Cristobal Raves About Miami’s Pass Catchers: Standouts Emerging in Spring Practice
The Miami Hurricanes football team is back at spring practice this week and Mario Cristobal took the time to speak about what he's seeing from the pass catchers. He spoke on both the new-look wide receivers room and the tight ends. First he spoke about the wideouts:
“I see a lot of contested catches. It’s very encouraging to see the competitiveness of the wide receivers. We play a lot of different coverages, very multiple in what we do on the back end but one-on-one gives you an opportunity to see what they do against man coverage as well. I want to start with tight end Elija Lofton, and his versatility. … I mean, he showed it last year. He’s a matchup problem for people. And he has picked up where he left off and [is] getting better and he’s faster and he’s stronger."
“Outside and inside, “Ray Ray” [Joseph] had an incredible spring, worth noting. I don’t think he gets enough attention, but he’s fully healthy. He is running extremely fast, looking really explosive and has been tremendous in spring. Ny Carr had a tremendous catch today. JoJo [Trader] has had a really strong spring. Malachi Toney, you’ve heard a lot [about] and it’s warranted. He’s a special guy that’s advanced and that we are going to accelerate along with a couple of other guys. … Daylyn Upshaw’s had a great spring so far as well. Joshua Moore, you’ve seen the body type. He’s an absolute monster. And his approach every single day, like Daylyn’s, like Malachi’s, they haven’t approached it as freshmen. We asked them to accelerate their maturity and therefore, they have taken it upon themselves to be here at 5:30, 5:45, practice days and catch extra balls and to stay and really live up in the building on their own. … They’re up there and they’re putting in the time to be able to play fast and it has shown so far in a big-time way."
He continued and spoke about the tight ends:
“The tight ends, I can’t say enough about what we’ve seen so far. … you’ve seen Elija, Jackson Carver’s 25 pounds heavier. Looks great. Luka Gilbert and Brock Schott have really stood out as well. I mean, we’re getting a lot of opportunities, a lot of reps on guys. … Jack Nickel did a great job stepping in there today. Alex Bauman was a little bit nicked up, but he’s going to be back in action this week and he showed some great stuff as well. So, a lot to be excited about.”
Recommended Articles
The 2025 Miami Hurricanes Football Schedule has been Released
Miami Freshman Elija Lofton Graded The Top Freshman Tight End in the Country
Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites.