcast platforms.
“I've been going to practices since 1991. There's pictures of me with Jessie Armstead, Michael Barrow and Dexter Seigler. In these 30-plus years, I’ve never seen a catch better than what Xavier Restrepo did today over Washington transfer Meesh Powell. The ball was overthrown and thrown outside on a go. Restrepo had Powell on his hip and he fades out. No one in the world thought he was going to get this ball. No one thought he's going to get a hand on it. Then he's able to fade out, contort to the ball full speed, and then make a one-handed catch with Powell, not only covering him well, but interfering at the end of the play. Brings it in for the touchdown.”
The fireworks continued from there. What makes these drills different then the past few years is the depth at quarterback. Everyone has talent and four players have already started games. All of them had their moments, especially when they threw to talented freshman JoJo Trader.
“JoJo Trader is faster than I thought. He’s getting physically better as he gets in the program, engages in proper weight training, proper nutrition. His physical potential is being maximized here.”
Some may point to Miami’s lack of CB depth (Damari Brown and Robert Stafford were out with minor injuries) as the reason for the freshman’s big day. But JoJo Trader went against one of the better cover corners in the ACC (Daryl Porter) and easily ran by him for 6.
“He doesn't look like he's exerting high effort, but he left Porter in the dust. It’s the change of speeds with him. He's pretty fast, but his change of speeds is outstanding. His ability to change gears without being deliberate.”
Trader caught another long TD that had WR coaching assistant David Cooney posing midfield like Randy Arozarena. And Trader might not have even been the best freshman of the day. Ny Carr finished the drill with a contested deep TD over starting CB Jadais Richard.
“All Ny Carr does is get open and make plays. It doesn't look as pretty as it does with Trader, but it's very, very consistent. This goes back to high school. Carr put up huge numbers against great competition. That ability to produce is underrated when it comes to wide receivers. Carr has taken it to Greentree and continues to produce in practice.”
The two jewels of last year’s WR class, Robby Washington and Ray Ray Joseph, also made some big plays and showed legitimate acceleration.
One position that caught my eye was the nickel/SAM LB position. Last year, Miami went with a traditional nickel CB in Te’Cory Couch. This year, you have two distinct body types- the S/CB hybrid (Meesh Powell, Dylan Day) and the LB/S hybrid (Cam Pruitt, Bobby Washington, Kaleb Spencer). Lance Guidry has the ability to get extremely creative with this versatility at his disposal.
For all the talk about young players and transfers, a sixth-year Cane has been opening eyes.
“Jared Harrison-Hunte looks really good. This is a guy who was a basketball player in high school. Didn't start playing until his junior year. He's always been a little behind weight-wise because he's a basketball player. He always had athletic ability and could make plays in the backfield, but you didn’t necessarily see that consistency to be stout in the trenches. Last year, I thought he had a better year than the more-touted Leonard Taylor. They stood him up a lot. So he was playing a standup role despite being a DT and he was more than athletic enough to pull that off. Hunte has nice natural power to him, natural pop, and has experience. So now as a sixth-year player, he's a grown man on top of the athletic ability that he's always had. Every time you see the quarterback running around, you see #81 in the mix. He’s somebody that I think could be a breakout player if he stays healthy.”
Two of the most polarizing signees in last year’s class were TE Elija Lofton and a RB Chris Wheatley-Humphrey. Despite their less-than-prototypical dimensions, both guys continue to draw raves and impress with their lateral quickness and instincts.
“Elija Lofton is not the 6’6, long tight end that Riley Williams is, for example. The prototype. He's 6’1, tops. Then you have Chris Wheatley-Humphrey, who's 5’10 and skinny. But both of those guys were extremely good, productive football players. You look at their senior stats. Wheatley-Humphrey was averaging about 16 yards a carry as a junior and a senior. Lofton scored touchdowns running, receiving, got a sack on defense, returned a kick for a touchdown. Great blocker. Chris Wheatley-Humphrey came to our camp and got an interception for a touchdown as a cornerback. So these are football playing dudes with exceptional quickness and just natural football movements despite their size.”
Lofton caught another long TDs in one-on-ones, with advanced route running that belies his stout frame. Wheatley-Humphrey continues to draw oohs and ahhs with his elusiveness in traffic.
“He really reminds me a lot of Duke Johnson. I'm not saying he's as good as Duke Johnson. He's not going to be Miami's all-time leading runner. Duke probably had him on the stiff arm and some weight, but man, the vision and the life in their feet are similar., Duke could jump from gap-to-gap naturally without lumbering because he just had that spring in his feet. Early on, you see that with Hellcat."
Among the recruits in attendance were Central DTs Randy Adirika and Floyd Boucard, American Heritage ‘26 QB Dia Bell (alongside his father, NBA veteran Raja Bell), and ATH Aldarius Johnson, Jr. (alongside his father, former Canes WR Aldarius Johnson).
Miami’s next practice is on Friday. CanesInSight will continue to provide daily podcast on YouTube and all podcast platforms.
