Would-be Georgia Tech WR Gowdy’s death spurred Miami’s Restrepo to play in his memory
Call it the the Xavier Restrepo exception.
During fall camp, Hurricanes coaches made it clear that no one should make dangerous dives in an attempt to make impossibly difficult catches — no one, that is, except for slot receiver Restrepo, because he did it anyway.
“He just brings a little finesse,’’ freshman safety Kamren Kinchens said Tuesday of the second-year freshman. “He’ll just go up and make anything. In fall camp it was funny because we had a rule: ‘Don’t try to dive anywhere because that could bring injuries and stuff like that.’ And the rule applied to everybody else except Restrepo, because he dives for every catch. If the ball is 10 yards, he’s going to try to dive 10 yards.”
So, what’s his personality like?
“Passionate,’’ Kinchens said.
On Saturday, when the Hurricanes (4-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) host Georgia Tech (3-5, 2-4), Restrepo will also be reflective.
Georgia Tech was where his former Deerfield Beach High teammate Bryce Gowdy was set to begin college on an athletic scholarship before Gowdy, a gifted 17-year-old receiver, stepped in front of a freight train in Deerfield Beach on Dec. 30, 2019 — a week before classes. The death was ruled a suicide by the medical examiner.
This will be the first time the teams play each other since Gowdy’s death.
Playing for Gowdy
“I know my brother is going to be watching over me,’’ Restrepo said Tuesday. “I’ll just play my heart out for him. In remembrance of him is why I wear [jersey No.] 7. “Just trying to shine and trying to make him proud up there.”
Last year, Restrepo was asked the importance of wearing that No. 7 for Gowdy.
Restrepo explained that when he first approached coach Manny Diaz about changing his jersey number, the coach didn’t immediately acquiesce. He said he was told “all camp by Coach Diaz, ‘Just work, just work. We’re not going to talk about numbers now.’
“I just took that into consideration and just took that as motivation,’’ Restrepo said. “Just worked my tail off and Coach Diaz blessed me with having the opportunity to represent my brother up in heaven. And that’s just a true blessing. “I told Coach Diaz, ‘I’m not going to let him down, because that’s a true blessing to represent one of my fallen soldiers.’’’
Exudes energy
Restrepo is already excelling. He exudes energy and wrings every ounce from his play, those crazy dives included. He was graded by Pro Football Focus as the best performer in UM’s 38-34 victory last Saturday, with quarterback Tyler Van Dyke just behind him. He had seven catches in seven targets for 89 yards, with 60 yards after the catch. He forced two missed tackles and earned four first downs.
“I’m just trying to do my job,’’ Restrepo said. “Whatever my coaches tell me to do. I’ve been doing this my whole life, making plays and stuff like that. Just doing me.’’
Listed as 5-10 and 198 pounds, the compact Restrepo, with bulging hamstrings and quadriceps, has 19 catches for 325 yards and a team-high per-catch average of 17.1 yards. His lone touchdown came in the opener against defending national champion and then No. 1 Alabama.
But Restrepo focused more on the play he didn’t make Oct. 23 against NC State.
Hard on himself
On first-and-10 from the Miami 38-yard line during the final play of the opening quarter, Restrepo leaped over the middle to challenge Wolfpack cornerback Shyheim Battle for what would have been a spectacular catch of a Dyke fastball.
No matter how impossible the catch, Restrepo expects to grab it.
A reporter told him Tuesday that the NC State play would have been a “ridiculous catch.’’
“A hundred percent I should have came down with it,’’ Restrepo replied. “It touched both hands. I came in here after the game, worked on 20 catches. Put a little pad down, and replayed it 20 times. Really hurt me to drop that ball, but I’m ready for it to happen if it happens again.”
Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said coaches have been inserting Restrepo into games “usually about the second drive’’ behind starting senior Mike Harley. “We’ve felt good about X since Game 1 when he caught the touchdown against Alabama,’’ Lashlee said. “[Receivers coach] Rob Likens has done a good job of rolling him and Mike to try to keep them both fresh.
“We’ve had confidence in X from the start. I don’t think he needs to do anything different. He just has to keep being who he is.”
Restrepo isn’t the only Hurricane who played at Deerfield Beach. Starting running back Jaylan Knighton, who was suspended the first four games this season for an unspecified violation, also is a former Buck.
Restrepo said he encouraged Knighton, now an offensive force, to “‘Stay up. Keep working,’ because I knew as soon as he got on the field... nothing [would change].”
“The stage is never too big for me or him. Seeing him doing what he does is just expected.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 5:00 PM.
