Miami will look to drastically improve upon Mario Cristobal’s first year in charge in which the Hurricanes finished 5-7. The Canes simply did not put up enough points on the board which led to the firing of offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who now holds the same title at the University of Maryland.
Under new play-caller Shannon Dawson and a healthy Tyler Van Dyke the offense should score a sizable number of points more than the 23.6 points a game the team averaged last year. Dawson is known for running the “Air-Raid’ offense which replaces Gattis’ run heavy scheme. As for the defense, they will also have a new coach at the helm in Lance Guidry who was previously with Marshall.
Offensive Outlook for 2023
With a healthy quarterback in Tyler Van Dyke and a drastically improved offensive line, the Canes will look to rebound from an extremely poor season last year on the offensive side of the ball. Miami will also look to have a healthy Zion Nelson this year as well as two starting caliber transfers in Matt Lee from UCF and Javion Cohen from Alabama.
The Canes also bring in two five star recruits on the line in Francis Maugoa and Samson Okunlola. Also, even though there aren’t any dominant wide receivers on the team the new offensive scheme should help create plenty of catch and run opportunities and help simplify the offense. Dawson’s system is QB and receiver friendly which should lead to better numbers all around individually and as a team.
Defensive Outlook for 2023
The defense will be anchored by returning All-American safety Kamren Kinchens. He will look to lead a safety group that also includes former five-star recruit James Williams. That said, there are some holes the Canes will need to fill in the secondary. They need to replace last year’s starters at cornerback in Tyrique Stevenson and DJ Ivey. Guidry will have his work cut out to field a cohesive secondary unit this upcoming season.
On the defensive line the Canes will be lead by former five-star recruit Leonard Taylor III on the interior and defensive ends Akheem Mesidor and Jahfari Harvey. The linebacker room looks to be improved this year with the addition of Francisco Maugioa from Washington State through the transfer portal. Even though there are a lot of unknowns on the defensive side of things, I think Miami will improve on a defense that ranked 66th nationally allowing 28 ppg.
Special teams Outlook for 2023
The Canes bring back kicker Andres Borregales who is a solid piece at the position. They will not have fan favorite Lou Hedley at the punter position however, but it seems like they will be solid there again as they bring in another Australian punter in Dylan Joyce.
It is tough to tell as to who Miami’s main return man on punts and kickoffs will be, but they should be fine there will the amount of pure athletes they have on the roster.
Prediction
I look for Miami to be better than 5-7 in 2023. With an easy schedule and a great recruiting class they should at least be a 9 win team and look forward to winning their bowl game. Although they won’t win the ACC most likely, they should be able to finish in the top 3 or 4 this year. The ACC isn’t going by divisions anymore which makes the path to the ACC championship game a little tougher and the Canes need more talent to compete with the likes of Clemson and Florida State.
With that being said this year should be a year of massive growth for the team especially on the offensive side of the ball but due to the many questions on the defensive side they won’t be able to quite pursue an ACC championship. The Canes still need one or two more great recruiting classes to compete for ACC titles and get back in national contention.
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