CORAL GABLES - Many Miami players made the most of their opportunities last weekend against Ball State. For example, twelve Hurricanes receivers caught at least one pass to combine for 507 yards and six touchdowns in their 62-0 home win over the Cardinals on Saturday (Sept. 14).
Here are the twelve who contributed to the passing action from quarterbacks Cam Ward and Emory Williams:
•Senior wide receiver Jacolby George - 6 receptions, 109 yards, one touchdown
•Junior tight end Elijah Arroyo - 2 receptions, 53 yards, one touchdown
•Running back Chris Johnson Jr. - 3 receptions, 53 yards, 1 touchdown
•Sophomore wide receiver Ray Ray Joseph - 2 receptions, 52 yards
•Freshman tight end Elija Lofton - 2 receptions, 51 yards, one touchdown
•Senior wide receiver Xavier Restrepo - 3 receptions, 47 yards, two touchdowns
•Junior wide receiver Samuel Brown - 5 receptions, 44 yards
•Sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Horton - 3 receptions, 34 yards
•Sophomore tight end Riley Williams - 1 reception, 24 yards
•Sophomore running back Mark Fletcher Jr. - 1 reception, 16 yards
•Freshman wide receiver Joshisa Trader - 1 reception, 15 yards
•Senior tight end Cam McCormick - 1 reception, 9 yards
Canes head coach Mario Cristobal wanted to make sure the team’s overall depth was on display for much of this one.
“In modern-day college football with the expansion of seasons, with conference play being so important, with redshirts coming into play, you really need to develop every part of your roster you possibly can,” Cristobal said. “In a perfect world, you have 125 guys who are capable of helping you out in some way, shape, or form.”
Redshirt sophomore defensive back Nick Kelly is a special teams standout who recorded one tackle against Ball State.
“He came on here as a walk-on,” Cristobal said. “He has been working his tail off for two years and has one of the best plays on special teams on kickoff coverage. No one heard about it. But for us, ultra-valuable."
Cristobal highlighted Lofton’s impact on the team in this particular game.
“He’s already played a bunch,” Cristobal said. “But now, he got in the end zone. He’s got a taste of that. He’s been doing that his whole life. And now he’s doing that at the college level. His role continues to expand.”
Cristobal mentioned freshman defensive linemen Armondo Blount, Justin Scott, and Cole McConathy II.
“All those young defensive linemen were getting a whole bunch of reps,” Cristobal said. “It’s invaluable. They responded much better this week than the week before.”
The tight end room has been quite productive in three games played together this season. For this one against Ball State, four tight ends caught at least one pass (Arroyo, Lofton, Williams, and McCormick).
“I think Coach [Cody] Woodiel has done a great job with those guys,” Cristobal said of Woodiel and the eight-man unit. “The tight end group has just done a great job of buying in a couple of things: the weight room because they’re much bigger, and conditioning and speed work because they’re more explosive. They were patient last year. They reaped the rewards and benefits of it early this season. They’re a dynamic group.”
Cristobal noted the importance of playing well on special teams. He named several others who stood out in this area besides Kelly.
“Adarius Hayes, he’s been playing lights out on kickoffs,” Cristobal said. “Bobby Washington has been playing lights out of kickoffs. Cam Pruitt, all these highly touted freshman. Miami has always been good [on special teams]. Angles right, leveraging the football, getting guys on the ground, tackling, and blocking - that’s gonna lead to better play on offense and defense. A lot of freshmen are contributing on special teams.”
The early part of this season will set the tone for how Cristobal can keep his players fresh on offense, defense, and special teams. Overall, he was quite pleased with the outcome.
“We took care of business and got to play a lot of guys, which was important for our team to develop the other part of our roster that hasn’t had much time,” Cristobal said. “It was critically important to not only play and develop, but to get quality reps against a good opponent.”
Talk with Miami fans on Canes Talk, Inside Canes Hoops, and Canes on the Diamond
• Subscribe to the Storm Tracker Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, and Spotify
• Subscribe to the Canes County YouTube Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @Canes_County, @BenjaminRivals, @AnthonyYero1, @MichaelYero, and @Najitobias
• Follow us on Instagram: @Canes.County
Follow us on Facebook
