The Miami Hurricanes will once again feature plenty of talent on offense in 2025.
On paper, UM has added players via the portal to bolster its personnel on the offensive side of the football—and if it all comes together the Hurricanes can once again challenge for being the best attack in the conference.
How does Miami’s offense compare position-by-position to their 2025 opponents? This article attempts to take a closer look.
Here is a reminder of UM’s 2025 schedule:
– 8/31 (Sunday) vs. Notre Dame
– 9/6 vs. Bethune Cookman
– 9/13 vs. South Florida
– 9/20 vs. Florida
– Bye
– 10/4 @Florida State
– Bye
– 10/17 (Friday) Louisville
– 10/25 Stanford
– 11/1 @SMU
– 11/8 Syracuse
– 11/15 NC State
– 11/22 @Virginia Tech
– 11/29 @Pittsburgh
The toughest opponents and biggest football brands on Miami’s schedule are in the first half of the season.
UM will open its 2025 season with a Top 25 match-up against Notre Dame on Labor Day weekend. In week four, the Hurricanes will host in-state rival Florida, who will likely be a preseason Top 25 team. UM then has a couple of bye weeks between the fifth and sixth games on the schedule before ACC opponents FSU and Louisville.
The second half of the schedule is all ACC teams, with a road trip to SMU looking like the most dangerous game of that bunch at this point.
How do UM’s position groups on offense compare to the rest of the ACC? Read on for our thoughts.
QUARTERBACK
1. Carson Beck (Miami)
2. Kevin Jennings (SMU)
3. DJ Lagway (Florida)
4. Cedric Bailey (NC State)
5. Miller Moss (Louisville)
Overview: You wouldn’t know it based on preseason top quarterback lists, but Beck is one of the top returning players at his position in the country. Beck projects as a top three round NFL Draft pick, has been productive, throwing for over 7,400 yards and accounting for 57 touchdowns over his last two years as a starter at Georgia, and has led the Bulldogs to a 24-3 record as a starter in the SEC. Beck is in his sixth year at the college level and is poised to produce at Miami as a talented veteran…Jennings impressed as a first-year starter at SMU last year, leading the Mustangs to an 11-3 record while throwing for 3,245 yards and 23 touchdowns while rushing for 354 yards and five touchdowns. Against ACC competition, Jennings averaged 285 passing yards per game and totaled 19 passing touchdowns. He may not be much of a pro prospect, but Jennings is a good college quarterback…Lagway has a lot of potential and in 2025 he will look to produce and lead Florida to a higher level of winning. Lagway flashed talent as a true freshman in 2024, throwing for 1,915 yards with 12 touchdowns, but he needs to take the next step as a consistent passer…Bailey was a productive true freshman starter at NC State, throwing for 2,413 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 279 yards and five touchdowns. Bailey has a lot of upside and potential to tap into and brings a gunslingers mentality to the field…Moss will be the next reclamation project for Jeff Brohm. Moss threw for 2,555 yards with 18 touchdowns in nine games at USC. At Louisville, Brohm will put Moss in a position to succeed and produce.
The is a strong group of quarterbacks. Each one of the quarterbacks listed above can get into trouble with being too aggressive and making poor decisions. The quarterbacks that do the best job of toeing the line of aggressive playmaking and protecting the football will have the most success.
RUNNING BACK
1. Notre Dame
2. Louisville
3. Florida
4. Miami
5. FSU
Overview: At 6-feet and 210 pounds, Love will enter the 2025 season as arguably the top running back in the country after rushing for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. The combination of speed and power that Love possesses is elite. Love’s back-up, Jadarian Price ran for 746 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024. At 5-feet-10 and 215 pounds, Price also runs with impressive power…Louisville returns Isaac Brown, who ran for 1,173 yards and 11 touchdowns as a true freshman. Brown was one of the most explosive backs in the country last season, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Duke Watson returns as Brown’s back-up and brings impressive contact balance and explosive potential to the field after rushing for 597 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024…Jadan Baugh led Florida in rushing as a true freshman in 2024, totaling 673 yards and seven touchdowns. At 6-feet-1 and 227 pounds, Baugh is a big back who will get a heavier workload in 2025. Ja’Kobi Jackson will complement Baugh after rushing for 509 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024…Mark Fletcher is a steady back who ran for 607 yards and nine touchdowns as a back-up in 2024 and Jordan Lyle flashed explosive potential while rushing for 400 yards and four touchdowns as a true freshman. North Dakota State transfer CharMar Brown will bolster the depth after he ran for over 1,000 yards at the FCS level…FSU added Oklahoma transfer Gavin Sawchuk, who has run for 977 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career, and look for Roydell Williams to be more productive with his opportunities. Incoming freshman Ousmane Kromah is an intriguing talent.
Overall, Notre Dame and Louisville enter 2025 with the strongest backfields of this bunch. The positioning between Florida and Miami is debatable. The drop-off to FSU is steep.
