Hurricanes Football Comes In At 12th On 247Sports Way Too Early Top 25
Miami hasn't even had their spring game, but the expectations for them seem to be high nationwide.
Brad Crawford of 247Sports shared his Way Too Early 2024 College Football Top 25 and the Hurricanes find themselves ranked at number 12 in the rankings. Miami is one of six ACC teams ranked (Florida State, Clemson, Louisville, Virginia Tech, NC State the others) and the top ACC team of that group.
Here is what Crawford had to say about Miami being the 12th best team:
Why the seven-spot jump for Miami over the last five weeks? For starters, the acquisition of Washington State quarterback Cam Ward was the elite piece this Hurricanes team needed to go from potentially really good to great in 2024. The schedule's favorable by ACC standards, too. Mario Cristobal needs to show forward momentum in Year 3 at the program after getting to bowl season and losing to Rutgers to cap an up and down 2023 campaign and has a prime opportunity to do so with a difference-maker under center and talent elsewhere.
As expected a major reason for Miami's rise in the rankings is Cam Ward, who currently sits at +2000 odds to win the Heisman per FanDuel Sportsbook (tied for ninth best odds).
Additionally, Miami has some key returners such as Francisco Mauigoa, Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George that were some of top producers last season in the nation. Miami also has some young talent that will look to take a leap in production, with players like Rueben Bain Jr., Mark Fletcher Jr., Francis Mauigoa, and Damari Brown to name a few.
To go along with a top ranked recruiting class for the 2024 cycle, Mario Cristobal and his staff finally have the pieces in place to be serious contenders in the ACC. While there are still some question marks such as secondary coach with Jahmile Addae's departure and who will emerge as the third wideout, Miami will definitely be players at the next transfer window to add more talent.
However, the season still remains a while from now as it won't be until August 31st where Miami will kick-off the season at The Swamp against the Florida Gators. In the meantime, the national opinion seems to believe Miami could finally break through.
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