Canes Football Preseason Questions: Who Will Lead The Team In Receiving?
Continuing on with our preseason questions here at AllHurricanes, one of the hottest topics for the coming season is how the offense will turn out.
There's no denying that former offensive coordinator Josh Gattis never seemed to click with the personnel in Miami. While being one of the top assistants in the country the year prior to his hire, his system was not the fit in Coral Gables.
Insert former Houston Cougars offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, who will bring his background in the air raid offense to Miami in attempt to revitalize that side of the ball.
Barring injuries, Tyler Van Dyke will enter his third season as the starter for the Hurricanes under center where in 2021 he put himself on the NFL's radar with an ACC Rookie of the Year performance, replacing the injured D'Eriq King.
However since the 2021 season, the receiver room has lacked a consistent go-to option on the outside for Van Dyke. With the implementation of Dawson's scheme now, there are a handful of candidates who could lead this offense in receiving.
The four names in discussion for this poll were Colbie Young, Tyler Harrell, Jacolby George and Xavier Restrepo. The results were as follows:
Quite different than our last poll, the results were far more balanced across the board. However, last year's JUCO transfer Young wins the poll with 38.7% of the votes.
Young became a fan favorite last season for Hurricane fans, especially after he posted back-to-back 100 yard receiving performances against Virginia Tech and Duke. The 6-foot 5 receiver is Miami's tallest outside threat, and could be the guy Van Dyke targets for those 50/50 balls.
In a tie for second place, George and Restrepo find themselves each earning 22.5% of the vote. Both receivers have shown flashes of breaking out for Miami, but injuries have held them both back up to this point. With the implementation of Dawson's offense specifically, these two receivers should see a boost in their productivity.
Coming in with a 16.2% share of the votes, Alabama transfer Harrell will be looking to put his injuries behind him and return to the form he was at in Louisville as a speedster. If Harrell is able to sort things out, his skillset would position him to dominate in Dawson's offense.
Regardless of the results, there's a lot of uncertainty and a lot of upside in this receiving room. Now backed by a new and improved offensive line, Van Dyke will have the protection he needs to get this offense moving. But only time will tell to see who ends up being the alpha in this receiver room.
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