Potential True Freshman Contributers

[FrancisSawyer]

After Spring and Fall Camp this year the following names seem like they have the best chance at actually getting playing time from scrimmage as opposed to being limited to Special Teams only. Every season you see a couple or even a few true freshmen who are good enough to get playing time at their position.

What's so noteworthy about the following players is that they have managed to put themselves in a position to contribute from scrimmage as true freshmen on a loaded team. Even on an average squad, contributing as a true freshman is difficult but to do so on a squad expected to compete for a conference championship and possibly a playoff berth that is quite a feat. There are a couple on this list who may be starting at some point this season(Zaquan Patterson and OJ Frederique)which would be extremely positive since they play the two positions that we are thinnest at CB and Safety. They would also have to beat out veteran upperclassmen which isn't going to be easy on this team with how hard working and competitive this rooster is.

The staff and the recruiting department as a whole must be recognized for the outstanding job they have done with evaluations, offers and the effort it took to get these talented young men to become Miami Hurricanes.

Offense
TE Elija Lofton
RB Jordan Lyle
WR Jojo Trader
WR Ny Carr

Defense
DE Cole McConathy
DT Justin Scott
LB Cam"Bobby"Pruitt
S. Zaquan Patterson
CB Romanas Frederique

 

[canes_226]

Lyle has a chance to be RB 2 by the end of the year

I expect Jojo to be hard to keep off the field, even given our depth at WR

Lofton will play

 

[DLINKDAGR8]

Dylan Day

 

[bobbydigius]

Dylan Day

All the DBs have a chance to contribute as we are weak there.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Lyle has a chance to be RB 2 by the end of the year

I expect Jojo to be hard to keep off the field, even given our depth at WR

Lofton will play

Definitely agree with those. I also think that OJ Frederique and Zaquan Patterson will have their playing time increase over the course of the season and could even start at some point.

Cole McConathy will play despite our ridiculous depth at DE

Justin Scott has a chance to earn a role at DT.

Cam Pruitt will also play more and more as the season progresses

Ny Carr will also play.

 

[IndayArtHauz]

He’s not a freshman, but Dyoni Hill has to be at the top of the new face list. Cannot fathom a scenario where that guy doesn’t contribute. Had a quiet camp though.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Dylan Day

I love Day but I'm not sure he will have a substantial role until later in the year at least. Day probably won't really emerge until next season barring injuries. Of course I could be wrong.

Funny thing about Day is that all through the recruiting season last year he was listed as 5'10" or 5'11" 185 lbs so I always though he was a smaller kid. Fast forward to fall camp and I look him up on the official rooster and he's listed at 6'2" 200 lbs. Huge difference. With his instincts and natural ball hawking ability at Safety, he could really make an impact. He has flashed during both Spring and Fall Camp. Spring was a bit rough because of the huge step up in competition but he has really improved steadily since then. Guidry has spoken of him and says he's pleased with his progress. Guidry said Day could play at at any position in the secondary(Nickel, CB and Safety) but for now he wants to keep him at safety.

 

[Samson Doyo]

I love Day but I'm not sure he will have a substantial role until later in the year at least. Day probably won't really emerge until next season barring injuries. Of course I could be wrong.

Funny thing about Day is that all through the recruiting season last year he was listed as 5'10" or 5'11" 185 lbs so I always though he was a smaller kid. Fast forward to fall camp and I look him up on the official rooster and he's listed at 6'2" 200 lbs. Huge difference. With his instincts and natural ball hawking ability at Safety, he could really make an impact. He has flashed during both Spring and Fall Camp. Spring was a bit rough because of the huge step up in competition but he has really improved steadily since then. Guidry has spoken of him and says he's pleased with his progress. Guidry said Day could play at at any position in the secondary(Nickel, CB and Safety) but for now he wants to keep him at safety.

I’d love to see the new talent emerge mid-way or last 1/4 of the season. Have their confidence peaking going into the tourney…

Go Canes!

 

[FrancisSawyer]

He’s not a freshman, but Dyoni Hill has to be at the top of the new face list. Cannot fathom a scenario where that guy doesn’t contribute. Had a quiet camp though.

Hill will certainly contribute at CB. That's a no brainer. It's significant that he has been coached by both Guidry and Jackson at Marshall. That familiarity will make for a smooth transition. He made an interesting comment during his interview with Peter Ariz. Pete was asking about his familiarity with Guidry and the scheme in general and Hill said that yes of course he is familiar and that it helps but said that since Guidry has been in Miami that his scheme has developed and evolved.

I can't wait to see how Guidry uses his personnel this year with our strength at DE and in the front seven in general and the depth issues in the secondary. I would expect that we might be a lot less reliant on the blitz as we our so deep across the DL that Guidry doesn't need to manufacture pressure. Still, Guidry had a quote last year where he said that sometimes you have defenses that play much better when they are getting after it and being aggressive and that he will be guided by that more than what the depth chart says. Food for thought. I love Guidry and can't wait to see him work this year.

 

[HurricanesR1]

Not a true freshman but what kind of role is Isaiah Taylor expected to have? Special teams?

 

[CreamCityCane]

I think we are going to see some higher snap count totals for FR across the board this year. This team feels like it has the juice to put away inferior competition early, unlike prior teams who played down to the level of competition (sometimes lower... MTSU).

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Not a true freshman but what kind of role is Isaiah Taylor expected to have? Special teams?

Depth and Special Teams is what I would expect. Taylor is a PWO if I'm not mistaken. He may be on full scholarship now with the rule change.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

I think we are going to see some higher snap count totals for FR across the board this year. This team feels like it has the juice to put away inferior competition early, unlike prior teams who played down to the level of competition (sometimes lower... MTSU).

That would be the ideal scenario as it's imperative to get the younger players live reps in real games in order to develop team depth.

