Top returning players by PFF grade: No. 2 Mike Harley
Top returning players by PFF grade: No. 5 Cam Harris
Pro Football Focus grades every player on every play in every game.
It creates a great barometer for performance and a grade above 70.0 is considered very good.
There are five returning Miami players who crossed that threshold over the entire 2020 season.
The past threedays we began counting them down with No. 5 Cam Harris, No. 4 Zion Nelson and No . 3 Nesta Silvera.
Today we continue our top 5 returning players countdown -with No. 2:
WR MIKE HARLEY
UM PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS RETURNING PLAYER RANKING: 2
PFF BY THE NUMBERS: 588 total reps, 75.8 grade, 76.9 PASS grade, 62.1 PBLK, 63.4 RUN, 57.8 RBLK
Mike Harley never had more than 485 yards receiving until 2020, when he enjoyed a breakout season with a team high 57 catches for 799 yards and seven TDs.
And last season didn't exactly begin in promising fashion: In the team's first five games, combined, Harley had just 174 receiving yards (34.8 average yards per game). It was really the latter part of the year when it all clicked - he had 170 yards vs. UVA in Game 6, 153 vs. NC State the next game, then had 6 catches for 51 yards against Virginia Tech, had an 89-yard TD the next weekend at Duke (the fifth-longest play in Miami history) and ended the season with 77 yards against UNC and 69 in the bowl game against Oklahoma State. If he continues to do what he did the latter half of last season, a 1,000-yard plus campaign is in the cards.
A bigger year also seems more likely given he now is in Year 2 of Rhett Lashlee's offense and has built a good connection with QB D'Eriq King in their first year together. It also won't hurt that teams might have a bit harder time keying on him given that fellow speedster Charleston Rambo was brought in from Oklahoma to provide a bigtime threat as well.
CaneSport’s Take
This is going to be an interesting year for Harley. He came on strong at the end of last season because Lashlee figured out he could get him in mismatches and that Harley would come through. But it won’t come as easy this season because now opponents know where he is and also because Lashlee has a new option in Oklahoma transfer Charleston Rambo, who is going to get a lot of looks.