Miami quarterback Keke Hagg gets another vote of confidence with number change
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports Miami Insider
Miami Hurricanes junior quarterback Keke Hagg and senior linebacker Jacques Turk will both wear the No. 1 jersey next season as announced by the team's social media page ahead of ACC Kickoff.
Both players were in Charlotte, representing the Hurricanes, along with cornerback O.J. Frederique Jr. and running back Isaac Brown. Hagg told the media at ACC Kickoff on Wednesday that his experience in the playoffs, both beating Oklahoma and then getting benched against Tennessee, had led to a renewed focus heading into a pivotal junior year campaign where the Hurricanes are the preseason favorites to win the national championship.
"You have to be a champion every day," Hagg said, "You're not owed anything, you're not promised anything so for me, it's all about earning the right to be the quarterback of the University of Miami every single day and the right to be a captain, and the right to wear that jersey."
The often criticized Hagg threw for a school record 3,871 yards and thirty four touchdowns but his fourteen interceptions and struggles in high profile games are what his detractors often point to. He'll need to continue elevating his game with the loss of three top receivers in Jeremiah Smith, JoJo Trader and Eric Incoom to the NFL.
Turk is one of several returning starters from Miami's defense which ranked near the top in almost every major defensive category. A South Florida native, Turk led the team with 105 tackles last year and finished the season with twenty one tackles for loss, six sacks and an interception before deciding to return to Coral Gables for his senior year.
He'll be without running mate James Fernandez and Cam Pruitt, who both declared for the draft, but the Hurricanes did go out and get Hugh Benson, the top ranked player in the portal and a former Miami walk-on.
"[Benson] story is so inspirational," Turk told the media, "We got a chance to chop it up when he came to visit and he's a great guy, really, and all of the older guys always spoke highly of him so to get him back, I'm super excited and can't wait to get back to work."
Other number changes include cornerbacks O.J. Frederique Jr. switching from No. 29 to No. 6 and Ryan Mack going from No. 27 to No. 22. Redshirt freshman tight end Orlando Lord was listed at No. 80 last year during his freshman campaign, catching two passes but will be wearing No. 0 this year, vacated by Trader. On the defensive line, Marshall Kearns is switching to No. 8, Shaun Turner is wearing No. 9 and Kevin Yeboah, who wore No. 96 in his first three seasons with the Hurricanes, is wearing No. 16 for his senior campaign.
Junior linebacker Isaiah Rugamba, who is the brother of running back Maurice Rugamba, is switching from No. 55 to No. 7, the same number his brother wears on offense.
Special Team
K #15 James Rutter, Senior | 5'11", 178lbs | 79 ovr, 84 kpw, 86 kac
P #10 Andy Hocker, Sophomore | 6'1", 191lbs | 77 ovr, 88 kpw, 74 kac
LS #86 Adrian Meekins, Senior
Miami Football: 2028 Hurricanes Season Preview and Prediction Athlon Sports Staff Writer • 8 min read
Head coach: Mario Cristobal (7th at Miami) Offensive Coordinator: Chris Weinke (3rd season) Defensive Coordinator: Skylor Magee (2nd season) 2027 record: 11-4 (lost CFP Semifinals) 2028 recruiting rank (247 Sports): No. 4 nationally, No. 1 in the ACC Preseason All-American: DT Artavius Jones, LB Jacques Turk, S LaMarcus Cook Preseason All-ACC: QB Keke Hagg, DT Artavius Jones, DT Kevin Yeboah, OLB Walt Coffey, LB Jacques Turk, S LaMarcus Cook, K James Rutter, P Andy Hocker
Miami's win over Oklahoma and Kansas State in the playoffs did little to help wash away the taste of a dissapointing season with losses to Utah, Florida State and NC State, especially after losing to eventual champion Tennessee in a game that many felt like the Hurricanes could have won.
Miami returns a talented squad in 2028 that is projected by many to be the best in the country and one of the more polarizing quarterbacks in Keke Hagg who some view as what's holding back the Hurricanes while NFL scouts and talent evaluators think Hagg might be one of the more talented quarterbacks in all of college football.
Previewing Miami's Offense for 2028
So much focus will be on Hagg but it can't be overlooked that Miami returns a 1,000-yard rusher in Isaac Brown along with two starters on the offensive line in Richard Cookus and Juan Minaya. Outside of that, it's a completely new cast with Jeremiah Smith, Eric Incoom and JoJo Trader in the NFL.
There's no lack of talent, however, in Miami's offense between five-star receivers Davon Momah, Max North and Etinosa Ha or five-star tight ends Juan Woodside and Orlando Lord. The Hurricanes landed two of the best running backs in the portal in Michigan's Micah Kaapana and Jacksonville State's Andre Devine so talent isn't an issue for Miami but it has never been and they've failed to bring home that elusive sixth national championship despite four straight trips to the playoffs. Previewing Miami's Defense for 2028
The Hurricanes lose Armondo Blount and a couple of key pieces on their back seven but outside of that, much of Miami's top ranked defense returns this year, primed and ready to be among the nation's best once more under second-year defensive coordinator Skylor Magee.
