The Brock Berlin thread got me thinking about Kyle Wright - while I would agree that he was probably never going to be an all-time great, he remains one of the great "what-ifs" in Miami Hurricanes history. I think we never got to see his true potential, because not only did Miami get worse from a talent perspective during his tenure, it got a lot worse. He faced challenges that not even Ryan Clement saw in 1997.
Literally, Miami ran out of wide receivers.
In 2005, Miami featured a wide receiver roster that had dwindled to seven players: Ryan Moore, Akiem Jolla, Sinorice Moss, Devin Hester, Lance Leggett, Darnell Jenkins, Khalil Jones. Miami had failed to sign a single wide receiver in the 2005 class, and had signed only three in the last three classes. This would be Wright's best year statistically, has he finished the season with 2,403 yards passing, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. It would also be by far the most talented supporting cast that he had in his three years of starting.
In 2006, the Hurricanes were able to sign two wide receivers (Sam Shields and George Robinson). But they lost Devin Hester, Sinorice Moss, and Akiem Jolla. Ryan Moore would be suspended for half of the season. That left Miami with just five wide receivers. The Canes converted defensive backs Ryan Hill and Terrell Walden to wide receiver to provide additional depth, and also used punter Brian Monroe as a wide receiver in practice. Clearly, this was not the same offense as what had been fielded a year earlier, and coupled with learning a new offense Wright's stats took a big hit. He finished with 1,655 yards passing, 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. The Hurricanes barely averaged more than 20 points a game, wasting what was probably the last truly strong defense that Miami would see until Diaz became defensive coordinator.
In 2007, the situation was got even worse. Miami signed three wide receivers (Kayne Farquharson, Leonard Hankerson, and Jermaine McKenzie). But McKenzie would not play that season due to an auto accident, while the Hurricanes lost three more players - Moore, Walden, and Robinson. This left Miami with just seven players: Lance Leggett, Darnell Jenkins, Khalil Jones, Sam Shields, converted DB Ryan Hill, Kayne Farquaharson, and Leonard Hankerson. The Canes were razor thin once more, and were more suited to run a Georgia Tech triple option offense than a traditional pro-set attack. Quarterback Kyle Wright had to learn his third offense in three years, and coupled with the thin cast showed only minimal improvement in his final year. He finished with 1,747 yards passing, 12 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.
So what if? What if Miami had been able to keep numbers at a stable level, rather than going three years and signing just three players? Wright might have been able to duplicate or improve on his 2005 campaign, and potentially lead the Hurricanes to a 11 win regular season mark. Except for Louisville, all of the Hurricanes losses were close that year, and the outsize factor was the anemic offense.
Curious what you all think.
