Grading the Hurricanes: What are Miami’s strengths and weaknesses for the 2024 season?

If the Miami Hurricanes want to have a successful 2024 season, compete for the Atlantic Coast Conference title and potentially get into the expanded College Football Playoff field, they will be relying on a lot of new faces.

As many as a dozen players expected to start or get significant playing time joined the team this year via the transfer portal. And that doesn’t begin to count the Hurricanes’ freshman class that could see its share of contributors this season, too.

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of where the team stands heading into its season opener against the Florida Gators on Aug. 31 in Gainesville.

Quarterbacks | A-

Cam Ward became face of the team the moment he decided to bypass the NFL draft and transferred to Miami out of Washington State. He’s the preseason ACC Player of the Year, a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate and, for at least one year, should give the Hurricanes a quality player at the most important position on offense as they make a push in the ACC and potentially for the College Football Playoffs.

Reese Poffenbarger, another transfer out of FCS Albany, and sophomore Emory Williams will back up Ward.

Running backs | B+

In addition to Ward, the Hurricanes found themselves another veteran in the transfer portal out of the Pac-12 in Damien Martinez. He has a track record for being a bell cow and will likely take the bulk of Miami’s carries.

But the running back room extends far beyond Martinez. Mark Fletcher Jr. and Ajay Allen were part of Miami’s four-person committee in the backfield in 2023 and combined to rush for 875 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Chris Johnson, Jordan Lyle and Chris Wheatley-Humphrey should round out the group to give Miami six viable options in the backfield.

Wide receivers | A-

The Hurricanes have three legitimate threats in seniors Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George and Sam Brown, all of whom have the potential for 1,000-yard seasons. George and Brown, the latter of whom transferred in from Houston, are big-play threats waiting to happen on the outside, while Restrepo gives Ward a steady option out of the slot.

Beyond them, true freshmen Joshisa “JoJo” Trader and Ny Carr have stood out so far in camp. Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Horton is primed to take another step as well.

Tight ends | C

There’s a lot of potential in this group in redshirt junior Elijah Arroyo, true freshman Elija Lofton and ninth-year senior Cam McCormick, but until they produce on the field, it’s just that — potential.

Arroyo has been a non-factor the past two seasons while dealing with injury. Lofton is a four-star prospect out of Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman. McCormick served as Miami’s primary starter last season but was used mostly in a blocking role. If any is able to carve out a role in Miami’s passing game, it adds yet another weapon for Ward.

Offensive line | A-

The Hurricanes return three starters from last year’s offensive line in fifth-year junior Jalen Rivers, sophomore Francis Mauigoa and junior Anez Cooper. Rivers will start at left tackle. Cooper is at right guard. Mauigoa will start at either left guard or right tackle.

From there, fifth-year senior Zach Carpenter, who transferred in from Indiana, will take over at center.

As for the fifth spot, it will most likely come down to redshirt freshman Samson Okulona (right tackle or left guard) or redshirt sophomore Matthew McCoy (left guard). Ryan Rodriguez is slated to be one of the top backups on the interior of the line.

Defensive line | A

The Hurricanes are stacked on the defensive line.

It starts with sophomore end Rueben Bain Jr., the reigning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. Akheem Mesidor, Tyler Baron and Elijah Alston round out the two-deep on the edge.

Inside, a trio of transfers in C.J. Clark, Marley Cook, Simeon Barrow Jr. will lead the charge. The three have a combined 125 games of experience and have a collective 243 tackles, 45 tackles for loss and 25 sacks over 125 games of experience at their previous stops before joining the Hurricanes.

Linebackers | B-

Francisco Mauigoa’s decision to return to Miami for his redshirt senior season gives a significant boost to Miami’s linebacker corps. Mauigoa led the ACC with 18 tackles for loss last season and will once again serve as the backbone of the group. Beyond Mauigoa, junior Wesley Bissainthe looks to take another step forward in his second season as a starter. Jaylin Alderman, a transfer from Louisville, and sophomore Raul “Papo” Aguirre Jr. are also expected to get significant playing time.

Defensive backs | B-

The secondary faces the most turnover on the defense, with just one starter in fifth-year senior Daryl Porter Jr. returning from last season’s team.

Jadais Richard is slated to start opposite Porter while sophomore Damari Brown is expected to get the bulk of the reps at nickel corner.

Meanwhile, Washington transfer Mishael Powell will hold down one safety spot. The second will likely be a rotation among redshirt sophomores Jaden Harris and Markeith Williams as well as true freshman Zaquan Patterson.

Miami also has Marshall transfer Dyoni Hill and true freshman Romanas “OJ” Frederique to fill in roles as needed.

Special teams | A

Kicker Andres Borregales is back for his senior year. He has made 83.6 percent of his career field goals (56 of 67) and all but one of his 122 career extra-point attempts.

Dylan Joyce averaged 43.8 yards per punt as a freshman last season, with 15 of his 43 landing inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and seven going at least 50 yards.