From the Ashes.

[Soapy]

The biggest storyline at each position group heading into the second week of fall camp
By Manny Ledo, Miami Herald Sports Writer • 8 min read

The Miami Hurricanes will begin it's trek for another appearance in the College Football Playoffs when they open the season at home against Syracuse in a few weeks but head coach Mario Cristobal and the rest of his experienced staff know all too well that the real work has already begun, dating back to spring football and through the summer workouts which has gotten the Hurricanes ready for their fall camp, which began last week.

While Miami returns plenty of talent from last year's playoff team, there are also a ton of questions that must be answered for this season's success and beyond.

How quickly can Nicholas Vattiato wrap up the quarterback competition?
Miami has yet to name a starter at quarterback, which they never announced officially last season until hours before the kickoff against Florida. This is a bit different as Cam Ward was the unquestioned leader of the team, even as a transfer, and Cristobal said as such whenever discussing the Texas native.

MTSU transfer quarterback Nicholas Vattiato is the widely expected starter but still split reps in the spring with Emory Williams and Reese Poffenbarger and since the latter has transferred, he continues to split reps in the early portion of fall camp with Williams and now Judd Anderson, who has been an early camp standout.

It's hard to imagine a world where Vattiato isn't starting against the Orange but he's losing valuable reps to Williams and Anderson the longer this competition goes on and with an offense that features two new receivers in Mario Williams and Jeremiah Smith, they need all the continuity they can get.

Is Mark Fletcher Jr. ready to be the bell cow?
The South Florida native impressed as a true freshman, leading the team in rushing yards and then last season, he was the team's leader in yards per carry as the backup running back behind future NFL draftee Damien Martinez.

It's now the Fletcher Show with him as the feature back in Miami's offense and behind an offensive line that should be among the nation's best. Fletcher has a bit of everything with his size at six-foot-two and 225 pounds with enough explosiveness to rip off long runs both as a runner and as a pass catcher out of the backfield, catching 28 passes last year for 256 yards and two touchdowns.

The coaching staff are high on his backups -- Jordan Lyle, Chris Johnson Jr. and even newcomer Maurice Rugamba -- but Fletcher should elevate into a leadership role both off the field, which he has been since his freshman year, and also on the field as Miami's top running back for a running game that disappeared at times last year in critical situations.

Who emerges as the fourth receiver?
By the end of the spring, the questions at receiver were mostly answered with Jeremiah Smith separating himself from the pack as an outside receiver, pairing him with returning starter Sam Brown and in the slot, Mario Williams made quick work to establish himself as the starter ahead of Ray Ray Joseph.

Joseph was Miami's fourth receiver last year with thirty receptions for 352 yards, scoring a career high five touchdowns. Will he serve that role again in 2025 but could the room be due for a shake up?

Brown can play in the slot as well so if Miami wants to get Isaiah Horton, who they feel like is a legitimate starting caliber receiver, on the field more, they could kick Brown inside at times when Williams isn't on the field and put Horton in his space. There's also Joshisa Trader, the five-star sophomore that was high school teammates with Smith and will undoubtedly be looking to keep pace with his friend.

What role will Elija Lofton occupy in 2025?
A jack of all trades but perhaps a master of none, Elija Lofton might be Miami's most intriguing players on their offense, if not the entire roster.

Lofton resumed taking some snaps at running back during the spring while continuing to serve as Miami's backup tight end behind Elijah Arroyo. There's Riley Williams, who might be the team's best blocker at the position, as well as true freshman Kevin Pujals whose probably the fastest player in the room.

Where does Lofton fit in after getting on the field plenty last year but failing to make much of an impact? Does he stay at running back, serving as the fifth back behind Fletcher, Johnson, Lyle and Rubamga? Or does he return to tight end where he's not as good of a vertical threat as Arroyo and not nearly the blocker that Williams is?

Managing the situation with former five-star Samson Okunlola
Miami seems to be sticking to their guns that Matthew McCoy is the team's best option at left guard, starting him there in the playoff game over Okunlola and then opened spring with Okunlola serving as Miami's backup swing tackle throughout most of the spring with very few reps at left guard.

