Miami football finished 2022 with a 5-7 record in its first year of a rebuild under Mario Cristobal. The Hurricanes’ only wins came against weak non-conference play and the bottom of the ACC. They even dropped a game to Middle Tennessee State marking the low point of their season.
This year, FanDuel Sportsbook has opened the bidding on Miami’s win total at 7.5, with the under juiced to -170. The Hurricanes are also +2300 to win the ACC, which ranks sixth in this conference. Overall, bookmakers expect a step forward for the Hurricanes, but they still believe the Hurricanes are just behind the elite powers in the conference. With that said, let’s get into Miami football predictions with a season preview and roster overview.
2023 Miami Football Predictions & Season Preview
Miami Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff
Miami now enters year two under Cristobal after he previously coached with Oregon. While the first season did not result in a major turnaround, Cristobal’s effects can already be felt. Particularly so on the recruiting trail, where he has brought in elite talent. At offensive coordinator, Cristobal fired Josh Gattis after just one season. He now brings in former Houston offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson. Similarly, Cristobal hired former Marshall defensive coordinator Lance Guidry to take over the same responsibilities here. Clearly something was off with the staff last year, but Cristobal has quickly addressed the problem.
Miami Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense
Quarterback
Miami returns Tyler Van Dyke after a 2022 season limited due to injury. Van Dyke completed 160 of his 253 passes (63.2%) for 1,835 yards (7.3 yards per attempt), 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. This was a step back from his 2021 season, but Miami’s offense struggled to ever get going. This is evidenced by the firing of its offensive coordinator. Van Dyke offers almost nothing in terms of mobility, so the new offense will attempt to coax that previous success out of the potential NFL Draft pick. Overall, Van Dyke was the ninth-graded passer in the ACC last year, per Pro Football Focus. Behind Van Dyke, Miami will turn to Jacurri Brown and Emory Williams as the backups with Jake Garcia transferring out. Brown threw 45 times last year for 230 yards. He also offers elite mobility with 221 rushing yards on 53 attempts last year. Brown was a 4-star recruit in the 2022 cycle and figures to back up Van Dyke here as a true sophomore.
Running Back
The Hurricanes return their leading rusher Henry Parrish Jr., but second leading rusher Jaylan Knighton left in the transfer portal. Parrish is 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, and rushed 131 times for 617 yards and four touchdowns last year. He also caught 17 passes for 120 yards with three drops. Overall, Parrish proved pretty efficient, averaging 2.63 yards after contact per attempt and forced a missed tackle on 20.6% of his attempts. Miami also gets back Donald Chaney, who played in just one game last year. The 5-foot-10, 208 pound back tore his ACL back in 2021, but he should be fully healthy now. He has 81 total carries through three years with the program. Miami also added Nebraska transfer Ajay Allen after the 5-foot-11, 185 pound back played just four games last year due to injury. Allen rushed 33 times for 190 yards and looked awesome on his limited sample before injury. He averaged a hyper-efficient 3.18 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 33% of his attempts. Finally, Miami brings in 4-star recruit Mark Fletcher, who figures to play some sort of role right away.
Wide Receiver
Miami returns its top six receivers. This group likely rotates, but the starters project to be Xavier Restrepo, Colbie Young and Jacolby George. Restrepo spent a lot of last year injured, but he is 5-foot-10, 195 pounds. He caught 21 passes for 240 yards with an efficient 1.94 yards per route. He played in the slot on 96.2% of his routes. Young is 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, and caught 32 passes for 376 yards. He played out wide on 74.4% of his routes, and his 1.75 yards per route ranked 22nd in the ACC. George is 6-foot-0, 176 pounds, and played in the slot 54.2% of the time. He caught 13 passes for 130 yards, but he only appeared in seven games. He posted an average of 1.30 yards per route. Brashard Smith also returns after 32 catches for 301 yards. The 5-foot-10, 194-pound receiver played in the slot 97.6% of the time and his 1.56 yards per route ranked 36th. He should rotate with Restrepo. Former Clemson transfer Frank Ladson Jr. caught 27 passes for 298 yards. He is 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, and played out wide 96.1% of the time. His 1.1 yards per route ranked 50th and he should rotate with one of the perimeter pieces. From there, Miami also returns Michael Redding III, who caught 15 passes for 217 yards. He is another perimeter receiver with 1.22 yards per route. Miami also brought in transfer Tyler Harrell from Alabama. Harrell is a burner, who barely played last year after transferring in from Louisville. Back in 2021, he caught 18 passes for 525 yards, posting an absurd 2.85 yards per route. Four-star freshmen Robby Washington and Nathaniel Joseph should round out this room, giving Miami a solid blend of talent and depth.
Tight End
The Hurricanes lost their actual top pass catcher in tight end Will Mallory this offseason. They did add Oregon transfer Cam McCormick, who caught 10 passes for 66 yards last year. McCormick is 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, and blocked on 65% of his snaps. Behind him, they return Elijah Arroyo and Jaleel Skinner. These two played 138 and 145 snaps. Arroyo is 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, and could operate as more of a move tight end. Skinner is 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, and should function in a similar role. He caught nine passes for 129 yards last year.
Offensive Line
Miami’s offensive line lost tackle D.J. Scaife Jr., tackle John Campbell Jr., center Jakai Clark and guard Justice Oluwaseun. The team returns Zion Nelson at left tackle. He only played in two games before injury, but he started the three prior seasons. He posted solid seasons in both 2020 and 2021. Left guard should be Alabama transfer Javion Cohen. Cohen has two years of starting experience under his belt. At center, Miami will also rely on a transfer. Matthew Lee comes over from Central Florida, where he started for the last three years. Right guard should be either Jalen Rivers or Anez Cooper . Rivers played 631 snaps last year and Cooper logged 352. Neither really stood out. Right tackle should be 5-star freshman and top-10 recruit Francis Mauigoa. If the hype on Mauigoa is legit, the Hurricanes could come into the year with a significantly improved offensive line. They recruited another 5-star freshman in Samson Okunlola, which should further improve this unit with time.
