From erratic to elite: Meet the explosive Miami Hurricane just beginning his rise
The letter D is ugly on a report card, but beautiful for the Miami Hurricanes.
There’s junior running back DeeJay Dallas, who is 27th nationally in rushing yards per carry (6.07) and has a team-leading 10 touchdowns.
There’s sophomore right tackle DJ Scaife, who has started all 10 games this season on an offensive line that is clearly improving.
There’s sophomore cornerback DJ Ivey, who had two interceptions at Pittsburgh and his team-leading third pick in UM’s last game Nov. 9 against Louisville.
And there’s the newest Hurricane to enter the elite “D’’ club: sophomore receiver Dee Wiggins.
As Miami (6-4, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) prepares for its next game Saturday against FIU (5-5, 3-4 C-USA), Wiggins, the 6-3, 200-pound graceful speedster who struggled last season with several drops, continues to burst onto the big-time scene through intense work and a never-give-up attitude.
Among UM’s top five receivers, Wiggins has a team-leading 19.6-yards-per catch average. He is fifth in total receiving yardage behind tight end Brevin Jordan (495), Michael Harley (447), K.J. Osborn (444) and Jeff Thomas (357) with 16 catches for 314 yards and three touchdowns.
And he just keeps getting better. Wiggins has nine of UM’s most explosive plays this season, including No. 1, an in-stride 67-yard touchdown reception from Jarren Williams in the Canes’ 52-27 win over Louisville; and No. 3, an in-stride, 56-yard reception from Williams at Florida State — Wiggins’ first career touchdown.
The 56-yard beauty sealed UM’s victory against the Seminoles, and Wiggins, who was clocked during practice running more than 22 miles an hour, was overwhelmed afterward, stopping and gazing at the crowd as he was swamped by teammates.
“First touchdown, a big game,’’ Wiggins said that night. “I’ve been waiting on that moment my whole life. I thank the O-linemen for that, I thank the quarterback for that and I thank my teammates and my receivers and my receivers coach and my head coach.’’
When told Tuesday after practice that he seemed very emotional that night, Wiggins said it was “because all the things I been through, all the hard work I put in. Late nights. Early mornings. All all my dreams came true in a big game.’’
In the past two games, Wiggins has caught seven passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns, including his career mark of 85 yards against the Cardinals.
Wiggins, 20, was rated a four-star prospect by ESPN and three-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals.com when he signed with the Hurricanes out of Miami Southridge. He has surpassed former five-star receiver Mark Pope, who graduated Southridge with Wiggins and has 12 catches for 188 yards and a touchdown this season.
“You can just see the growth and comfort level he’s starting to have within the offense,’’ coach Manny Diaz said of Wiggins. “When you break the huddle and you’re not sure where to line up it’s hard to play. He doesn’t have to do that anymore. Now he’s able to focus more on the details of how he wants to do things.
“He has a very, very bright future.”
Wiggins said Tuesday that he began playing and youth football at Richmond Park in Richmond Heights at age 5, and that despite being tall, he wasn’t drawn by basketball.
“Football has always been a part of my life,’’ Wiggins said “I just never had the love for basketball.’’
When asked the difference between last season and this, Wiggins, who caught seven catches for 73 yards in 2018, said, “Good football players go through that. You’re going to go through struggles. Coming in as a true freshman it was fast for me. I ain’t really know what was going on until I started to pick it up.’’
Wiggins always praises his teammates, and even after former consensus four-star receiver Brian Hightower announced he was transferring earlier this season, Wiggins said he “wished him the best of luck.”
“That’s my boy,’’ Wiggins said, but added this when asked if others might transfer: “You can think that on the outside, but once you get in it’s how you work.”
So, Wiggins said he’ll just “keep grinding’’ every day in practice, something that doesn’t get past his teammates, such as cornerback Al Blades Jr., who has to defend Wiggins regularly.
“He’s a technician,’’ Blades said Tuesday, “He has God-given talent, of course, but when he puts the technique together it’s hard to stop that man. Our receivers, every day after practice, if you watch, they’re always over there catching balls. They work hard. They all have that ability to break the ceiling.
“They all come together a lot. They hang out a lot. Their chemistry has gone up.’’
Blades recalled Wiggins’ first touchdown and how “special’’ it was, “especially seeing the emotions coming out of him. He’s not the type of guy that’s going to complain about not getting anything, so when he did get it, you saw...’’
Wiggins is not fazed by the prospect of playing Saturday at Marlins Park, where a baseball stadium will be converted for football and there’s not a lot of leftover room at the back of the end zone.
“Hey, if it’s there, if we hit it,’’ Wiggins said, ‘’we gotta get up and keep it moving. I’ve been to Marlins Park for a baseball game. It’s gorgeous. The way I grew up we play anywhere — street football, on rocks, all types of stuff.’’
FIU’s second-leading receiver, Tony Gaitor IV, is Wiggins’ cousin, he said, and there are “a lot’’ of his former teammates who play for the Panthers.
“On the field they’re just another opponent,’’ Wiggins said. “After the game we can clap hands. When we’re on the field we don’t know each other.’’
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 3:11 PM.
