From the Ashes.

[Soapy]

Miami's wide receiver room is starting to look how its supposed to under Mario Cristobal
Carlos Navarro -- The Athletic Staff Writer

Miami junior receiver Ray Ray Joseph caught thirty passes last season for 352 yards and five touchdowns but is a mere after thought in Miami's group of receivers as they hit Greentree practice field ahead of a highly anticipated spring period.

That's just how it's supposed to be if you ask head coach Mario Cristobal.

The Hurricanes are loaded at receiver, led by transfer additions Jeremiah Smith and Mario Williams who join a group that feature Sam Brown who had over six hundred yards last season, the aforementioned Joseph, a former five-star in Joshisa Trader and perhaps the most physically gifted of the returning bunch in Isaiah Horton. That's before you even get to the true freshman in Mario Escobar and Eric Incoom who might be the fastest of the group and would have been the belle of the ball in previous years.

"The competition is fierce," said Cristobal of Miami's talented group of receivers, "When they drop a pass or make a mistake, they know that it might be a while before the ball comes their way again even if they're on the field."

The Hurricanes will be hard pressed to replace the production and reliability of Xavier Restrepo, who led the team in receiving the last two seasons and is one of the top slot receivers in the upcoming draft but the Hurricanes are off to a good start. Williams is a proven commodity, catching thirty three passes for 489 yards last year and six touchdowns for Tulane. Prior to that, he registered 104 receptions for 1,568 yards and eleven touchdowns in three seasons at Oklahoma and USC, proof that he can be productive at the Power 4 level.

Smith might already by Miami's best outside receiver in recent years, reeling in 51 passes for 797 yards and eleven touchdowns as a true freshman at Ohio State. Cristobal and staff are preaching competition and that there are no guaranteed spots but it's hard to envision a world where Smith isn't a starter come the first game of the season against South Florida.

"He just raised the level of play in the entire room," said Trader, who was high school teammates with Smith at nearby Chaminade Madonna, "Everybody respect [Smith] and know what he's about so you know you got to bring your game to his level because he's going to be him and do what he does on a consistent basis."

The six-foot-three, 215-pound Smith is the body type that the Hurricanes have been after under Cristobal when it comes to outside receiver. They signed Chance Robinson last year at six-foot-two, 190 pounds while Miguel Escobar this cycle who is listed at six-foot-three and 191 pounds. Smith figures to be a key player to watch in Miami's upcoming spring game which will be held on campus for the second year in a row.

[The JZA]

i am so hype bruh but struggled to get the ball to our outside receiver last year

May have to test some plays, see what consistently works and favorite those plays for him. I know curls and too slants can work, but there's not enough break on them.

[djp73]

Boy gonna be a track star in Miami #NattyOrBust

i am so hype bruh but struggled to get the ball to our outside receiver last year

I ended up moving my WR1 to WR2 last season because of this.

[Soapy]

i am so hype bruh but struggled to get the ball to our outside receiver last year

May have to test some plays, see what consistently works and favorite those plays for him. I know curls and too slants can work, but there's not enough break on them.

Boy gonna be a track star in Miami #NattyOrBust

i am so hype bruh but struggled to get the ball to our outside receiver last year

I ended up moving my WR1 to WR2 last season because of this.

yessir gonna have to just figure it out, that's where the fun lies

[Captain Canada]

Just finished catching up, you had one hell of an off-season. Time to put it all together

[Soapy]

Just finished catching up, you had one hell of an off-season. Time to put it all together

yessir talent acquisition is the name of the game

[Soapy]

Miami quarterback Nicholas Vattiato beginning to separate himself from the pack with impressive spring game
By Manny Ledo, Miami Herald Sports Writer • 8 min read

The Miami Hurricanes football took the field on Saturday at Cobb Stadium, home of University of Miami soccer and track, but for this day the site of the spring game. If there were any questions about how Miami's next starting quarterback was going to be, it seems that they were answered.

Middle Tennessee State transfer Nicholas Vattiato dazzled, throwing for 245 yards on a seventy-two percent completion rate with two touchdown passes to Jeremiah Smith and another to Mario Williams.

Miami played all five scholarship quarterbacks with Vattiato, Emory Williams and Reese Poffenbarger all worked with what appeared to be the first team offense. Redshirt freshman Judd Anderson and true freshman Titus Willis got into the game in the fourth quarter with the reserves.

While Williams and Poffenbarger showed some flashes with Poffenbarger making it an impressive touchdown throw to Eric Incoom under pressure in the endzone, Vattiato ability to drive the ball down the field stood out. Even on two of his incompletions, they were down field shots that narrowly fell incomplete, both to Smith early on in the game as there seemed to be a concerted effort to get the Ohio State transfer involved.

Smith finished with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns, making an acrobatic touchdown snag to end the first half on a two-minute drive orchestrated by Vattiato.