The former five-star is entering his third year at Miami with only a handful of starts which were inconsistent at best while his recruiting classmate, Maugioa, might be a first round pick by next spring.

If Okunlola is relegated to a backup role and is essentially told to wait his turn until Jalen Rivers graduates and Maugioa is off to the NFL, will he actually stick around? He was a portal candidate the past two offseason but opted to stick around. It's hard to imagine him doing that for three straight offseason now.

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Is it too much, too early for Miami's young defensive tackles?
Miami's staff feels confident that among their defensive tackle group, there are at least two future first round picks between five-stars Justin Scott and Kevin Yeboah along with a slew of highly ranked four-stars in Josh Horton, Artavius Jones, Dan Mintze, and Rico Veasy.

Scott and Horton played last in a limited role while Jones redshirted and yet they are the veterans of the defensive tackle group. Miami was blessed to have an older, experienced group last year with Simeon Barrow Jr., Marley Cook and C.J. Clark. The Hurricanes feel really good about the talent they have in the room which is why they likely didn't go hunting in the portal for defensive tackles and instead focused their efforts elsewhere.

It's a pretty big gamble as they'll be asking for inexperienced, younger players to play one of the toughest positions in football from a physical standpoint and they'll be tested throughout the season against a schedule that's tougher than last year's.

Is the Adarius Hayes hype real?
If you ask any staffer which player took the biggest jump from the first day of spring football until now and without a doubt, the answer you'll get is redshirt freshman Adarius Hayes.

Hayes looks the part at six-foot-four and 230 pounds and while many projected him to be a backup heading into the spring, he quickly emerged as Miami's best linebacker -- even including Wesley Bissainthe -- by the end of spring.

Hayes continued to progress in the summer and seems to have overtaken both Jaylin Alderman and true freshman James Fernandez for that starting MIKE linebacker spot left by Francisco Mauigoa.

Bissianthe will likely still be Miami's signal caller on defense, wearing the green dot which allows communication with the coaches via headset on the field but it'll be interesting to see if all of the hype surrounding Hayes holds up through fall camp and that it wasn't a flash in the pan.

What does the end game at corner look like?
Miami added three veterans corners in the transfer portal in Hezekiah Masses, Dontae Balfour and Devin Moore. Even if they had no other returning starters, that's plenty of bodies to throw at the position to be supplemented by younger guys down the depth chart.

Not only did Miami add three new corners, they're returning three guys with experience that started games last year in D'yoni Hill, Damari Brown and O.J. Frederique Jr, not even counting Robert Stafford who got plenty of snaps last year.

With seven corners, not including the younger guys like Elias Raines and Paul Webb, Miami certainly has a log jam at the position. They could decide to rotate on a game-by-game basis, based on the opponent's receivers and offensive scheme. They could play all seven guys within a single game, using a platoon system similar to what you see on defensive line.

They'll need to figure it out as with so many veteran guys, many of them seniors, things could go awry from a chemistry and team morale standpoint if guys that were brought in to play are all of sudden just getting special teams reps.

Jaden Harris might be out of a starting job
Harris led the team in tackles last year, recording 108 tackles with eleven tackles for loss and three pass breakups along with two forced fumbles. He might not even start for Miami in a few weeks when they play Syracuse.

The Hurricanes added Arizona State's Kamari Wilson, who is more of a thumper than Harris who is a converted corner. The idea might have been to slide Harris to free safety, where Meesh Powell played last year but Zaquan Patterson was outstanding in the spring and continues to impress in the fall at that position. He's been lot more active and instinctive in coverage than Harris who Miami does view as a leader but at the end of the day, it's hard to see him starting over either of them right now based on their play from the spring and fall camp.

It's still ways to go and Miami could decide to rotate all three of them but for Harris, entering his redshirt junior year, he'll need to turn things around if he wants to get similar playing time to last year where he played nearly every snap for the Canes.

