Charleston Rambo on pace for Miami’s single-season receiving yards record. ‘It’s special’
The Miami Hurricanes’ record book is littered with names of NFL stars and, in some cases, Pro Football Hall of Famers. The list of the 10 players with the most receiving yards in a single season is no exception.
Allen Hurns is at the top of the list. Andre Johnson is in the top five. Santana Moss is there. Michael Irvin sneaks in near the bottom of the top 10.
Add Charleston Rambo to the list.
The wide receiver went off for 210 receiving yards in Miami’s 33-30 win against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium and vaulted himself up to No. 10 on the single-season list with 860 yards on the season.
Next up for him to catch: Irvin, whose 868 receiving yards in 1986 are the ninth most in a single season.
“It’s special, but I can be better,” Rambo said, “and I’m going to be better for the team and for myself.”
On Saturday, he rode the same roller coaster the Hurricanes’ entire offense did. He was responsible for some of Miami’s highs — he caught a 35-yard touchdown in the first quarter and another 60-yard pass on a flea flicker in the third — and some of the lows. He was also one of three Hurricanes to lose fumbles in the first half and let Georgia Tech take a 17-14 lead into halftime and he committed three of Miami’s seven drops, which kept the Hurricanes (5-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) from ever being able to pull away in Miami Gardens.
Still, the good far outweighed the bad Saturday and his seven catches for 210 yards and a touchdown helped the Hurricanes pile up 563 total yards — their most in a game against an FBS opponent all season.
“He’s been great, just making plays all over the field,” quarterback Tyler Van Dyke said. “He’s been a great player all year and he keeps getting better. If you get the ball into his hands, he makes a lot of plays.”
With three games left in the regular season and potentially another postseason game or two, Rambo is on pace to become only the fifth player in Miami history — and the first since Hurns in 2013 — to top 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. On his current trajectory, Rambo is on track to finish the regular season with 1,146 yards, which would be the third most in program history. With a bowl game now looking likely, Rambo has a real chance to top Hurns’ 1,162 for the most ever.
In the last month, the fourth-year junior has turned into a record-assaulting receiver and it helped buoy the Hurricanes’ offensive turnaround. Rambo, who transferred to Miami in January after three up-and-down seasons for the Oklahoma Sooners, has topped 100 yards in three straight games and had at least 99 in 4 of 5 games with Van Dyke against quarterback against FBS teams.
His 210 yards Saturday were the second most in a single game in Miami history and he did it mostly with the deep ball. In the first quarter, he ran a fly route down the right sideline, the Yellow Jackets (3-6, 2-5) lost track of him and he pulled in a 35-yard touchdown. In the third, he took the top off the defense again when the Hurricanes ran a flea flicker and hit a 60-yard pass — it would’ve been a touchdown had Van Dyke not underthrown him. He actually should’ve set the single-game record, but he dropped another long pass on a curl route in the fourth quarter, even though Van Dyke hit him right in the hands without a defender near him.
He hasn’t just been a deep threat, though. In September, Rambo tied another program record when he caught 12 passes in Miami’s loss to the Michigan State Spartans.
While their offense struggled through the first half of the year, the Hurricanes could never find a reliable No. 1 receiver. In the second half, the quarterback play has improved, the run game and offensie line have gotten better, and Rambo has given them the playmaker they desperately needed.
“He’s a problem,” coach Manny Diaz said. “He’s a hard guy to lose in single coverage. With that said, if you want to put two on him that affects your run fits, that affects the way you play RPO. He’s a problem. He’s proved that week in, week out.”
