Miami Hurricanes offensive notes and metrics, including Saban’s assessment of a new Cane

With camp set to open on Tuesday, here’s Part 2 of our five-part series on the Miami Hurricanes’ personnel, with numbers courtesy of Pro Football Focus:

▪ It will be interesting to see what kind of role Alabama transfer Tyler Harrell and Reedy Community College receiver Shemar Kirk can forge in a crowded receiver room.

Harrell has a decent chance to win a starting job. Kirk, who excels making plays after the catch, could crack the top six if he beats out Frank Ladson and Brashard Smith, among others.

Harrell, 6-1, averaged an absurd 29.1 yards per reception for Louisville in 2021, with 18 catches for 523 yards and six touchdowns. That was partly the byproduct of lightning speed. At the Louisville pro day, he ran a 4.24 in the 40-yard dash. The record at the NFL Combine is 4.22.

He transferred to Alabama before last season, but a foot injury limited him to just 33 snaps, and two catches for 18 yards.

“It’s unfortunate the guy missed a lot of time because of an injury,” Alabama coach Nick Saban told reporters late October. “He is making a lot of progress. He does offer something with his speed. That is always something that can benefit you on offense. Want him to continue to improve, and hopefully we can create roles for him down the road here that is going to be effective for him and for us.”

But the role never came, in part because the injury lingered all season.

“He is explosive, fast, has great hands; his route running is very good,” quarterback Tyler Van Dyke told WQAM’s Joe Rose. “I’m excited to see him play. He was hurt last year with his foot. He’s healthy now.”

Kirk, meanwhile, put up big numbers in junior college: 45 catches for 782 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games in 2021; and 31 for 664 and seven TDs in 10 games last season. Texas A&M, Mississippi State and UCF were among his other suitors.

He has good speed and is considered a skilled route runner.

Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George and Colbie Young were UM’s first-team receivers for most the spring.

Smith, Ladson, Isaiah Horton, Michael Redding and freshmen Robbie Washington and Nathaniel Joseph will compete with those three, and Kirk and Harrell, for snaps.

▪ Ajay Allen, the transfer from Nebraska, will have every opportunity to beat out Henry Parrish Jr. and Don Chaney Jr. for the starting running back job.

Allen had only 33 carries as a freshman at Nebraska before sustaining a season-ending collarbone injury Sept. 20 against Oklahoma. But on those 33 carries, he averaged 5.8 yards and scored two touchdowns. And seven of those 33 carries went for 10 yards or longer.

“He looked like he was their guy [at Nebraska] and one of the more talented freshmen in the Big Ten,” Cristobal told The Athletic this week. “He’s thick, hard-nosed, tough and a great kid. We expect him to be an excellent player.”

Allen averaged 3.2 yards after contact, compared with 2.6 for Parrish and 2.9 for Jaylan Knighton, who transferred from UM to SMU.

Freshman Mark Fletcher and Christopher Johnson, who both enrolled in recent months, also will challenge for playing time. Fletcher is the one to watch; he has the skill set to potentially emerge as UM’s lead back at some point this season.

Second-year player TreVonte Citizen continues to recovered from a significant knee injury sustained last August but could return at some point this season. He’s not yet cleared for practice.

▪ Here’s why the addition of Oregon eighth-year tight end Cam McCormick makes sense, beyond the fact that starter Elijah Arroyo hasn’t play since late September because of injury: McCormick is a very good run blocker, something that was needed in the tight end room.

Pro Football Focus rated him 39th among 451 tight ends as a run blocker last season.

McCormick was rated 182nd of 451 tight ends overall.

Last season, he played 366 snaps — 216 as a run blocker, 129 as a receiver and 21 as a pass blocker.

He caught only 10 passes for 66 yards, but three went for touchdowns. He has 18 receptions in 39 games at Oregon and has a year of eligibility left.

With Arroyo sidelined this past spring, it was not a surprise that McCormick appeared to spend more time with the starters than Jaleel Skinner did. But Arroyo is now reportedly healthy and appears the front-runner to start.

▪ The reason to feel somewhat better about UM’s chances this season is an offensive line that will assuredly be better with the additions of veteran transfers Javion Cohen and Matt Lee and five-star right tackle Francis Mauigoa.

A couple of examples of how the offensive line’s play affected the skill position players last year:

Though he was playing in an easier conference, Parrish’s yards per carry dropped from 5.3 on 105 rushes at Mississippi in 2021 to 4.7 on 130 carries for UM in 2022.

Meanwhile, Van Dyke was pressured 24.5 percent of his snaps in 2022, up from 15.1 percent the previous year.

Did they suddenly become worse players? Of course not. Neither can be fully absolved, but Sherlock Holmes isn’t needed to diagnose the primary problem: the offensive line, which had both mediocre talent and several key injuries.

Consider this: UM averaged a measly 3.3 yards per rush against FBS team, which was 110th of 131 FBS schools, per collegefootballrankings.com.

The Canes allowed 2.92 sacks per game, which tied for 22nd most.

It will be shocking if both numbers don’t improve this season.

Among Canes offensive linemen, 6-6, 350-pound guard Anez Cooper graded out as UM’s best run blocker last season. And he had a solid spring, maintaining his first-team spot at right guard. It was interesting that Cristobal mentioned Cooper as a key player in two separate ACC Network interviews on Tuesday.

Jakai Clark (who transferred to SMU), Tennessee-bound John Campbell, returning tackle/guard Jalen Rivers and returning backup Logan Sagapolu all graded out below average, per PFF.

Rivers had a good spring at left tackle (at least before the spring game), but UM was without several of its top defensive linemen in the spring. He could move back to right guard if Zion Nelson returns and claims the left tackle job. Nelson, limited to 61 snaps last season with a knee injury, is expected to practice at some point in training camp.

But that move isn’t automatic. As noted, Cristobal thinks highly of Cooper.

Also, don’t rule out freshman Samson Okunlola seizing the left tackle job at some point this season.

▪ Some things to keep in mind about the line: Alabama transfer Cohen — the new left guard — was graded 66th among 639 guards as a run blocker in 2022, according to PFF’s evaluations.

And by plucking UCF’s Lee in the portal, the Canes have added a player who ranked eighth among all centers as a run blocker; Clark, last year’s starting center, was 88th as a run blocker.

▪ As for pass protection…

Among offensive linemen, the Canes players who allowed the most sacks last season were Campbell (five sacks, 19 pressures on 453 pass blocking chances) and Laurence Seymore, who permitted three sacks and eight pressures on 133 pass blocking chances.

Campbell transferred to Tennessee and Seymore projects as a backup if he’s on the roster. Justice Olawaseun, who used up his eligibility, permitted three sacks.

New center Lee allowed no sacks and just three pressures in 435 pass blocking snaps at UCF last season. Conversely, Clark yielded one sack and 14 pressures on 368 pass rush chances. So Miami’s pass protection should be better at center.

At left guard, Cohen allowed no sacks and six pressures in 337 pass blocking snaps at Alabama last season. Rivers permitted two sacks and 13 pressures in 382 pass blocking snaps. So Miami’s pass protection should be better at left guard.

Cooper yielded two sacks and 12 pressures in 182 pass-blocking snaps. He’ll be back at right guard unless Rivers moves over from left tackle.

Bottom line: From both a pass and run blocking standpoint, this line has a chance to be very good, particularly if the freshman Mauigoa can be an instant impact player at right tackle.

Pass blocking must be better at running back, too. Parrish, for example, yielded two sacks in just 52 pass blocking snaps.

Here’s part 1 of the series on Tyler Van Dyke.