WIDE RECEIVER
1. Notre Dame
2. Louisville
3. Miami
4. Florida
5. FSU
Overview: The Irish made an impactful addition in the portal by adding WR1 Malachi Fields from Virginia, who has totaled over 800 yards in each of the past two seasons. Jaden Greathouse brings some speed to the outside and Jordan Faison has potential to be a productive slot receiver because of his quickness in space…Louisville returns physically gifted receiver Chris Bell after he totaled 737 yards and four touchdowns. Caullin Lacy returns after an injury plagued season in 2024 and will look to get back on track with 2,713 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in his career. Bobby Golden is a productive slot transfer from Akron who totaled 446 yards and one touchdown in 2024. Dacari Collins arrives from NC State after catching 24 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns in 2024…The Hurricanes may not have a clearcut WR1 entering the 2025 season, but the Hurricanes will feature a combination of proven veterans and talented inexperienced players. Transfers CJ Daniels (LSU), Tony Johnson (Cincinnati), and Keelan Marion combined to accounted for 1,275 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024. JoJo Trader is a talented former Top 100 recruit who has the potential to be the most productive of the group. Malachi Toney is a true freshman to monitor in the slot too. This group will be challenging to defend as a whole…A healthy Eugene Wilson is a dangerous player for the Florida Gators and he will look to get back on track after playing in only four games in 2024. Transfer addition J. Michael Sturdivant has been a steady producer during his career, totaling 1,667 and 13 touchdowns during his time between California and UCLA. The Gators are looking for a third receiver to step up…The Seminoles will look for transfer portal additions in Duce Robinson (396 yards, 5 touchdowns at USC) and Squirrel White (381 yards, 2 touchdowns at Tennessee) to step up their production in bigger roles.
Overall, this is a solid bunch of receiver groups, but none of them are overwhelming with talent. If Louisville’s group takes the next step forward, they probably have the highest ceiling.
TIGHT END
1. NC State
2. Miami
3. Notre Dame
4. SMU
5. FSU
Overview: At 6-feet-3 and 240 pounds, Justin Joly returns after a highly productive 2024 campaign at NC State in which he totaled 661 yards and four touchdowns…Elija Lofton will step up into the TE1 role for Miami in 2025 and is expected to be a productive playmaker for the Hurricanes. Alex Bauman arrives as a veteran transfer from Tulane and caught seven touchdowns in 2024…Notre Dame always features talented tight ends and Eli Raridon is expected to be the next one in line…SMU would be higher on this list if RJ Maryland wasn’t coming back from a serious knee injury that was sustained last October. Maryland has totaled 1,173 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career…Randy Pittman Jr. arrives at FSU after catching 32 passes for 416 yards and two touchdowns for UCF.
Overall, Miami will have to be ready to defend some athletic tight ends this season.
OFFENSIVE LINE
1. Miami
2. Notre Dame
3. Florida
4. SMU
5. FSU
Overview: This is a toss-up between Miami and Notre Dame, but we will give the nod to the Hurricanes because they return four of five starters from 2024 and add a veteran transfer in James Brockermeyer from TCU. The Hurricanes have NFL talent all over the line, led by the offensive tackle duo of Francis Mauigoa and Markel Bell. Miami’s bunch is experienced and talented…Notre Dame is ultra talented in their own right at the offensive line position group. Anthonie Knapp was a steady true freshman starter at left tackle in 2024. Aamil Wagner returns after playing 973 snaps as the starting right tackle in 2024. Charles Jagusah is an ultra talented interior lineman. Billy Schrauth played 700 snaps at guard in 2024…Florida returns four starters from a 2024 offensive line that improved as the season progressed. Austin Barber is a physical left tackle and Jake Slaughter is one of the best centers in the SEC. Knijeah Harris and Damieon George have plenty of experience at the guard spots. Bryce Lovett emerged as the starting right tackle in the final month of the season, but that is still a position to monitor for UF…SMU returns impressive offensive tackle PJ Williams after he played 967 snaps for the Mustangs in 2024 and will look for Savion Byrd to improve his consistency level after playing 675 snaps last year. Logan Parr returns at guard after playing 835 snaps. Oklahoma transfer Josh Bates projects as the starting center after playing 164 snaps for the Sooners. Addison Nichols transfers in from Arkansas after playing 769 snaps on the interior for the Razorbacks…FSU is relying heavily on the portal to flip the offensive line position group. The Seminoles added big body types in LT Gunnar Hansen (Vanderbilt), RG Adrian Medley (UCF), and RT Micah Pettus (Ole Miss). Luke Petitbon is a center transfer from Wake Forest who has performed well in the ACC and Richie Leonard returns as a starter.
Overall, the offensive lines of Miami and Notre Dame are a cut above the rest of this group. Florida is a solid third and SMU is a solid line by ACC standards. It will be interesting to see how FSU’s offensive line jells together this season.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Compared to their opponents, Miami’s offense is the most well rounded.
Do the Hurricanes have a ton of star power at the skill positions? That remains to be seen, but Miami will feature a veteran quarterback and a great offensive line to distribute the ball to five-to-six pass catchers and open holes in the run game for good running backs.
Notre Dame’s big question is the starting quarterback. CJ Carr is talented, but he is inexperienced. If Carr settles in, the Irish have the potential to be very good on offense.
Louisville has a lot of offensive skill, but the question for the Cardinals is on the offensive line.
Florida is built to be a power offense, but can it be explosive through the air?
Miami’s offense isn’t going to be as flashy in 2025, but it has a chance to be productive in an efficient manner. The Hurricanes have the ability to find plenty of answers on that side of the ball.
Fall camp will be an important time for the offense to jell together because it will be the first time this new-look group will have played together. Beck wasn’t able to participate in spring football as he was going through his rehab. CJ Daniels returned for the last five practices. Keelan Marion and Tony Johnson were spring portal additions. Wide receiver JoJo Trader and tight end Elija Lofton are talented second-year players who Miami needs to step up and produce in bigger roles in 2025.
On paper, Miami’s offense once again looks strong—especially compared to their opponents on the 2025 schedule.
How do you think the UM offense compares to its opponents in 2025? Comment below.