They have a couple of elite EDGE guys in Walt Coffey and Elias Rudolph, who could lead the ACC in sacks by season's end and along the interior, there might not be a better three-punch combo than Artavius Jones, Kevin Yeboah and Dan Mintze who could all finish around the six-sack mark as defensive tackles with double digit tackles for loss.
The secondary is as deep as ever but they will need to replace Zaquan Patterson, a four-year contributor for the Canes. They're in a good spot to do so, having rotated Alec Lawrence and Tommy Stacy plenty last year with Stacy making the switch from corner to safety last offseason and finding success there. Both players might end up being upgrades over Patterson, at least in coverage, as they are quicker and more sound in coverage.
Schedule (2027 record)
at FAU (3-9, 1-7 AAC) [Camping World Kickoff]
vs. USF (9-4, 6-2 AAC)
vs. Syracuse (8-5, 4-4 ACC)
at Florida (4-8, 2-6 SEC)
vs. #9 Pittsburgh (10-3, 6-2 ACC)
at #10 Notre Dame (9-4, 0-0 Independent)
vs. Virginia Tech (5-7, 3-5 ACC)
at Duke (4-8, 2-6 ACC)
vs. #20 Louisville (9-4, 5-3 ACC)
at #16 Florida State (8-5, 4-4 ACC)
vs. #4 Clemson (11-3, 6-2 ACC)
at #12 North Carolina (11-3, 8-0 ACC)
After having one of the easiest schedules in Power 4 last year, Miami gets a tougher one this time around with a potential trap game against USF and then facing a Florida team that is looking to rebound after a down year last season.
In conference, seven of Miami's nine ACC games are against teams with at least eight wins, including Clemson and North Carolina that were the two best teams in the ACC. They play Notre Dame, in South Bend, in the Fighting Irish's first year as an ACC team and then have to travel to Florida State and North Carolina in the last three games of the season and sandwiched between that is a highly anticipated game against Clemson.
Projected ACC Standing: 1st Projected Final Ranking: 1st
'Ain't nobody ducking no smoke' in the University of Miami's loaded running back room Carlos Navarro -- The Athletic Staff Writer
Miami junior running back Deron Tryon did not get his first carry until halfway through the Hurricanes' second fall scrimmage despite leading the team in rushing during the scrimmage the previous week. It's what the talented junior running back had feared after an up-and-down week with a few mental mishaps; a missed blocking assignment, a dropped pass.
"Everyone in [the running back room] can run the football at a high level," says Tryon, a former five-star prospect entering his third season with 53 career carries, "It's about the little things that really dictates who gets to tote that football. Can you pass pro? Can you catch the football, reliably? Run the right route, hit the gap the right way at the right pace? We can all get the ball twenty, twenty five times and run for 100 yards."
The Hurricanes were already returning a 1,000-yard rusher in Isaac Brown along with a senior in Maurice Rugamba and a sophomore in Quincy Dukes, all highly ranked recruits in their own right, in addition to Tryon when they hosted transfer running backs Micah Kaapana and Andre Devine during the offseason.
Rugamba fully expected Miami to sign one of them following their visit but the Hurricanes signed both, making an already crowded room claustrophobic.
"[RB coach Matt Merritt] does a really good job of communicating with the group," says Rubamga, whose younger brother Isaiah projects to be a key player at linebacker for the Hurricanes and his youngest brother, Felix, was recently named a starter at defensive end for Notre Dame, "He told us what the situation was looking like with the transfers and numbers wise where we'd be at. I had people texting me and asking me if I was staying and I'm like confused. Ain't nobody ducking no smoke. They're all great players and they can do things really well that I can't but I can do things really well that they can't and that's what make this works."
Miami offensive coordinator Chris Weinke has been vocal about using all of Miami's war chest of weapons, particularly at the running back position where they are five deep with upperclassmen with a five-star freshman in Kaseem Dalton that might be the most physically talented of the bunch.
At 235 pounds, Merritt calls Dalton one of the trucks in the garage along with Rugamba, who slimmed back down to 232 pounds after playing in the spring in the 240-pound range. Dukes, Devine and Kaapana are the Hellcats, according to Merritt, capable of turning any play into an explosive while Brown and Tryon are the Maybach.
"It's a big body but it can purr on you," Merritt says with a smile, "They're all talented in their own ways, they all bring something different to the table and when you have that many guys that are that good, everyone knows they have to be on point because it doesn't hurt the team to bench them and they know that."
