Miami's Third Option Comes From Unexpected Source
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — No. 10 Miami (6-1, 2-1 ACC) has had questions about "who" would be the third option in the wide receiver core.
Star freshman Malachi Toney and senior CJ Daniels have been the one-two punch for quarterback Carson Beck. However, in the Louisville loss, highlighted something that would concern the Canes in future games. They don't have a consistent third option.
That changed against Stanford. The Hurricanes saw more playing time from Tony Johnson, Joshisa Trader, and Joshua Moore.
Each had a pivotal role in the game, but the star of the show was Johnson. The Cinnicannit transfer had been buying his time with the Canes, and he proved to be a weapon for them when they needed someone else. He finished the game with three receptions and 69 yards.
"We did some four-wide and created some air in the run game, and he is a guy we think highly of," Mario Cristobal said after the Stanford win. "He has been working hard to earn playing time. Josh Moore has worked hard, and JoJo Trader has worked hard."
During Monday's press conference, Cristobal highlighted how those three can play a major role going into the final stretch of the season and how important the depth of the wide receiver room. He also highlighted how important removing the mental errors was.
Read More: Everything Mario Cristobal Said Ahead of Facing Familiar Faces at SMU
"Probably what we all see, we see a lot of potential in all those guys, and then we see the areas where we got to get better at," Cristobal said. "One thing that you have to do by mid-season, you have to eliminate any mental mistakes, right? Techniques and fundamentals have got to get better. And certainly you can't allow drops to happen. Okay, we had a couple in the game. Not the young guys, maybe more the older guys, but we saw improvement. We saw it in practice.
"The past two and a half weeks have been much more productive and much more consistent. Now we got to carry all that consistency over to the game because the details of that position nowadays, especially in some of those condensed formations, or in some of the plays that bring an extra guy in the box, those guys are responsible for a lot. It's more than just running around, catching the ball, so alignment assignments are important. Splits are important. Footwork is important. We saw a lot of progress, a lot of promise, and all those guys, and we expect their roles to continue to increase and then to continue to get better."
With that progress from everyone, the Hurricanes have a chance to spread the offense out some more and give other guys more opportunities. Moore, Trader, and Johnson are just some of the names that can be called on, while others will be preparing in case their names are called.
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.