Miami OC Shannon Dawson Praises Titans WR Xavier Restrepo: 'Hard To Cut'

In a surprising turn of events last month, former Miami Hurricanes star wide receiver Xavier Restrepo was not selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. A poor performance caused by a minor injury at his Miami Pro Day dropped his stock to the point that he didn't hear his name called.

However, that may have been a blessing in disguise because following the conclusion of the draft, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tennessee Titans and reunited with his former Miami teammate, quarterback Cam Ward. The duo posted prolific numbers together last season. However, being an undrafted free agent leaves you at risk of not making the 53-man roster.

When Xavier Restrepo got the call that he was joining his college QB Cam Ward in Tennessee 🙏 @Titans | @XavierRestrepo1 pic.twitter.com/V0dmXGdKky
— NFL (@NFL) April 27, 2025

Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson almost prophetically seemed to see this situation playing out prior to Miami's final game in 2024, and spoke about almost this exact situation:

“I would say that if he’s on your team in camp, he’s going to be on your team when the season starts. It’s going to be hard to cut him because he’s going to work hard every day. He’s going to make plays. He might not look a certain way, he might not run a 40 the way you typically are wanting him to run. But if he’s on your squad Day 1, he’s going to be hard to cut because he’s going to be that guy every day.”

Dawson also spoke about what he meant to the Hurricanes and explained what makes him so successful:

“The kid’s done everything. He’s going to leave here with every record. … If you look back through the history of this place, he stands with some mountains, and he deserves it. He worked his tail off. He stayed extremely consistent. If you look at his career, there was a lot of things that changed. Some kids handle change well and some kids don’t handle change well. He’s had coordinator changes, he’s had head coaching changes, he’s had quarterback changes, and he’s kind of weathered it all. He’s stayed pretty consistent to who he was. Regardless of who’s throwing the ball or who’s calling the plays, he’s just been extremely consistent.”

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