Some other notes from fall camp as the season opener nears:
The left side of the offensive line appears to have been stabilized
Assistant head coach and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal had been mix-and-matching all spring along the offensive line, at least during the limited public viewings of practice. In the spring game, when it was good on good, it was Deryc Plazz at left tackle, Juan Minaya remaining at left guard with Nico Francavilla at center, Richard Cookus sliding inside at guard after starting at right tackle last year and then a rotation of Dominick Longo and George Robledo at right tackle.
So far in camp, from the clips that the team has released from their scrimmages, the only constant seems to be the left side of the offensive line with Deryc Plazz and Dominick Longo being mainstays. Aside from that, from both reports and the clips we've seen, it's been a hodgepodge of players between Francavilla, Minaya, Cookus, and Robledo. The final starting five will likely be a combination of those players but at this point, it's unclear where they all fit.
It's not out of the realm of possibility that the only two returning starters on the line, Minaya and Cookus, might start the year on the bench when the Canes play FAU. The good news is that Miami will get a few games to iron out the offensive line before they get into their meat of their schedule as they open the season with FAU and then USF, which they should handle with any combination of those players as they figure out the best five.Weinke wants to get the tight ends involved more
A valid criticism of Weinke heading into his third year as Miami's play caller is his usage of the tight ends, or rather lack thereof.
As a senior, Elija Lofton caught just twenty five passes and no other tight end had more than ten catches, including former five-star Juan Woodside. In Shannon Dawson's last season with the team, tight end Elijah Arroyo led the team in receptions with 68 on a team that featured Jeremiah Smith, Mario Williams, Sam Brown, Ray Ray Joseph and and Joshisa Trader.
"We need to get them more touches," Weinke said of the tight ends, highlighting Woodside's development as well as redshirt freshman Orlando Lord, another five-star talent.
Woodside had the play of the scrimmage last Saturday with a leaping grab over cornerback O.J. Frederique. An impressive runner at six-foot-five and 240 pounds, Woodside is a better pass catcher than Lofton and a bigger target which should bode well for his chances of a breakout season entering his third year.
O.J. Frederique distancing himself as Miami's top corner
A constant in Miami's defense for four seasons, O.J. Frederique Jr. started as a true freshman before taking a rare redshirt in his second year as the Hurricanes brought in three transfers at cornerback to help stabilize a young secondary.
Frederique has reemerged as a rotational player the past two seasons, recording thirty tackles last year in a meaningful role for the Hurricanes. Frederique has continued to improve and by all accounts, he finished spring as Miami's top corner and so far in fall camp, he's continued to stack quality practices and scrimmages on top of each other.
The only position that rivals running back in terms of talent and depth is corner where Miami has ten scholarship corners, including eight that are third year or older players. Elias Raines had an up and down spring after being one of Miami's starting cornerbacks last year, opening the door for Frederique to not only creep into the starting rotation but run away with it.
It still remains to be seen who starts opposite of Frederique as the Canes have plenty of options in Raines, Ryan Mack, Paul Webb, Manual Arcuri and redshirt Adrian McCune who has also shown some flashes.
Week 0 Top Stories
1. James Madison plays Tar Heels tough but North Carolina escapes with the win.
2. East Carolina hands Wake Forest an in-state loss
3. Kansas unable to overcome the long road trip to Hawai'i
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 1 ACC Schedule
Georgia Tech (0-0, 0-0) at Wake Forest (0-1, 0-0)
#9 Pittsburgh (0-0, 0-0) at #10 Notre Dame (0-0, 0-0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 1 Notable Games
#5 Alabama (0-0, 0-0) at #25 Iowa (0-0, 0-0)
#13 Kansas State (0-0, 0-0) at #15 Georgia (0-0, 0-0)
#22 USC (0-0, 0-0) at #23 Oregon (1-0, 0-0)
#3 LSU (0-0, 0-0) at #16 Florida State (0-0, 0-0)
#7 West Virginia (1-0, 0-0) at #2 Tennessee (0-0, 0-0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Players of the Week QB Isaac Wilson: W 48-7 at Utah State » 22-28, 318 yds, 6 TD DT Donnie Jordan: W 31-0 at Wake Forest » 6 tkl, 3 sacks
------- WR Jermaine Humphries: W 27-17 vs. James Madison » 5 rec, 80 yds, 2 TD DT Donnie Jordan: L 28-17 vs. Vanderbilt » 7 tkl, sack
QB Isaac Wilson: W 48-7 at Utah State » 22-28, 318 yds, 6 TD
DT Donnie Jordan: W 31-0 at Wake Forest » 6 tkl, 3 sacks
WR Jermaine Humphries: W 27-17 vs. James Madison » 5 rec, 80 yds, 2 TD
DT Donnie Jordan: L 28-17 vs. Vanderbilt » 7 tkl, sack