As the backup QB it's going to be important to be able to get Emory Williams some pt and the opportunity to lead the offense on scoring drives while utilizing the entire playbook.

 

[OrangeBowlMagic]

He’s not a freshman, but Dyoni Hill has to be at the top of the new face list. Cannot fathom a scenario where that guy doesn’t contribute. Had a quiet camp though.

My guy on this type of list is Elijah Alston.

I think he's being somewhat overlooked because we're all focused on Bain (rightfully so, he was a monster last year and should be one of the best defenders in the league and country this year), Mesidor (because he was so good in 2022 and missed almost all of last year), and Baron (because simply he was the last one to come in, and comes from an SEC school).

But his metrics were amazing last year. It's a step up in competition, obviously, but David Hale did his annual rankings of ACC position groups, and as he ran through numbers for DL across the country, Alston consistently popped as having fantastic underlying metrics.

Also, same as Hill, somewhat of a quiet camp. Nobody is jumping out of their skin to tell you how amazing Elijah Alston is, but if he does even almost the damage this year as he did at Marshall, and you add him to Bain, Mesidor, Baron, CMC, Lightfoot, Bryant possibly....just another massive weapon.

So again, not a true freshman. And not necessarily someone the season will hinge on. But I feel like he might be a little slept on right now, and if he exceeds expectations, I have no idea how this isn't either the best or one of the very best edge groups in the entire country.

There aren't a lot of average football teams who have waves of monsters coming off the edge. It's almost difficult to be poor in pass defense if you're getting pressure on the quarterback every play.

 

[sstcane]

 

[sstcane]

The difference is crazy - looks like a different person. This kid was so good on tape, if that's his actual size I see him getting playing time

 

[Cane30]

Not a true freshman but what kind of role is Isaiah Taylor expected to have? Special teams?

He won't be in the 2 deep obviously, but he will play in mope up duty. He has made some nice tackles in camp. Caused a fumble 6 not long ago.
This FR class is the best in 20 years. It is a Championship Class to build around. A Championship QB is the only big miss for the class.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

My guy on this type of list is Elijah Alston.

I think he's being somewhat overlooked because we're all focused on Bain (rightfully so, he was a monster last year and should be one of the best defenders in the league and country this year), Mesidor (because he was so good in 2022 and missed almost all of last year), and Baron (because simply he was the last one to come in, and comes from an SEC school).

But his metrics were amazing last year. It's a step up in competition, obviously, but David Hale did his annual rankings of ACC position groups, and as he ran through numbers for DL across the country, Alston consistently popped as having fantastic underlying metrics.

Also, same as Hill, somewhat of a quiet camp. Nobody is jumping out of their skin to tell you how amazing Elijah Alston is, but if he does even almost the damage this year as he did at Marshall, and you add him to Bain, Mesidor, Baron, CMC, Lightfoot, Bryant possibly....just another massive weapon.

So again, not a true freshman. And not necessarily someone the season will hinge on. But I feel like he might be a little slept on right now, and if he exceeds expectations, I have no idea how this isn't either the best or one of the very best edge groups in the entire country.

There aren't a lot of average football teams who have waves of monsters coming off the edge. It's almost difficult to be poor in pass defense if you're getting pressure on the quarterback every play.

I made this list for true freshmen contributors but I certainly see what you mean with Alston. I don't think many of the really knowledgeable fans like ourselves are underestimating him but many definitely are.

Personally, I can't wait to see him play. He reminds me somewhat of Quincy Roche. The added skillset that Alston brings is his ability to drop into coverage. That's been said before about other DEs but Alston is surprisingly athletic enough to be very effective in reverse. Alston plays with great awareness in coverage and uses his eye discipline and quick reflexes to bat down or break on passes thrown into his zone. The pick six he has on film is a thing of beauty. I can't wait to see this defense play. Our depth at DL particularly at DE should be a joy to watch.

 

[JHallCanes]

He won't be in the 2 deep obviously, but he will play in mope up duty. He has made some nice tackles in camp. Caused a fumble 6 not long ago.
This FR class is the best in 20 years. It is a Championship Class to build around. A Championship QB is the only big miss for the class.

 

[AUcane]

After Spring and Fall Camp this year the following names seem like they have the best chance at actually getting playing time from scrimmage as opposed to being limited to Special Teams only. Every season you see a couple or even a few true freshmen who are good enough to get playing time at their position.

What's so noteworthy about the following players is that they have managed to put themselves in a position to contribute from scrimmage as true freshmen on a loaded team. Even on an average squad, contributing as a true freshman is difficult but to do so on a squad expected to compete for a conference championship and possibly a playoff berth that is quite a feat. There are a couple on this list who may be starting at some point this season(Zaquan Patterson and OJ Frederique)which would be extremely positive since they play the two positions that we are thinnest at CB and Safety. They would also have to beat out veteran upperclassmen which isn't going to be easy on this team with how hard working and competitive this rooster is.

The staff and the recruiting department as a whole must be recognized for the outstanding job they have done with evaluations, offers and the effort it took to get these talented young men to become Miami Hurricanes.

Offense
TE Elija Lofton
RB Jordan Lyle
WR Jojo Trader
WR Ny Carr

Defense
DE Cole McConathy
DT Justin Scott
LB Cam"Bobby"Pruitt
S. Zaquan Patterson
CB Romanas Frederique

Pretty much although I'm not sure how much Carr will play.

Trader is pretty much the 6th/7th WR and those kinds only get in for garbage time.

Lyle is RB3 going into Gville so he will definitely get minutes as long as Fletcher is sidelined.

Lofton will definitely play.

Cole McC is probably the 6th DE on the depth chart so I don't see him playing beyond garbage time or against crummy teams.

Will be interesting to see if Scott is the 5th DT.