CORAL GABLES — The Hurricanes have a deep group of wide receivers, and Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said many of them will see the field this season.
The first-year UM offensive coordinator said he would rotate “however many” receivers he feels comfortable playing this season.
“I would anticipate a lot of guys playing skill (positions) here,” Dawson said Saturday. “I would anticipate a lot of rotation and a lot of guys playing. We’re not sitting here with a guy that’s returning with 100 receptions, you know what I mean? So hey, let’s see who can play when they turn the lights on.”
Dawson’s offenses typically feature a strong passing attack. At Houston last season, Dawson’s offense ranked eighth in the nation in passing yards per game. Quarterback Clayton Tune threw for 4,074 yards and 40 touchdowns. Dawson said he has emphasized deep passes in Miami’s past two practices.
“Those plays take time. It’s probably one of the harder things besides pass protection, which takes the most time — especially against our defense,” Dawson said. “But that connection down the field of quarterback-receiver timing, it takes time. We’re not where we need to be with that.”
Miami returns quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and most of the wide receivers from last season. The returning wide receivers combined for 142 catches, 1,575 yards and nine touchdowns. Pro Football Focus gave UM a 69.9 receiver grade, which ranked 77th in the nation. Injuries limited key receivers Jacolby George and Xavier Restrepo, and Van Dyke’s shoulder injury occurred right as Colbie Young was starting to break out. Those three receivers are expected to be key contributors this year.
The Hurricanes have also struggled with dropped passes at times in recent years. Last year, they had 25 dropped passes. But Dawson said he has not seen anything alarming in practice so far, and he credited Miami’s defense for doing well in coverage.
“It’s normal. We need to be overall more consistent, but it isn’t anything that’s skewed out of proportion right now,” Dawson said. “Kids are straining, defense (is) straining. Are we catching every ball? No. Are we catching our fair share? Yes. Do we need to catch more? Absolutely.
“We need to do better with contested catches. When things are tough, we’ve got a few guys that are making contested catches unbelievably, and then at times, we get the ball batted out when the ball hits our hands. Our defense does a good job of getting that third arm in there.”
Seymore reportedly enters transfer portal
The Hurricanes will lose another offensive lineman to the transfer portal. Third-year redshirt sophomore Laurance Seymore is transferring, according to On3Sports.
Seymore, a Miami Central High alum, arrived at UM as a four-star prospect, according to 247Sports’ composite ranking.
Seymore played in two games in 2021 but saw the field more last season as injuries mounted for Miami’s offensive line. He played in six games, starting four. He played 254 offensive snaps at offensive guard, earning a 56.6 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus. The site gave him 60.7 run-blocking grade and a 37.7 pass-blocking grade.
The Hurricanes lost tackle John Campbell Jr. and center Jakai Clark in the transfer portal during the offseason, but the coaching staff revamped the offensive line with transfer additions Javion Cohen and Matt Lee, as well as touted freshmen Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola.
