The CaneSport On3: For second time in Miami history the Hurricanes could have a 1,000-yard running back AND 1,000-yard wide receiver
If things go according to plan, something that last happened in 2002 might just repeat history in 2024. No, Miami fans, we aren’t talking about reaching the national title game … although who knows, right? What seems a bit more likely is having a 1,000-yard receiver and 1,000-yard running back in the same season.
That’s only happened once in Miami history, that aforementioned ’02 season when Willis McGahee ran for 1,753 yards and Andre Johnson had 1,092 receiving yards.
Why might this be the year that repeats?
Well, let’s start with the way Shannon Dawson runs his offense. For fans that may associate the word “Air-Raid” with a lot of passing as it pertains to it … well, that’s not really the case. In his two years as coordinator at Houston his teams ran the ball 53.0 and 44.6 percent of the time, and in Year 1 of his system at Miami run plays came 50.2 percent of the time.
In other words, it’s a balanced offense.
And last season we saw it produce a 1,000-yard receiver in Xavier Restrepo while top backs Henry Parrish and Mark Fletcher combined for 1,175 yards.
So with Restrepo back off a 1,000-yard season and a new feature back in Oregon State star Damien Martinez, all signs are 2024 could be the second time in Miami program history that there’s a 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver in the same season. Those reps split between Parrish (283 reps in 2023) and Fletcher (254 reps) should see the vast majority go Martinez’s way.
For reference, Miami’s previous 1,000-yard rushers were Ottis Anderson (1,266, 1978), Danyell Ferguson (1,069 in 1995), Edgerrin James twice (1,098 in 1997 and 1,416 in 1998), James Jackson (1,006 in 2000), Clinton Portis (1,200, 2001), Willis McGahee (1,753 in 2002), Lamar Miller (1,272, 2011), Duke Johnson (1,652 yards, 2014) and Mark Walton (1,117, 2016).
The 1,000-yard receivers? Eddie Brown (1,114, 1984), Andre Johnson (1,092, 2002), Leonard Hankerson (1,156, 2010), Allen Hurns (1,162, 2013), Charleston Rambo (1,172, 2021) and Restrepo (1,092, 2023).
With Cam Ward at QB the passing offense should be prolific – Washington State ranked No. 4 in passing yards nationally last year. And up front Miami has three returning starters on the line (Jalen Rivers, Anez Cooper and Francis Mauigoa) and has added Indiana veteran starter Zach Carpenter at center.
It’s also worth noting that the last time Dawson had a feature back as coordinator he used him heavily – that was in 2017 when star Southern Miss RB Ito Smith ran for 1,415 yards and 13 TDs; the prior year he had 1,459 yards and 17 TDs. In subsequent seasons Dawson used more of a by-committee approach, including last year at Miami.
So the history of Dawson includes having 1,000-yard rushers and, of course, Restrepo was indicative of the kind of numbers a top WR can put up in his offense.
So maybe, just maybe, a little bit of 2002 can emerge this year at the top of the stat sheet.
The post The CaneSport On3: For second time in Miami history the Hurricanes could have a 1,000-yard running back AND 1,000-yard wide receiver appeared first on On3.
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