Miami Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense
Miami ranked 25th on defense in 2022. This included the 35th-ranked run defense, 24th-ranked pass rush and 11th-ranked secondary. The Hurricanes lose a few players on their defensive line and in the secondary, but 10 transfers and nine freshman of at least 4-star caliber enter the program this year.
Defensive Line
On the edge, Miami lost Mitchell Agude, who led the team in snaps at the edge position. However, Jahfari Harvey and Akheem Mesidor return 414 and 396 snaps apiece. Both out-produced Agude as well. Mesidor led the team with seven sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. Harvey ranked second on the team with 5.5 sacks and another 7.5 tackles for loss. Nyjalik Kelly also returns after 183 snaps as a freshman. He was a 4-star recruit and top 100 player in last year’s class. Miami also added some transfers for depth. Anthony Campbell comes over from Louisiana-Monroe after 208 snaps last year. He is 283 pounds, so he may be a better fit inside.
The interior defensive line lost Darrell Jackson and now has a larger void to fill. Leonard Taylor does return after a solid 2022 season with 329 snaps. Taylor logged three sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss and 24 total tackles as an interior space-eater. The next man up within the program could be Jared Harrison-Hunte, who played 205 snaps as a rotational piece. From there, Miami hammered the transfer portal to fill depth. Branson Deen comes over from Purdue after playing at least 300 snaps for the past three seasons. Thomas Gore also joined the program from Georgia State after 608 snaps last year. With plenty of 4-star depth on the defensive line, this should be a solid unit.
Linebacker
The linebacker position enters 2023 without many significant losses. In fact, Miami did the opposite and added Washington State transfer Francisco Mauigoa. Mauigoa played 457 snaps last year with 37 tackles. He also excelled in coverage, which should allow him to slide in as an immediate starter. From there, Miami returns its top three linebackers in Wesley Bissainthe, Corey Flagg Jr. and Keontra Smith. Early depth chart projections from the Miami beat peg Bissainthe as the other starter, but these three will likely rotate to some degree. Flagg ranked third on the team with 56 tackles last year along with 10.5 tackles for loss. However, Bissainthe played 276 snaps as a true freshman last year and earned his starting spot by season’s end. Bissainthe was a 4-star recruit in last year’s class. Overall, this position possesses elite upper end talent and depth.
Defensive Back
The Hurricanes lost D.J. Ivey and Tyrique Stevenson. They do have a few players who received quality snaps returning. Te’Cory Couch returns 670 snaps and broke up six passes last year. He is a three-year starter with the versatility to play outside or at the nickel. Miami also returns Daryl Porter Jr., who played 205 snaps for the Hurricanes. Porter previously started for West Virginia in 2021 with 716 snaps that year. His experience should benefit him here. The final starter likely comes down to a transfer or a freshman. Davonte Brown comes in from Central Florida, where he started for three seasons. Jaden Davis also comes in from Oklahoma, where he played 402 snaps last year. He now has 1,499 snaps under his belt in four seasons with the Sooners. Finally, Miami poached Ja’Dais Richard from Vanderbilt after 203 snaps last year. He was one of Vanderbilt’s lone 4-star recruits in the 2022 cycle.
At safety, Miami returns two strong options in James Williams and Kamren Kitchens. Kitchens, in particular, played excellent in 2022. He led the team with 59 tackles, while snagging six interceptions and six passes defended. Williams ranked second on the team in tackles with 58. He also defended six passes, giving Miami a strong tandem at safety. Hopefully the Hurricanes will not need their safety depth from 2022; 4-star freshman Markeith Williams could be a name to monitor. With Miami beginning to stack elite young talent across the roster, the drop off from starter to backup should not be as drastic.
2023 Miami Football Schedule & Predictions
Miami Football 2023 Schedule
The Hurricanes plays a non-conference schedule consisting of Miami Ohio, Texas A&M, Bethune-Cookman and Temple. While they should the three games against lower-level competition, they will be an underdog to Texas A&M. Within the ACC, Miami plays the top five projected teams in Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina and North Carolina State. Clemson and Louisville occur in Miami, but the rest are on the road.
Miami Football Futures Bet & Prediction
With six tough games and three on the road, Miami’s 7.5-win total juiced to -170 makes sense. Instead of laying the juice or looking for the Hurricanes to overachieve in the win total market, their postseason odds provide a superior payout. The ACC now takes the top two teams for its title game. If the Hurricanes eclipse their win total by beating some of the wagons in the ACC, they will have a better chance of making the title game. This is not likely, so sprinkle accordingly. However, Miami to win the ACC at +2300 comes in as the best bet here.
Best Miami Football Futures Bet: Win ACC +2300 at FanDuel
You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!
- Alabama Season Preview & Predictions
- Arkansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Auburn Season Preview & Predictions
- Baylor Season Preview & Predictions
- Florida Season Preview & Predictions
- Georgia Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kentucky Season Preview & Predictions
- LSU Season Preview & Predictions
- Michigan Season Preview & Predictions
- Mississippi State Season Preview & Predictions
- Missouri Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma State Season Preview & Predictions
- Ole Miss Season Preview & Predictions
- South Carolina Season Preview & Predictions
- TCU Season Preview & Predictions
- Tennessee Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas A&M Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Tech Season Preview & Predictions
- Vanderbilt Season Preview & Predictions
- West Virginia Season Preview & Predictions
