Miami Hurricanes Recruiting News

Miami Hurricanes 2020 Player Profile: Safety Avantae Williams - State of The U

Recruiting intel about visitors that will impact Miami’s 2024 recruiting class

As the final home game for the Miami Hurricanes takes place, the recruiting efforts have been ramping up. Here’s what was learned last night regarding two current Florida State commitments.

For the Hurricanes, safety CJ Heard from Atlanta (Ga.) Woodward Academy, and cornerback Ricky Knight III from West Palm Beach (Fla.) Cardinal Newman, should be considered prime flip candidates.

Based on the intel provided, Miami or otherwise, there’s a good chance that neither recruit ends up playing for the Seminoles. As always, recruiting news like this has been and continues to be fluid. That stated, if either one ended up committing to the Canes – this weekend or down the road – it wouldn’t be surprising.

Miami Hurricanes 2020 Player Profile: Safety Avantae Williams - State of The U

The other player that’s arguably been the most intriguing to follow from a national perspective, Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland defensive line recruit LJ McCray. He has decided to visit Miami this weekend with friend and teammate Zavier Mincey, a top cornerback that the Canes would also be quite happy to have in their 2024 recruiting class.

McCray’s recruitment has been crazy as he’s committed to the Florida Gators, but Auburn and Florida State have definitely stayed in the picture from what’s been learned. McCray and Mincey visited FSU for the Miami game. After today, Miami will have had its chance to impress the two talented recruits as well, and they’ve been all over both top-notch recruits, too.

Finally, a reminder to all who have followed Miami recruiting. We’ve entered flip season, i.e. crazy season, because of NIL and coaching moves more than anything else. Note: Any recruit coming or going from a recruiting class shouldn’t completely shock anyone.

Miami Hurricanes 2020 Player Profile: Safety Avantae Williams - State of The U

Prediction, Preview, and Odds
115 Miami – FL vs.
116 Boston College

Two six-win ACC teams close out their regular season on Friday when the Miami Hurricanes (6-5, 5-6 ATS, 2-5 ACC) head north to take on the Boston College Eagles (6-5, 4-7 ATS, 3-4 ACC). Both teams are bowl eligible, but are in the bottom half of the ACC standings, BC is 8th and Miami is 10th. In Miami’s last game, they lost to Louisville 38-31 as 1.5-point home favorites. BC just lost on the road in Pittsburgh, going down 24-16 to the Panthers as 2.5-point dogs. Miami is currently listed as 8.5-point road favorites. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 EST from Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, and can be found on ABC.

When the going gets tough, our NCAAF Picks get winning!

Canes Drop Three Straight
Miami has not had their typically successful season, but their record may be slightly misleading. Over the past two weeks Miami has played two top ten teams, and only lost by seven in each contest. Miami played #4 Florida State and #10 Louisville close, but ultimately lost in one score games. Their third loss was worse, going down in NC State 20-6 as 6-point road favorites. In their most recent game against Louisville, they held a 28-23 lead going into the 4th, but could not hold on in the end.
Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is closing out his final season, he was excellent against the Cards last week, throwing for 327 yards and a touchdown. On the year he is averaging 219.4 yards per game, with a 17-12 TD-INT ratio. Turnovers have been a problem recently for Van Dyke, over the last four games he has a 1-6 TD-INT ratio. Xavier Restrepo is their best skill position player, the 5’10 receiver averages 79.6 yards per game, and has five TDs on the year. Restrepo had 193 receiving yards last week against Louisville. Jacolby Jones is another solid receiver, the 6’0 junior adds 69.3 YPG and has seven TDs. The Canes have two backs with the same exact amount of yards coming into this game, Henry Parrish Jr. and Mark Fletcher Jr. each have 468 yards and four TDs on the year.

Miami is 5th out of the 14 teams in the ACC in scoring with 30.9 points per game, and their defense ranks 6th by allowing 22.3 per game. Safety James Williams leads the team in tackles with 69 on the year, linebacker Francisco Mauigoa is right behind him with 61 tackles, and adds a team high 6.5 sacks. Safety Kamren Kinchens leads the team with five interceptions. The Canes have forced 16 turnovers in 11 games this season.

Successful Season for BC

Every team wants to compete for a National Championship, but it is not always a realistic goal. Boston College was projected to finish 13th in the conference, only ahead of Virginia. The Eagles far outplayed their expectations, and currently sit 8th in the conference. BC had solid ACC wins this season over G-Tech, Syracuse and Virginia, but not face a tougher challenge hosting Miami.

Thomas Catellanos is the starting quarterback for the Eagles, he is a dual threat that tends to run more than he passes. He is averaging 181.4 passing yards per game, and leads the team with 75.2 rushing yards per game. The 5’10 sophomore has a 14-11 TD-INT ratio this season. His top target has been Lewis Bond, he can be seen in the video above grabbing a touchdown, he averages 51.4 receiving yards per game and has six touchdowns. No other receiver has multiple touchdowns on the year. Their top running back is Kye Robichaux, he adds 62.1 rushing yards per game and has six touchdowns.

Boston College ranks 10th in the ACC in scoring with 25.5 points per game, and their defense ranks 12th by allowing 28.1 per. Linebacker Vinny DePalma leads the team in tackles with 83, and defensive back Elijah Jones leads the way with five interceptions. No player on their defense has more than two sacks. The team has 13 takeaways through 11 games this year.

Injury Report: No new injuries that will affect their depth chart.

Miami Hurricanes 2020 Player Profile: Safety Avantae Williams - State of The U