[Soapy]

Another brilliant cast incoming for Mario? Your pre-season writeups are as crisp as ever

thanks brudda, we're almost done

i enjoy writing them but by fall camp, i'm like ready for the season to start

[mvp]

emory williams is the wave

I gotta catch up, but season 2 is when it starts getting fun

[Soapy]

emory williams is the wave

I gotta catch up, but season 2 is when it starts getting fun

EA did our boy dirty

[Soapy]

Biggest takeaways as Miami football wraps up fall camp practices
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports Miami Insider

It didn't take long for Cam Ward or Damien Martinez to make a strong first impression last year with the latter not arriving on campus until the summer semester and quickly established themselves as the type of players Mario Cristobal and his staff want to build an offense around. It only took a few snaps into Miami's first fall camp scrimmage for Jeremiah Smith to prove the same.

Redshirt freshman Judd Anderson launched the ball down the field and Smith climbed up the ladder, snagging the ball out of the air and landed seamlessly on the turf of the IPF before strutting into the endzone.



Sophomore safety Zaquan Patterson could only shake his head, having seen Smith make those type of unbelievable catches for years when they were teammates at Chaminade Madonna.

"I'm glad he's on our side again," said a smiling Patterson to the media of Smith, who transferred in from Ohio State after just one season with the Buckeyes.

Patterson has been busy himself as part of a four-man competition for the two safety spots. Miami returns a veteran safety in Jaden Harris who started all thirteen games for the Hurricanes last year but also added Arizona State's Kamari Wilson from the transfer portal. Wilson intercepted three passes and had forty seven tackles with three pass breakups for the Sun Devils and was the top available safeties in the market. Miami also returns Markeith Williams, who was ahead of Patterson on the depth chart last year and had fourteen tackles and played 328 snaps on Miami's defense. Patterson, a true freshman, played a limited role with eight tackles, a forced fumble against Syracuse and appeared in eleven games, playing 219 snaps.

Here are some other takeaways as Miami gets ready for Syracuse.

• Don't expect an announcement but Nicholas Vattiato is QB1
  Miami really went all in with the quarterback competition with even true freshman Titus Willis getting some snaps -- and impressing -- with the first team offense but from all accounts, the senior Vattiato has been far and away Miami's best quarterback in camp.
  
  Vattiato's accuracy in the intermediate to deep area particularly stands out and he has great chemistry with newcomers Jeremiah Smith and Mario Williams already, who might be Miami's top two receivers already.
  
  Judd Anderson made it interesting in the end, as did Emory Williams, but ultimately, it was Vattiato's job to lose and he did more than enough to hold them off. Miami likely won't announce it until they have to but speaking to people around the program, it seems evident that an internal announcement has already occurred and they are moving forward with Vattiato as the guy.
  -
• Miami rolling with a deep rotation at linebacker, secondary
  Maybe at some point its finalized or tightened down but for now, Miami is looking at playing anywhere from four to five linebackers meaningful snaps against Syracuse as well is the case for the secondary, including the aforementioned safeties.
  
  Miami really likes both Adarius Hayes and James Fernandez at MIKE linebacker with Hayes being a better cover guy while Fernandez might already be their best tackler at the position and is forceful at the point of attack. Wesley Bissainthe is the leader of the group and really impressed coaches with his ability to cover quicker guys, going stride for stride with true freshman Eric Incoom on a deep shot attempt at one of the scrimmages. But Miami also wants to get Jaylin Alderman on the field, who did well last year in a backup role, as well as get Raul Aguirre Jr. up to speed and ready to play meaningful snaps by the end of the season.
  
  It's an even deeper group at corner with Miami essentially feeling like they have two set of starters with Devin Moore, Robert Stafford and Dontae Balfour being 1A and 1B consisting of Hezekiah Masses, Damari Brown and D'yoni Hill.
  
  Moore, Stafford and Balfour are probably Miami's best man to man guys so expect them in matchups that Miami wants to play aggressive, man to man coverage while Masses, Brown and Hill are better in zone with Brown and Hill having more experienced in Lance Guidry's defense as well.
  
