Cristobal: Miami's WRs Are 'a Work In Progress', Restrepo Shows Leadership
Photo: Miami Hurricanes wide receivers; Credit: Collier Logan, AllHurricanes.com
With the return of starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, the addition of head coach Mario Cristobal and his star-studded staff and a No. 16 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, expectations for the Miami Hurricanes are high entering the 2022 season.
There are question marks; however, especially at the wide receiver position, which lost its two biggest contributors from a season ago in Charleston Rambo and Mike Harley. The unit is packed with talent, but the absence of proven production and consistency raises some concern after Miami's first scrimmage of the fall.
"The receiver position continues to be a work in progress. We're trying multiple guys at multiple positions," Cristobal told reporters after Monday's practice.
"We're going to keep that competition alive, it needs to be, and demand the most of them and really not gonna sugarcoat it. We need to keep getting better at a lot of positions, that's one of them. There is progress, but we still gotta have more. There's a lot of room for growth."
The position group does draw some parallels to Miami's wideouts of the 2020 season, which was a unit that had a lot of first-year starters who had previously not played much at the college level. The receivers that year were a weak point in what was otherwise a strong offense, failing to create adequate separation on routes and routinely dropping catchable passes.
Miami's 2022 receiving corp has dealt with their share of dropped passes through fall camp. Monday's practice, during the portion that was open to the media, featured an onslaught of drops in a controlled setting with no defense.
Third-year wideout Xavier Restrepo, the Hurricanes' leading returning receiver from 2021, has recognized and taken accountability for these hiccups.
"That's a big emphasis right now in the receiving room, it's catching balls," Restrepo said. "We're just gonna stay on our guys, keep catching, even myself, just stay consistent with the catching."
"I take 100% ownership of all that. Whether it's third-team, fourth-team, first-team, second-team, it's on me. So, every drop you see out there, it's on me."
There is reason for optimism; though, as Miami's receivers had a similarly slow start at the beginning of spring practice before heating up and finding their collective rhythm towards the end of it.
The hope amongst Hurricanes coaches and players is that the unit will replicate a similar trajectory leading into their season-opener on Sept. 3 against Bethune-Cookman.
AllHurricanes.com is your home for all things Miami Hurricanes football, recruiting, basketball and other athletics, all the time. Follow along on social media at @AllHurricanes on Twitter and All Hurricanes on Facebook for round-the-clock news and analysis.
