Bryce Fitzgerald is Already Flirting With Miami Greatness in This Stat
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When Bryce Fitzgerald entered last Saturday's matchup against Texas A&M, he had already put up one of the more impressive defensive seasons for a true freshman in recent memory for Miami's defensive backfield.
When the final buzzer sounded on Miami's 10-3 win, though, he had picked off A&M quarterback Marcel Reed not once, but twice. He elevated his season into another stratosphere of evaluation in just one game. Fitzgerald's tackle numbers don't jump off the page, but his six interceptions on the season sure do.
Half of those picks came in the last two games of the season with Fitzgerald swiping one possession away from the Pitt Panthers in Miami's final regular season game. The three earlier picks came from three separate games earlier in the season, as the Miami native snagged one pick each against Bethune-Cookman, USF, and Florida State.
Those numbers have Fitzgerald already flirting with rarified air in his first season at the U. For instance, if he replicates his six-pick performance next season, he will already find himself in the top 10 rankings for career interceptions at Miami.
Ed Reed currently leads the way with 21 total interceptions during his career at the U, followed by Bennie Blades with 19, Jim Dooley with 17, Fred Marion with 16, Sean Taylor with 14, Whitey Rouviere and Gene Coleman with 13 a piece, and finally, Bryan Ferguson, Roland Smith, and Kamren Kitchens are all tied for 8-10th with 11 picks a piece.
Can Bryce Fitzgerald Break Into the Top 10 Miami Interceptions Rankings?
That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? Obviously, there are some positional differences here. It's easy for teams to simply not throw at Fitzgerald from his cornerback spot. If he played safety, he'd be able to roam a bit more freely, but he typically finds himself manned-up on the outside.
That being said, he's been the definition of a ball hawk for Miami thus far in 2025, and he's still found ways to manufacture turnovers. Additionally, being just a freshman, Fitzgerald has the chance to play at least another two years for the orange and green before taking his talents to the NFL, and of couse, could stay for longer if he so chooses.
Time is on his side at the very least, and so is the competition. There's hope that he's about to get more help in the form of Damari Brown returning from injury. Brown, a redshirt sophomore, was sidelined against A&M, but hopes remain high that he'll be a full go against Ohio State.
If that's the case, Fitzgerald could see his target share go up, giving him a few more chances to elevate the status of what has already been an more-than-impressive freshman campaign.
