Power Ranking The Top 10 Players On Offense
The Miami Hurricanes are expected to have an explosive offense this year, and for good reason. The team averaged 31.5 points a year ago despite its turnover issues at the quarterback position, and now has added Washington State star QB Cam Ward along with Oregon State star RB Damien Martinez. Hopes are high that this can be the first team since 2002 to average 40 points or more per game … and the second team in the last two decades to hit the double-digit win mark.
Optimism can come from this top 10 list ranking the team’s top offensive players, which really shows the depth of talent at virtually every spot across the board:
10. C ZACH CARPENTER
Carpenter is a senior Indiana transfer who was brought in to fill the shoes of departing center Matt Lee. He has plenty of experience, starting 27 games in his career, and is a solid fit for Miami. Carpenter originally signed with Michigan in the Class of 2019, redshirting that year and serving as a backup in 2020, then transferred to Indiana where he started five games at right guard in 2021 before becoming a full-time starter in 2022. He didn’t allow any sacks that year playing center and guard – he began the season playing center, missed two games due to surgery for a torn hand ligament and then played guard with a club protecting his hand before moving back to center (he taught himself to snap lefty while the injury was affecting him, and he can still snap effectively with either hand). This past season at center, per Pro Football Focus, Carpenter allowed 10 quarterback pressures in 445 pass blocking reps, and his 2.3 percent pressure rate was third-best in the Big Ten. Per PFF in 804 overall reps this past year he graded out at 64.4 percent overall (was 53.3 percent in 2022) with a 71.8 percent pass block grade (54.6 in 2022) and 61.0 run block grade (49.7 in 2022).
9. WR SAM BROWN
via GIPHY
Brown arrives at Miami as a summer transfer who was Houston’s top receiving target last year, leading the team with 815 yards. He is expected to be the Canes’ third starter, joining Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George, but he’ll have to hold off a push from Isaiah Horton and others this fall. The 6-2, 195-pound junior originally signed with West Virginia – he was a backup there in 2020 and 2021, then as a redshirt freshman at Houston in 2022 started seven games and had 471 receiving yards with four TDs (of note: that year he was playing under now-Miami coordinator Shannon Dawson). This past season in four of the first five games he had 99 or more receiving yards but then faded a bit down the stretch. He still ended as the team leader with 62 catches for the aforementioned 815 yards along with three TDs. His 20 missed tackles forced after a reception ranked eighth among Power 5 receivers, per PFF. And in 694 reps last season he graded out at 72.9 percent overall with four drops. In 2022 he graded out at 64.0 with four drops as well. He averaged 6.7 yards after catch per reception last year and 4.0 the prior season. His longest play went for 53 yards. He should be a good speed addition to the receiving room who makes this an even more powerful and diverse offense.
8. TIE. TE ELIJAH ARROYO/ELIJA LOFTON
It’s hard to pick which of these two will have a bigger impact on the offense, but regardless both are playmakers. We’ll start with Arroyo, who really hasn’t been able to show his full potential due to injury – he started to round back into form this spring. A refresher on him: He had a season-ending injury early in 2022 and also missed most of last year, derailing the idea that he’d be the next guy up after Will Mallory’s departure. So his only healthy season was as a true freshman in 2021 when he played in every game and started once (he had 5 catches for 86 yards and a TD as a freshman). He has huge potential, but just has to stay healthy.
As for Lofton? He showed this spring that being a true freshman won’t hold him back. He learned multiple spots as a traditional tight end attached to the line, H-back, split out, and even getting carries at running back. Think perhaps a slightly smaller version of Jaheim Bell in terms of the role that Lofton can fill (Bell had 503 receiving yards for FSU last year and 261 rush yards in 2022, for reference). Some also compare him as a “little Deebo Samuel,” as fellow TE Riley Williams put it during spring ball. Both these guys should make for an exciting tight ends room compared to the one last year that had no one with even 100 receiving yards on the year.
7. OG ANEZ COOPER
Cooper started four games as a freshman in 2022, then really emerged last year as a very solid starting right guard. He should only be better with another year under his belt. Cooper’s PFF grades this past year? In 878 reps he graded out at 65.9 percent overall with a solid 78.4 pass blocking grade and 63.1 run block grade. After being noted allowing two sacks in 2022 he didn’t allow any in 2023, and he gave up 12 QB hurries and three hits on the quarterback. He’s part of a line that saw running backs’ yards per carry jump from 3.7 to 5.1 last year with sacks allowed plummeting from 36 to 16.
6. WR JACOLBY GEORGE
George emerged in his first fulltime starting role in 2023, he ended with 57 catches and 864 yards, both second-most on the team behind Xavier Restrepo, along with a team-high eight touchdown catches. That included a pair of 100-yard games – six catches for 125 yards and a TD vs. North Carolina and five receptions for 153 yards and two scores at FSU. He added 94 yards and three TDs against Texas A&M. So pretty good in three of Miami’s biggest games. The biggest issue with him is simply keeping his head on straight. In 2022 he was suspended for the first two games, then last season drew several silly personal foul penalties and had an off-season driving incident. There’s no doubting his ability, though. And per Pro Football Focus he graded out at a solid 73.4 percent (75.4 receiving grade) in 638 reps with 90 targets last year. He was noted with six drops and 9.3 yards after the catch.
