Miami suffered through an injury-plagued season in 2022 and a lack of quality depth ultimately led to a five-win season, its first since 2007. The Miami staff did its best to address the lack of depth with the addition of quality transfers.
Javion Cohen, Matt Lee, Davonte Brown, Francisco Massage, Anthony Campbell, Ja’Dais Richard, Jaden Davis, Tyler Harrell, KJ Cloyd, Thomas Gore, Branson Deen, Ajay Allen, and Luis Cristobal (Head Coach Mario Cristobal’s nephew) were all acquired via the transfer portal while Shemar Kirk and Demetrius Freeney were added via JUCO ranks.
Several players would also depart from the program via transfer: Terry Roberts, Jabari Ishmael, Kahlil Brantley, Jake Garcia, Jackie Clark, Avery Huff, John Campbell, Romello Brinson, Darrell Jackson, Jordan Miller, and Jaylan Knighton.
There are several players, however, that many are hoping to return from injury to make a big impact next season.
Elijah Arroyo was a four-star prospect coming out of Texas and was ranked as the No. 10 tight end in the country and the No. 37 ranked overall player in the lone star state. In his freshman season, he saw action in all 12 games and caught five passes for 86 yards and one touchdown.
Last season, Arroyo played in four games in 2023, drawing seven targets with five receptions for 66 yards. He totaled 157 snaps for the Hurricanes in 2022, including 19 on kick return.
He suffered a knee injury at some point during the Middle Tennessee game and weeks later was pronounced out for the season with a knee injury. Arroyo was out for the spring, but has been seen catching passes in the indoor practice facility.
If he can return to form, he would be yet another weapon new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson can utilize in the ‘Air Raid’ offense.
Unfortunately, it’s been an injury-plagued career for the local standout running back Don Chaney, Jr. Now already in his fourth year, Chaney suffered season-ending injuries in each of his last two seasons.
In 14 games, Chaney has rushed for 374 yards and four touchdowns. His performance in the spring showed glimpses of what he can be displaying nice bursts of speed in between the tackles.
In his freshman season, he averaged 4.7 yards per carry. If Miami can get that kind of production from Chaney in a full season, it could tremendously open up the offense.
Tre’Vonte Citizen from Louisiana, has yet to see the college football field, but has the potential to be one of Miami’s best running backs in recent memory.
He suffered a devastating knee injury in a scrimmage before the 2022 season began so we have yet to see the impact Citizen can make, but if he can resemble anything from his four-star status in high school, he can be a dangerous weapon for Miami.
Citizen was the second-highest-rated running back in the country in the 2022 class.
The season fell apart when starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke went down with an injury mid-season last year and Miami is still reeling from the pain.
In the second quarter of a home game against Duke, Van Dyke went down with an apparent shoulder injury and the team certainly wasn’t the same since. The Miami QB started against Florida State and Pitt later that year, but was not nearly effective and eventually pulled from both contests. He finished 2022, with just ten touchdown passes and had five interceptions.
Most Miami fans are hoping that Van Dyke returns to the form of his 2021 season when he threw for 2,931 yards and 25 touchdowns to six interceptions. His completion percentage was relatively the same in both years – 62.3 in 2021 and 63.2 in 2022.
Van Dyke seems to be back to normal based on his performance in the spring and should be rejuvenated with new OC Dawson.
After spring football many have tabbed true freshman Francis Mauigoa to assume a starting tackle position for the 2023 season. Veteran Zion Nelson will have something to say about that come fall camp.
Nelson was projected to be as high as a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft but a lingering knee injury ultimately kept him out for the majority of last season. Nelson started as a freshman himself and started 32 of 37 games played throughout his career at Miami.
If Nelson can return to form, it would not only add quality depth for the O-Line for the 2023 season, but also conserve wear and tear on budding young players.