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Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Isaiah Horton scores a touchdown in the third quarter of Miami's spring game

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Smith might have been the star of the show but plenty of other Miami receivers stood out as well, including redshirt junior Isaiah Horton who is the longest tenured Hurricane among the receivers.

Horton got the start and rotated with Smith on the outside, catching a touchdown pass from Emory Williams in the second half on a drag route in the endzone. His highlight of the day didn't count as it was called back due to a holding penalty but he made an impressive catch over cornerback Jadais Richard, leaping over the six-foot-one Richard and managed to get both feet inbound before being pushed out of bounds by Richard.

It's those kind of plays that has kept Horton on pace with Smith throughout the spring as they battle for that outside receiver spot along with Sam Brown and Joshisha Trader.

It was a quiet day for Trader who only caught one pass while Brown snagged three receptions for 45 yards.

It wasn't all offense was Reuben Bain Jr. was his usual disruptive force, recording what would have been three sacks in a live game that weren't called as the quarterbacks weren't 'live'. True freshman linebacker James Fernandez led the second team defense with ten tackles, including two tackles for loss. It seems its only a matter of time until he supplants redshirt senior Jaylin Alderman, who was a solid rotational piece last year, recording thirty tackles and eight tackles for loss, playing 513 snaps.

Newcomers Dontate Balfour and Devin Moore each recorded an interception and were in the mix with the first team defense at corner. Miami is extremely deep at the position, playing eight different corners within the first half with Damari Brown and D'yoni Hill being the first two corners out there.

Other notables
▪ Sophomore tight end Elija Lofton continues to get reps at running back, particularly in short yardage situations. He played a similar role last year in the spring before going back to his natural position of tight end during the season.

▪ Matthew McCoy got the start at left guard over Samson Okunlola as Miami returns the same unit from last season with Jalen Rivers, Ryan Rodriguez, Anez Cooper and Francis Mauigoa.

▪ Redshirt freshman Booker Pickett Jr. seems to be progressing well at linebacker, making the transition from defensive end. At 210 pounds, it's a better fit for him and the team as he can still be used as a pass rusher on obvious passing downs.

▪ Transfer Kamari Wilson got the start at safety, next to Jaden Harris. Sophomore Zaquan Patterson got plenty of burn as well as Markeith Williams who might be their best option for a deep-lying, free safety.

[Soapy]

Damien Martinez, Xavier Restrepo selected on Day 2 as Cam Ward, Daryl Porter picked on Day 3 of NFL Draft
Carlos Navarro -- The Athletic Staff Writer

Four Miami Hurricanes were drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft with three of them being transfers in running back Damien Martinez, quarterback Cam Ward and cornerback Daryl Porter Jr.

Martinez was the highest drafted Miami Hurricane, going to the second round to the Buffalo Bills. The next Hurricane off the board was the only player that was signed out of high school by Miami in Restrepo who was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round, as many predicted.

Ward was selected in the fourth round by the New Orleans Saints while Porter Jr. who transferred from West Virginia and played three seasons at Miami, was selected in the sixth round by the Seattle Seahawks.

The impact of the transfer portal is evident and one of the reasons why the Hurricanes, even with a strong high school recruiting class, are big time buyers in the portal with the addition of potential future first round pick Jeremiah Smith.

[The JZA]

#legacy

[Soapy]

Quarterback Reese Poffenbarger among four Miami Hurricanes to enter transfer portal
Carlos Navarro -- The Athletic Staff Writer

Ahead of the May 1st deadline to enter the transfer portal, four Miami Hurricanes players have officially entered the transfer portal, including quarterback Reese Poffenbarger.

Poffenbarger transferred to Miami last season from the FCS level as potentially Miami's starting quarterback until Cam Ward withdrew from the NFL Draft and committed to the Hurricanes. Poffenbarger served as Miami's backup last year, playing in one game and completing all seven passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the team's blowout win over Florida A&M.

The Hurricanes are trending towards naming another transfer in Nicholas Vattiato their starting quarterback with Poffenbarger's transfer another indication of that.

The other players that jumped into the portal are running back Ajay Allen, defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. and cornerback Jadais Richard.

Allen spent the past two seasons with Miami after transferring from Nebraska but saw his role diminish in 2024 with the addition of Damien Martinez and the emergence of true freshman Jordan Lyle. Allen was expected to compete for that backup running back spot behind Mark Fletcher Jr. with Lyle, Chris Johnson Jr. and true freshman Maurice Rugamba.

Moten Sr. played a rotational role last year as did Richard.

2025 Transfer Portal Departures » 2024 Season Stats
#16 Reese Poffenbarger (QB, Rs Senior) » 7-7, 114 yds, 2 TD
#28 Ajay Allen (HB, Rs Junior) » 20 car, 87 yds
#99 Ahmad Moten Sr. (DT, Rs Junior) » No stats
#25 Jadais Richard (CB, Senior) » No stats