The Return Of Elijah Arroyo
The Miami Hurricanes will be playing in their "stormtrooper" white jerseys heading into the biggest game of the season against the Florida Gators, and the return of their Jedi could be the power they need to get over the First Order.
Hurricanes tight end Elijah Arroyo has battled for the past two seasons with a major left knee injury that has only allowed him to play eight games during that time.
Coming out of high school, Arroyo was a top 10 tight end recruit and had flashed his potential during his freshman season. He was gearing up to have a breakout year until he went down in the fourth game of his sophomore campaign against Middle Tennessee. Now he is fully healthy, he is ready to show why he was one of the best talents coming out of high school.
"It feels great. I feel like myself again. You know it just good to just play without thinking about injuries or anything that going on," Arroyo said. "With injuries, confidence is a really big thing. Being able to get back to doing everything that I'm doing has been great for me."
With his injury, tight end usage went down in the process. Now with quarerback Cam Ward, the usage of tightends will increase. Ward loved throwing to his tight ends at Washington State and now with the litnty of talent the Hurricanes possess, he has more than just a few players to throw too.
Arroyo knows this and sees it as a great opportunity but also knows that he doesn't have anything to prove. The only goal is to win. While being injured, he had the time to sit back and learn more about the game of football which will only help him and the team in the long run.
"When I got hurt, I was able to take a step back and learn defenses and also get a better perspective on our offense. Also, route running. I feel as fast as I've ever felt," Arroyo said.
The excitement of game day is running through him as well as the team as they head to Gainesville to take on the Gators.
"I'm excited. I've been waiting a long time for this. It's been a long offseason grind and I feel like we came together as a team and matured a lot. We worked really hard together and the whole team is excited," Arroyo said.
How To Watch: No. 19 Miami at Florida; Full Week 1 College Football TV Schedule
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JUSTICE SANDLE