Miami Hurricanes

> Cam Ward was the star of the spring game, going 18-of-28 for 275 yards and three touchdowns, according to InsideTheU's unofficial stats. Xavier Restrepo caught seven passes for 113 yards and one touchdown in the game.

The University of Miami’s April 13 spring game will be on campus at Cobb Stadium, thus limited in attendance because of the smaller venue and made available first to season-ticket holders who are Hurricane Club members, according to several sources.

Students will also be allowed to attend, based on availability.

What are Miami's keys to reaching the big dance in 2024?

Alex DonnoFeb 26, 2024 5:31 PM EST

The Miami Hurricanes are considered a team to watch when forecasting the first 12-team College Football Playoff next year.

The Hurricanes are ranked 24th in ESPN's Way Too Early Top 25. Miami has a manageable schedule. Their annual matchup against Florida State will be at home this year. Their other most difficult games on paper will be at Florida and at Louisville. If Miami can win the ACC they'd be guaranteed a spot in the playoff. The top five conference winners are guaranteed a spot, while the next seven seeds go to the highest remaining teams overall.

ESPN's Heather Dinich examined the way too early Top 25 and explained the path to the playoffs for each team.

On Miami:

How to impress the committee: Take a knee? Just kidding. No really, though, Miami can't lose to Georgia Tech again, or suffer an upset because of self-inflicted wounds. If the Canes are going to take the next step, they have to win convincingly against unranked, subpar teams and they have to earn a few statement wins against ranked opponents. There might only be two such opportunities during the regular season -- Oct. 19 at Louisville and Oct. 26 vs. Florida State. While the schedule is challenging with six road games -- including the Oct. 5 trip to Cal -- there isn't a blockbuster game that's going to help separate the Canes from another contender that doesn't win its league. Miami likely needs to win the ACC -- or hope a win at Florida and a handful of other opponents means more to the committee on Selection Day than it appears to now.

Dinich isn't wrong about avoiding self-inflicted wounds. Even before the Georgia Tech debacle, Miami earned a reputation in recent years of sometimes not showing up against lesser opposition. While it's too early to truly handicap the strength of schedule, she's correct in the idea that winning the ACC would provide the safest path. You can expect most of the 6th through 12th spots to go to teams from the SEC and the Big 10.

I thought men’s basketball would be much better given last year’s Final Four run. Baseball is off to a mediocre start. I’m tempering my expectations for the new football season, but also can’t wait for it to start…

> MIAMI – Two of the greatest Miami Hurricanes in football history will get to rock their well-deserved gold jackets after being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Thursday night.

> Return specialist Devin Hester and wide receiver Andre Johnson were among those to be enshrined as members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

> Hester and Johnson are the first Hurricanes to receive the honor since running back Edgerrin James in 2020.

> They become the 10th and 11th Hurricanes to enter the Hall of Fame, joining James, Ted Hendricks, Michael Irvin, Jim Kelly, Cortez Kennedy, Ray Lewis, Jim Otto, Ed Reed and Warren Sapp.

> During his 10-year career, Hester became the greatest returner in NFL history, setting records for most punt returns for touchdowns (14), and total special teams touchdowns (20 – 5 kickoffs, 14 punts, 1 missed field goal).

> He was a four-time Pro Bowler in his 11 seasons with the Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks. Among his most dominant campaigns was his rookie year of 2006, when he had six kick return touchdowns.

> Johnson, who was selected with the third pick of the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft, had a dominant career with the Houston Texans.

> Johnson totaled over 1,000 catches, 14,000 receiving yards and had 70 touchdowns over his illustrious career. He was a two-time First-Team All-Pro selection, two-time Second-Team All-Pro pick and twice led the NFL in receiving yards.

> Through Johnson’s 12 seasons with the Texans (2003-14), he became the club’s all-time leader in nearly every receiving category.

> Johnson made history as the first Texans player to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

> Former Hurricane and Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne was also a nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame but was not selected in the class of 2024.

> He will look to become the 12th Hurricanes player to wear the gold jacket.

The schedule is now out for Year 3 of the Mario Cristobal era.

The Canes will open at Florida on Aug. 31.

After that, the Canes have back-to-back home games.

Canes started slow in the first half, but erupted for 60 pts in the second. Omier, Cleveland, and Pack all put up over 20 pts. Solid performance overall!

He’s opted for the NFL Draft. Meanwhile, since they apparently put all of their eggs into the Ward basket, most other decent QB options from the portal are already heading elsewhere.

Miami definitely needs more depth at the QB position, so I think they are going to have to do something. Malachi Nelson is an option, even if he doesn’t become our starter. Will Howard is technically still available, but he seems to be leaning toward OSU from what I’ve read.

I suppose we will see what happens.

TLDR: He’s deciding between Miami or entering the NFL Draft.

Feel free to discuss the game here or over at [email protected]

C.J. Clark is 6’3” 305lb, 6th year senior DT transfer from NC State. Great addition!

The 4-star DL is 6’4” 250 lbs. Jackson was previously committed to UF.

A decent number of Canes are hitting the transfer portal, but that’s not all that surprising. The portal is also filled with some great options to replace areas of need. I think this coming year will be an important one to gauge which direction this team is heading.

What are your thoughts for the football offseason?

While the season has been disappointing, this flip is huge. Scott is a 6’4” 310lb DT from Chicago, and the #7 overall player in the country. He was initially committed to Ohio State.

Canes Mens Basketball will play for the 2023 Bahamas Championship on Sunday.

Go Canes!

It’s a welcome distraction from the football team. Feel free to chat about the game here.

Feel free to use this post for pregame, live, or postgame discussion. Or check out the post later tonight at [email protected].

He’s the #4 overall ranked JUCO player, and is a whopping 6’8” 370 lbs! Great get!

It’s a long shot, but the Canes still have a chance to play for the ACC title thanks to their win and UNC’s loss last night.

First and foremost, the Canes need to win out. That is a tall order with both FSU and Louisville on their schedule.

Other than that, UNC and GT both need to lose one more each.

It’d be great to control our own destiny, and to have the last 30 seconds of the GT game back. But, at least there is something to watch for the rest of the season.

Booker Picket, Jr was a first team MaxPrep Junior All-American last year. Miami now holds the number 10 recruit class.

Feel free to post your pregame, live, and postgame thoughts here or over at [email protected].

Go Canes!

Feel free to post your pregame, live, and postgame thoughts here or over at [email protected].