  Balfour is a transfer from Charlotte who had 47 tackles, two interceptions and six pass breakups while Moore played at Florida last year, allowing just seven catches in twelve games as a starter for the Gators. Masses transferred from FIU where he broke up nine passes for the Panthers.
  -
• Mario Williams and Ray Ray Joseph are going to be a problem for defenses
  You've got Mark Fletcher Jr. pounding you on the inside with the running game, you've got to bracket your safeties to help with Jeremiah Smith on the outside and you probably need to take out one of your bigger linebackers to put a cover guy in his spot instead to account for Elijah Arroyo going out for passes from the tight end position.
  
  And then Miami dumps it off to Mario Williams or Ray Ray Joseph who take a simple pass in the flats or a touch pass seventy yards for a touchdown. What are you supposed to do as a defense?
  
  
  
  Internally, there were some concerns about adding Williams from the portal since they were worried about the dynamic of bringing in not one but two top receivers from the portal in a room that the staff truly feels good about. Ultimately, Miami felt that competition would only bring the best out of their top guys and it seems that it has as the players, when you speak to them, seem to understand that if you're not on your A game, someone behind you will take your spot.
  
  Miami lost its more reliable hands in Xavier Restrepo in the slot and while neither Williams or Joseph are the middle of the field threat that Restrepo was, they bring something even more dynamic in those touch passes, sweeps and screens as they might be the most explosive players on the team.
  -
• The freshmen are doing alright
  Miami has a pretty veteran group on offense and it's pretty deep so Miami fans probably won't get to see a lot of the players from last year's recruiting class on the field this year, especially with no FCS opponent on the schedule, but the freshmen are looking good in camp, putting up competitive reps against many starting caliber players.
  
  It starts with Willis, the quarterback, who has a certain calmness about him that's reminiscent of Ward. He's a smooth passer and a good athlete that's able to make things happen even when things go wrong for the offense. This might be considered a hot take but if something were to happen to Vattiato, should he be named the starter, I'm not sure that it would be Emory Williams or Judd Anderson that would take over as Willis has outplayed them both since the second scrimmage.
  
  At running back, it remains to be seen what role Maurice Rugamba plays as its a crowded backfield with Fletcher, Chris Johnson Jr. and Jordan Lyle, not to mention tight end Elija Lofton who is also taking snaps at running back. Rugamba is a big body though and if the Canes need some tough yards without putting mileage on Fletcher, he could be called upon.
  
  Perhaps the best freshman on offense has been wide receiver Eric Incoom, who started off at outside receiver through the first few practices where he didn't really see many balls but since moving to the slot, which is his more natural positions, he's found a lot of success. He's got some Restrepo to his game with his ability to manage his speed, get in and out of his break and he's a better athlete than Restrepo once the ball is in his hand.
  
  Willis and Incoom hooked up on this impressive touchdown against one of Miami's top corners.
  
  
  
  Defensively, defensive tackles Kevin Yeboah and Dan Mintze have been in on the rotation at defensive tackle and EDGE Walt Coffey is often the second or third defensive end off the bench during these scrimmages behind Reuben Bain Jr, Tyler Baron, Armando Blount and Marquise Lightfoot. He's making a very solid case for Miami to rotate five guys instead of just the top four as he's got a college ready body and is an absolute menace in pursuit.
  
  We haven't seen much of the corners in Elias Raines, Paul Webb and Tommy Stacy as the depth at that position is just ridiculous.

[Soapy]

Week 0 Top Stories
1. USC continues hot streak from last year, open the season with win over Ole Miss
2. Syracuse beats Notre Dame, on the road, to make strong case for higher ranking
3. Washington State, Stanford avoid near early season disaster with close wins over Florida International, Hawai'i
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Week 1 ACC Schedule
#24 Syracuse (1-0, 0-0) at #4 Miami (0-0, 0-0)
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Week 1 Notable Games
South Carolina (0-0, 0-0) vs. #15 Virginia Tech (0-0, 0-0) [Atlanta, GA]
#2 Oregon (0-0, 0-0) vs. #10 Ole Miss (0-1, 0-0) [Las Vegas, NV]
#16 Alabama (0-0, 0-0) at #3 Florida State (0-0, 0-0)
#14 Boston College (0-0, 0-0) at #19 Oklahoma (0-0, 0-0) [Atlanta, GA]
Georgia Tech (0-0, 0-0) at #9 Colorado (0-0, 0-0)
LSU (0-0, 0-0) at #1 Clemson (0-0, 0-0)
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Players of the Week
TE Lake McRee (USC): W 29-17 vs. #10 Ole Miss - 9 rec, 105 yds, 2 TD
LB Tim Thomas (Fresno State): L 31-28 at Kansas - 13 tackles
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HB Sedrick Irvin (Stanford): W 27-24 at Hawai'i - 17 car, 61 yds, 2 TD, 5 rec, 59 yds
DE Kevin Jobity Jr. (Syacuse): W 34-29 at #11 Notre Dame - 4 tkl, FF

