2023 Miami Hurricanes Football Predictions
It’s time to take a closer look at the Miami Hurricanes as the transition into the offseason truly begins with winter conditioning leading into spring practice.
After a 5-7 mark this year, there’s certainly plenty of areas that need attention. All three phases have holes – special teams, offense and defense – but there’s also reason to feel that next season will be better.
Here are five predictions for the 2023 Miami football team, good and bad.
1) Miami’s quarterback play will show considerable improvement.
Look, no first-year coaching staff is going to do well with their starting quarterback sitting on the bench with a shoulder injury. Once the starting signal caller became a spectator on the sidelines, that began a difficult stretch with Jake Garcia and Jacurri Brown playing the position. Too much inexperience between the two led to some dreadful offensive performances.
While both show promise for the future, having Tyler Van Dyke back in 2023 means more continuity and more opportunities for big performances. Do not forget, Van Dyke threw for over 300 yards during six consecutive games in 2021.
His experience, coupled with his knowledge of the new system with a year to learn it, will be a huge boost to the passing game. Look for him to bounce back in a big way in 2023 and throw for 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns.
2) The offensive line will have its moments, but not all good.
This is the good, and the bad, of college football. There’s just no substitute for all five players getting reps with one another. It’s the one position where cohesiveness is paramount. Well, after games with two and even three offensive linemen being out with injuries this past season there’s still going to be growing pains in 2023.
The Canes are bringing in a big-time offensive line class with Samson Okunlola and Francis Mauigoa leading the way. They are still only freshmen. The Hurricanes need older, veteran players, to get healthy and work together as much as possible during the offseason.
Reps galore, mind you.
Then, adding in a player like Mauigoa and/or a player from the Transfer Portal like Javion Cohen that already made his decision to come to Miami from Alabama, perhaps that can be the elixir that brings up Miami’s offensive line play.
That being said, it’s just hard to believe this is going to be a unit that’s consistent. It takes a long time to build chemistry, especially with young players likely being in the starting unit at some point next fall.
Look for Miami’s offensive line to improve next season, but to still have some games where they are not to the level Miami needs it to be to compete at a championship level week in and week out.
3) Colbie Young becomes an elite wide receiver.
After his breakout game against Virginia Tech (nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown), Colbie Young became the primary receiver for the Canes. He did well as a first-year Miami player and more production is coming.
He’s going to be better acclimated to the offense, Van Dyke, and even just the players in the ACC. It also helps that Xavier Restrepo is back in action. Teams are going to struggle picking which player to focus their efforts towards.
Combined with Restrepo’s presence in the lineup, that experience and confidence for Young is going to lead to a season of over 50 catches and 10 touchdowns.
4) Miami’s pass rush continues to be excellent.
The Hurricanes are coming off a season with 37 sacks. That’s tremendous for a unit gelling under a new coaching staff.
Of note, defensive end Akheem Mesidor will get to at least 10 sacks next fall. Playing next to Nyjalik Kelly, Jahfari Harvey, Leonard Taylor, Jared Harrison-Hunte and transfer Thomas Gore certainly helps the cause for Mesidor reaching that sack total (or higher).
That group of pass rushers, all rotating, gives Miami a group of players with experience. Adding to the list with Rueben Bain and Jaden Wayne, two recruits that appear to be ready to make an impact sooner than later, gives the Canes reason to push for top 10 in the nation for sacks as a unit.
5) The running back room sees big changes, and better results.
There will be some growing pains with this unit, but overall, this is running back room with talent. Which players step up? Let's dive in.
Henry Parrish, Jr. is still the primary back. That’s obvious as he’s a really good player and likely to be a featured player overall. With the transfer of Jaylan Knighton to SMU, however, the Hurricanes have playing time available. Also more players are competing for that playing time.
Who’s the big back that complements Parrish though? Will it be Trevonte’ Citizen after a serious injury last season, or perhaps incoming freshman Mark Fletcher? Maybe even both of them take part in playing the role of “big back” for short yardage and goal line, as well as being hammers between the tackles whenever Mario Cristobal wants to beat on the opponent’s front seven.
That big back situation will play out and be beneficial for Miami regardless of which big back makes the most impact. There’s something that will help Citizen and Fletcher, as well as all the running backs, produce more.
With Van Dyke back in the lineup, and an improved offensive line to help protect him, defenses will not be able to stack the box as easily. Those two factors allow this running back group to get better and be more consistently impactful. Now onto more of what the players can do, as there’s more diversity with more depth.
Do not forget about Don Chaney, Jr. He can be a little bit of everything. Between the tackles he’s capable, and he can bounce a play to the outside and get yards. After getting healthy and back into a rhythm, he’s going to be a part of the rotation next fall. There’s another key player to mention from the prep ranks.
Bringing in Chris Johnson allows for Miami to insert a home run hitter that’s good at running or catching the football. Cannot teach 10.45 speed. Defenses will need to adjust to when he’s in the lineup or suffer the consequences with him crossing the goal line.
Lastly, it cannot be overstated how this being a deeper unit than last season (even more so if Citizen is truly ready to play) impacts the running game overall. It’s competition that helps. Miami has shown, historically, that when it has competition the team jumps to another level. The 2023 running back room will be more of the same and the statistics will provide proof.
Miami’s running game finished at No. 95 with 128.3 yards rushing per game. This next season, that total will be over 180 yards. Even being at exactly 180 yards rushing in 2022 would have placed the Hurricanes at No. 46 in the country. That’s a big jump, but Miami has the right combination of players to make that happen.
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