Today On CT: Miami Football Practice Kicks Off
It’s officially Football Time in the Sunshine State. We are now only one month away from the Hurricanes vs. the Gators of Florida at Ben Hill Griffen. Miami kicks off the 2024 season today with the first football practice of the season.
Even though they aren’t in full equipment, the Canes are a full-go as they install the offensive and defensive playbooks. It’s about a two-week process. We’ll get to see the Canes at the end of the week grind this Saturday at CaneFest.
Can You Feel the Excitement?
It’s not sure the Miami Nation that’s fired up for Miami football. The Canes have juice.
Fall Storylines
Cam Ward Develops Big Time Chemistry — The Hurricanes’ new QB1 is ready to roll. Cam Ward was a dynamic player at Washington State, but will he be able to keep that up now with Mario Cristobal at Miami? We’ve seen QBs drop in production under Cristobal’s watch, so that’s something to watch this season.
New Leaders on Defense — Kamren Kitchens was the voice of the UM defense for like 2 years. The torch has now been passed to former Blue Chip recruits: Rueben Bain, Mishael Powell and Damari Brown or Dayryl Porter.
Defensive Line is no Joke — Don’t be surprised if this becomes one of the best position groups on the team in 2024. The pieces are in place and Miami could make a run again at being a top-10 defense due to what is available in the trenches. Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry has stability with a high ceiling on the line of scrimmage. That could go a long way.
Four-star center Jaden Toombs names Miami in his top five
2025 four-star center Jaden Toombs announced his top five on social media Monday night and as expected the Hurricanes made the cut.
2025 four-star center Jaden Toombs announced his top five on Instagram on Monday night and as expected the Hurricanes made the cut. Joining Miami on that list are Alabama, LSU, Texas Tech and SMU.
The center from Dallas Dynamic Prep is rated as the 5th-best center nationally, and the 5th-best overall prospect in Texas for the 2025 class.
The Mustangs are considered the slight favorite with the Red Raiders not far behind according to the On3 recruiting prediction machine.
Brandon Jenkins of 247Sports has the following scouting report on Toombs:
“Toombs is a true center who consistently plays with effort. He is strong and skilled enough to post up with confidence and is effective in playing on the block. All of his production offensively comes as a finisher inside.
“He has solid hands to catch passes in tight spaces and a nice touch to score off soft hooks in a crowd with reliability. His work ethic towards getting better is displayed through his body. His frame and conditioning have noticeably improved over the years as he has been a steadfast worker in being a big who can get up and down the floor.
Three Hurricanes named to preseason awards
The University of Miami was one of only two schools to have three student-athletes on the preseason watch list for the 2024 Maxwell Award, as announced on Monday by the Maxwell Football Club.
Running back Damien Martinez, wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, and quarterback Cam Ward was all the players to watch for the award, which has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937.
Stay tuned to CanesToday
Stay tuned to CanesToday as we will be pouring out coverage on the first Hurricanes fall camp.
Trinton is the owner of CanesToday. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, he is a freshman in high school and wants to graduate from the University of Miami