5. OL FRANCIS MAUIGOA
Mauigoa arrived at Miami as a true freshman last year and quickly earned the starting right tackle job. The former 5-star did a really nice job at right tackle, and per Pro Football Focus he graded out at 70.1 percent overall (fourth-best of all college freshmen) with a 64.8 pass block grade and 70.7 run block grade (in 866 reps). His overall grade was third-best of the starters on the line, trailing Matt Lee (79.0 grade) and Jalen Rivers (74.1). Mauigoa is headed to not only an All-ACC future as soon as this year, but a bright NFL future as well. The sky is the limit for him.
4. OT JALEN RIVERS
Last season was Rivers’ third as a starter … but first in which he was able to complete an entire year injury-free. Rivers was a key piece of an offensive line that improved from 3.7 to 5.1 yards per carry rushing and from allowing 36 to 16 sacks. He also made a smooth transition from starting at guard to left tackle. Prior to last year Rivers had played in 19 games and started 10 … injuries cost him all but three games in 2021 and another three games in 2022. So it was a big deal for the Canes to get not just a quality season out of him, but also a healthy one. Per PFF he graded out at a solid 74.1 percent last season (73.5 pass block grade, 70.2 run block grade). He was noted allowing three sacks and six hits on the quarterback. Rest assured that Cam Ward’s blind side will be well protected in 2024.
3. WR XAVIER RESTREPO
It was a bigtime breakout season for slot receiver Xavier Restrepo in 2023 after his anticipated breakout 2022 season was hampered by injury. Last year Restrepo set a program single-season record with 85 catches, and his 1,092 yards (with six touchdowns) made him only the sixth 1,000-yard pass-catcher in program history. He had five 100-yard games over the course of the season. Prior to that he’d never surpassed 373 yards in a season. Restrepo had the best overall PFF grade on the team at 87.4 percent, including an 89.0 receiving grade. He was targeted 119 times and was noted with four drops and 4.2 yards after the catch. You saw this spring he’s already developed a great rapport on the field with QB Cam Ward, so he’s in line for another huge season.
2. RB DAMIEN MARTINEZ
This was a huge summer portal pickup for Miami, especially considering returning starter Mark Fletcher’s status for the start of the season is in doubt off a serious foot injury. Martinez is a do-it-all kind of guy with two years of major production at Oregon State to show for it. He earned Freshman All-American honors at Oregon State two years ago after running for 982 yards and seven TDs while averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Then this past season he was a Doak Walker Award Semifinalist after he ran for 1,185 yards and averaged 6.1 yards along with nine TDs. He added 11 receptions for 126 yard and had six games with over 100 rush yards, including 145 at San Jose State and 145 on just 15 carries with a program-record four TDs against Stanford. Martinez graded out at a stellar 83.1 percent overall last year per PFF (elite 88.1 run grade) and 85.9 percent overall in 2022 (90.2 run grade). If he had a weak area it was helping as a pass protector/blocker (65.1 block grade in 2022 and 54.1 percent last year). The 6-0, 230-pounder has the combination of size and speed that Mario Cristobal covets, and paired with the other offensive weapons on this list you can see why hopes are so high for this Miami offense.
1. QB CAM WARD
Ward is the gem of the portal class, a quarterback who mulled turning pro before deciding to come to Miami to turn himself into a high NFL draft pick. Certainly he has that capability. The 6-2, 221-pound dual threat senior was No. 4 in passing yards in college football last season at Washington State, finishing hitting on 66.7 percent of his throws for 3,732 yards (311.0 yards per game) with 25 TDs and seven INTs (adding eight rushing scores). In 2022 he started every game and hit on 64.4 percent of his passes for 3,231 yards with 23 TDs and nine interceptions (he added five rushing scores). The prior season, at Incarnate Word, he was an FCS Second Team All-American and Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year after completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 4,648 yards with 47 TD passes and 10 INTs (1 rushing score). As a freshman there in 2020 he won the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman player in FCS – in six games he threw for 2,260 yards (60.4 percent completion rate) with 24 TDs and four INTs, adding two rushing scores. Per Pro Football Focus Ward graded out at a stellar 80.7 percent this past season. He was particularly deadly on deep throws with an elite 92.7 grade on throws of 20+ yards (he was 23-57 for 725 yards with 10 TDs and two INTs on those passes). Ward may be atop this list, but you can see the depth of talent across the board here. It’s going to be a scary proposition for opponents to try and slow down this 2024 attack that’s led by Ward.
The post Power Ranking The Top 10 Players On Offense appeared first on On3.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings