The 2023 class is special in many ways - Two five-star offensive tackles. Kept the most productive pass rusher in the country, Rueben Bain, home over SEC options. Fixing the linebacker and offensive line rooms with depth and high-potential prospects.
All of those points are huge, but the flip of wide receiver Nathaniel 'Ray Ray' Joseph from Clemson may prove to have the most significant impact in year one.
Joseph brought an attitude, pride, and a work ethic to the class, making him a potential early leader for a program undergoing a culture overhaul. Since driving to Coral Gables, Joseph has set the tone for this team despite his youth.
"Ray Ray's a great player, and the best part about him is he's not gonna be outworked," said head coach Mario Cristobal about his prized freshman after Miami's seventh practice of fall camp. "If you come out here any time of day, he's probably on the jug machine. He's really smart; he's really detailed."
That work ethic is earning him an opportunity to see the field early. It's a testament to his values as a South Florida product and why he is such a building block piece for Cristobal in his first full class.
"Whatever he does, he does at 100 miles per hour. He's tough. He's South Florida through and through," Cristobal added. "He's exactly what you want on your football team. If he makes a mistake or he drops a football, he's going to find a way to come back and make up for it. So, everyone trusts he's going to be great."
The work ethic for Joseph is contagious with his peers. Since the spring, he has focused on getting work on the jug machine, and working on his hands - both before and after practice.
"Everday," said Joseph on how often he works overtime catching passes. "Every day I'll catch before and after practice, and then I go to class and come back and catch some more I'll be out there for about two hours, and then if I feel like I didn't do enough for the day, then I'll come back, but my routine was after practice I'll catch, and normally after practice, I can't really get that many. I try to get about 500."
The other aspect of that work is the competitive nature that he is showing thanks to a team competition of most passes caught on the jugs machine starting in the fall. According to Joseph, he has dominated the eight-plus weeks of the competition thus far.
Joseph said the competition adds to his daily routine, but it has become almost contagious for his teammates, who began to take notice of his winning ways.
"So I won for like three weeks straight, so now they like, 'we gotta stop him from winning.' Now you got everybody else coming in, trying to beat you out. Even the walk-ons are taking it serious, trying to beat you out your number. It creates major competition, and it keeps everybody hungry, and it keeps everybody wanting to win."
Even starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke has joined in on the competition. "I did for one week just to get the receivers to start catching more balls," Van Dyke said. "Caught like 1500 or something like that. Just to get them to start catching balls, that was early on in the summer."
Fifth-year junior wide receiver Jefferson Walls and redshirt freshman Isaiah Horton have been able to join Joseph as champions of the jug machine competition.
What is even more interesting is that Joseph's habits have even extended out to the defensive lineman on the roster, pushing them to get in on the competition and spend some extra time on the field - even if the skills do not translate to their position.
Joseph has brought a thirst for winning, effort, and want to a team that needs much of it to bounce back from a five-win season.
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