Miami Hurricanes Fall Camp: Storylines to Watch on Offense
With the Miami Hurricanes set to begin fall practice on Friday, August 5, anticipation is high amongst UM's fanbase for the season to kick off on Sep. 3 against Bethune-Cookman, in what will be Mario Cristobal's first game as head coach of the Hurricanes.
Spring practice in March and April showed a glimpse of what the new era of Miami football will look like, but injuries and ineligible newcomers prevented a full outlook from being displayed.
Here are five storylines to watch out for on the offensive side of the ball leading into Miami's 2022 fall camp.
1. How will the offensive line come along without Zion Nelson?
Miami will start fall practice without one of its top veteran offensive linemen after the fourth-year junior had a cleanup procedure performed on his left knee. The left tackle is three weeks removed from the six to eight-week timeline that is expected for him before he returns to action.
Redshirt junior John Campbell Jr. is expected to shift from right tackle to left tackle for the start of camp in place of Nelson. Cristobal heaped praise onto the Orlando, Fla. native at Miami's media day.
2. Will the starting receivers from spring be pushed?
Sophomore wideouts Jacolby George, Xavier Restrepo and Key'Shawn Smith ran mostly with the first team through much of spring practice, but that doesn't mean the trio won't face competition in the fall.
Clemson transfer Frank Ladson started getting into a rhythm towards the end of the spring, and 6-foot-3 JUCO transfer Colbie Young should provide competition to the unit with his mix of size and speed.
Second-year receiver Romello Brinson, who showed flashes as a freshman, will also be in the mix. The Miami native was out with an injury throughout all of spring.
3. How will the running back unit shake out?
With freshman TreVonte' Citizen expected to compete for an immediate role in Miami's running back room, the Hurricanes have five talented backs who could fight for playing time this season.
Third-year rushers Don Chaney Jr. and Jaylan Knighton will be making their return to the Greentree Practice Fields after missing most of spring practice due to injury. Citizen was a summer enrollee, so he was ineligible to practice with Miami in March and April.
The trio joins Ole Miss transfer Henry Parrish Jr. and sophomore Thaddius Franklin Jr., who were the two primary running backs in the spring.
4. Can Jaleel Skinner contend for early playing time?
One of Cristobal's first recruiting wins as head coach of the Hurricanes was flipping Skinner from Alabama to Miami in December.
In the spring, the freshman tight end showed why he was so coveted coming out of high school, impacting the passing game with his ability to stretch the field down the seams and rack up yards after the catch.
Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis's system uses a lot of two-tight end sets, so if Skinner could crack the three-deep depth chart in fall camp, he has a chance at playing regularly in his first season.
5. Will Jacurri Brown start to show more consistency?
Entering spring practice, the freshman quarterback from Lowndes (Ga.) High School was considered to be a developmental prospect.
Although Brown showed flashes of promise, he was plagued by his inconsistency, making this rawness apparent.
The signal-caller will likely redshirt this season, but a more consistent Brown throughout fall practice would bode well for the future of the quarterback position at Miami beyond Tyler Van Dyke.
AllHurricanes.com is your home for all things Miami Hurricanes football, recruiting, basketball and other athletics, all the time. Follow along on social media at @AllHurricanes on Twitter and All Hurricanes on Facebook for round-the-clock news and analysis.