[Soapy]

Week 1 Preview: vs. #24 Syracuse Orange
Record: 1-0, 0-0 ACC
2024 Record: (9-4, 5-3 ACC)
Head Coach: Fran Brown
Offensive Scheme: Pro Style
Defensive Scheme: 3-3-5

Team Schedule
vs. #11 Notre Dame (0-1): W 34-29

Team Leaders
Passing: Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (59 cmp%, 274 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 139.4 passer rating)
Rushing: Lequint Allen (79 yards, 4.6 ypc, TD)
Receiving: Zeed Haynes (8 receptions, 129 yards)
Blocking: 2 sacks allowed
Defense: Jayden Bellamy (6 tackles, INT)

Last Meeting
CFB 2024 Regular Season, Week 14 - Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York
(11-1, 7-0 ACC) Miami Hurricanes 55 - 20 Syracuse Orange (8-4, 5-3 ACC)
--- QB Cam Ward: 40-52, 512 yds, 7 TD
--- WR Xavier Restrepo: 10 rec, 89 yds, 4 TD
--- QB Kyle McCord: 26-44, 358 yds, TD, 2 INT
--- TE Oronde Gadsden II: 6 rec, 74 yds

Injuries
None

Syracuse Orange Projected Starters
QB #16 Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, Rs Senior | 6'2", 222lbs | 77 ovr, 75 spd, 83 acc, 77 awr, 90 thp, 88 sac, 85 mac, 84 dac
HB #1 Lequint Allen, Senior | 6'0", 195lbs | 89 ovr, 87 spd, 91 acc, 91 car, 87 cod, 89 btk
WR #8 Zeed Haynes, Rs Sophomore | 6'1", 170lbs | 81 ovr, 99 spd, 98 acc, 85 cth
WR #5 Umari Hatcher, Rs Senior | 6'3", 183lbs | 81 ovr, 90 spd, 90 acc, 90 cth
WR #12 Justus Ross-Simmons, Senior | 6'3", 205lbs | 79 ovr, 87 spd, 90 acc, 86 cth
TE #19 Oronde Gadsden II, Rs Senior | 6'5", 223lbs | 91 ovr, 88 spd, 90 acc, 89 cth, 57 rbk
LT #57 Da'metrius Weatherspoon, Rs Senior | 6'7", 335lbs | 79 ovr, 93 str, 77 pbk, 77 rbk
LG #78 Joe Cruz, Rs Junior | 6'5", 302lbs | 83 ovr, 87 str, 89 pbk, 76 rbk
C #54 Codie Hornsby, Rs Junior | 6'3", 280lbs | 75 ovr, 87 str, 79 pbk, 68 rbk
RG #73 Joshua Miller, Rs Sophomore | 6'4", 300lbs | 79 ovr, 92 str, 79 pbk, 80 rbk
RT #70 Enrique Cruz Jr, Rs Senior | 6'6", 311lbs | 80 ovr, 86 str, 82 pbk, 82 rbk
---------------
DE #9 Isaiah Hastings, Rs Junior | 6'4", 290lbs | 81 ovr, 81 acc, 88 str, 85 pmv, 80 fmv, 86 bsh
DE #94 Kevin Jobity Jr, Senior | 6'4", 263lbs | 79 ovr, 80 acc, 83 str, 86 pmv, 72 fmv, 71 bsh
NT #58 Xavier Miles, Rs Freshman | 6'3", 300lbs | 77 ovr, 92 str, 82 pmv, 65 fmv, 88 bsh
LB #12 Anwar Sparrow, Rs Senior | 6'1", 225lbs | 79 ovr, 79 spd, 87 acc, 77 awr, 79 tkl, 69 bsh
LB #25 Jayden Brown, Sophomore | 6'3", 220lbs | 76 ovr, 80 spd, 88 acc, 78 awr, 85 tkl, 72 bsh
LB #28 Jahide Lesaine Jr, Sophomore | 6'4", 234lbs | 87 ovr, 82 spd, 81 acc, 75 awr, 82 tkl, 77 bsh
CB #1 Jayden Bellamy, Rs Junior | 5'11", 180lbs | 87 ovr, 91 spd, 95 acc, 81 awr, 82 mcv, 85 zcv, 86 press
CB #23 Devin Grant, Rs Senior | 6'4", 190lbs | 82 ovr, 88 spd, 90 acc, 83 awr, 78 mcv, 84 zcv, 72 press
STAR #32 Gregory Delaine, Junior | 6'0", 180lbs | 81 ovr, 93 spd, 98 acc, 75 awr, 81 mcv, 85 zcv, 80 press
FS #7 Javon McIntyre, Rs Senior | 6'1", 195lbs | 85 ovr, 89 spd, 91 acc, 82 awr, 73 mcv, 77 zcv
SS #21 Jaeden Gould, Rs Junior | 6'2", 205lbs | 81 ovr, 88 spd, 90 acc, 80 awr, 67 mcv, 74 zcv
K #15 Brady Denaburg, Senior | 79 ovr, 94 kpw, 84 kac
P #41 Jack Stonehouse, Rs Senior | 81 ovr, 94 kpw, 83 kac
R #8 Zeed Haynes, Rs Sophomore | 96 ovr, 96 spd, 93 acc, 93 cod, 96 ret

Hard Rock Bet™
Spread: Miami -7.5
Moneyline: Miami -357
Over: 51

[Soapy]

Hurricanes release first depth chart of the season prior to opener against Syracuse
Eve Hartenstein-- South Florida Sun-Sentinel Beat Writer

MIAMI GARDENS —The Hurricanes released their first depth chart of the season prior to their season-opening game against the Orange.

Miami's social media account posted a graphic prior to the release, announcing that, as expected, Nicholas Vattiato is QB1. Vattiato, the transfer from Middle Tennessee State, battled with Emory Williams, Judd Anderson and true freshman Titus Willis all throughout camp. Williams and Anderson are both listed as co-backups in the two-deep depth chart.

There were very few surprises but chief among them was Markeith Williams being listed as a co-starter at one of the safety spots along with talented sophomore Zaquan Patterson. Jaden Harris and Kamari Wilson, who both started last year with Wilson transferring from Arizona State, are listed as co-starters at the other safety spots.

Miami interestingly has four cornerbacks listed as co-starters and two co-starters at nickel as well in Dontae Balfour, Devin Moore, Hezekiah Masses and Robert Stafford at corner and returning starters Damari Brown and D'yoni Hill at nickel/star.

Another interesting note was that offensive tackle Markel Bell, who has been playing with the second team offensive line at left tackle during fall camp, was not listed on the depth chart. Bell is a JUCO transfer from last year and with one year of eligibility remaining, the Hurricanes staff and Bell are both open to potentially using this year as his redshirt year which would allow him to return next season as a potential starter at left tackle, replacing Jalen Rivers. In his place is Samson Okunlola, the former five-star that started several games at left guard last year.

Some new players also earned spots on the two-deep depth chart. True freshman running back Maurice Rugamba is among the three backups listed at running back while true freshmen defensive linemen Walt Coffey and Kevin Yeboah, both former five-stars, are listed as backups at their respective positions.

James Fernandez is the only non-special teams true freshman that's a co-starter, sharing that middle linebacker spot with another first-time starter in redshirt freshman Adarius Hayes. Miami is starting two true freshman on special teams in kicker James Rutter and long snapper Adrian Meekins but they are returning a Ray Guy award winner in punter Dylan Joyce.

Miami Hurricanes Two-Deep Depth Chart
Quarterback
#16 Nicholas Vattiato, Rs Sr
#17 Emory Williams, Rs So OR
#15 Judd Anderson, Rs Fr

Tailback
#4 Mark Fletcher Jr, Jr
#21 Jordan Lyle, So OR
#24 Chris Johnson Jr, Rs So OR
#7 Maurice Rugamba, Fr

Wide Receiver - X
#1 Jeremiah Smith, So
#2 Isaiah Horton, Rs Jr

Wide Receiver - Slot
#10 Mario Williams, Rs Sr OR
#5 Ray Ray Joseph, Jr

Wide Receiver - Z
#11 Sam Brown, Sr
#0 Joshisa Trader, So

Tight End
#8 Elijah Arroyo, Rs Sr
#88 Riley Williams, Jr OR
#9 Elija Lofton, So (H-back)

Left Tackle
#64 Jalen Rivers, Rs Sr
#63 Samson Okunlola, Rs So

Left Guard
#78 Matthew McCoy, Rs Jr
#79 Deryc Plazz, Rs Fr

Center
#76 Ryan Rodriguez, Rs Jr
#71 Antonio Tripp Jr, Rs So

Right Guard
#73 Anez Cooper, Sr
#75 Frankie Tinilau, Rs So

Right Tackle
#61 Francis Mauigoa, Jr
#63 Samson Okunlola, Rs So

Left End
#4 Reuben Bain Jr, Jr
#18 Armando Blount, So OR
#52 Walt Coffey, Fr

Defensive Tackle
#98 Justin Scott, So
#96 Kevin Yeboah, Fr

Defensive Tackle
#8 Josh Horton, Rs So OR
#42 Artavius Jones, Rs Fr

Right End
#1 Tyler Baron, Sr
#12 Marquise Lightfoot, So OR
#52 Walt Coffey, Fr

Middle Linebacker
#34 Adarius Hayes, Rs Fr OR
#9 James Fernandez, Fr

Weakside Linebacker
#31 Wesley Bissainthe, Sr
#21 Jaylin Alerman, Rs Sr

STAR/NICKEL
#6 Damari Brown, Jr OR
#19 D'yoni Hill, Sr

Cornerback
#25 Dontae Balfour, Rs Jr OR
#16 Robert Stafford, Rs So OR
#11 Hezekiah Masses, Sr

Safety
#15 Markeith Williams, Rs Jr OR
#20 Zaquan Patterson, So

Safety
#36 Kamari Wilson, Sr OR
#7 Jaden Harris, Rs Jr

Cornerback
#38 Devin Moore, Sr OR
#16 Robert Stafford, Rs So OR
#11 Hezekiah Masses, Sr

Placekicker
#15 James Rutter, Fr

Punter
#94 Dylan Joyce, Jr

Long Snapper
#86 Adrian Meekins, Fr

[Soapy]

Miami Hurricanes edge rusher Tyler Baron ruled out after suffering injury in pregame warmups
Carlos Navarro -- The Athletic Staff Writer

The Miami Hurricanes couldn't even make it to kickoff against the Syracuse Orange before injury struck.

Defensive end Tyler Baron, who is a preseason All-American and a potential NFL draft pick, was helped off the field during warmups with a lower leg injury and has been ruled out

Baron was taken to the locker room by members of the team's training staff and was visibly emotional. Baron has emerged as a team leader since his arrival at Miami from Tennessee, registering eight tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last year and was projected to take on a bigger role this season with the graduation of Elijah Alston, who he split snaps with last year.

Miami has a few replacement options in second-year players Armando Blount, Marquise Lightfoot, Elias Rudolph and Cole McConathy as well as true freshmen Walt Coffey, Doug Bean and Marshall Kearns who were all highly heralded recruits but have limited to no experience.

[mvp]

Never seen a squad like Syracuse… ranked, with a huge win over a ranked ND, all while having a trash ass QB? Gonna be interesting