The new UM receiver who will help Canes make history. What to know about Sam Brown
Before last season — when Xavier Restrepo had 1,092 receiving yards and Jacolby George 864 — the Miami Hurricanes hadn’t had a season with two 800-yard receivers this century.
When the Hurricanes take the field in Gainesville on Aug. 31 against Florida, they’ll have three players coming off 800-yard receiving seasons, a first for a program that has produced Hall of Famers Michael Irvin and Andre Johnson, among other star receivers.
The newest member of that 800-yard-club triumvirate is Houston transfer Sam Brown, who had 62 catches for 815 yards for the Cougars last season.
So what can opposing defenses expect when Restrepo, George and Brown are on the field together for UM this season?
“Good luck!” Brown said, smiling. “That is [going to be] trouble. JG is shifty, slippery, can beat you deep. X is so crafty. I’m explosive, am tough to bring down. I also bring yards after the catch.”
Brown has to fend off Isaiah Horton; offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson has said that Horton is pushing for a top-three receiver slot.
Brown said he strongly considered Alabama and Texas A&M when he decided to leave Houston but picked UM in part because he liked playing for Dawson during their year together in Houston (2022) and partly because he’s closer to his hometown of Bloomingdale, Georgia, where he became a four-star recruit.
“Just rekindling the relationship with coach Dawson was major,” he said. “I’m very familiar with the playbook. The playbook is pretty much secondhand; I played under it at Houston. It’s just evolved with the vocabulary, how we can shift to motions a little bit better. Dawson evolved.”
Also, “when I came here on an official visit, I felt very comfortable,” Brown said. “My parents loved it. It’s Miami. Who doesn’t want to come to Miami?”
Playing with quarterback Cam Ward also appealed to him.
“I worked with Cam a month” before transferring to UM and “I felt a natural connection,” Brown said. “He can see things before they happen.”
Ward said he has developed a “great chemistry” with Brown. “He’s a great route runner. Sam can fly down the field.”
Brown played his first two seasons at West Virginia, catching a combined 10 passes for 108 yards. He had more success after transferring to Houston in 2022, catching 41 passes for 471 yards and four touchdowns before being suspended for the Cougars’ bowl game for what the team called “immature behavior.”
Dawson was Brown’s offensive coordinator that season and when he became available in the portal, he advocated UM pursuing him, even though Dawson wasn’t at Houston to witness Brown’s breakout 2023 season when he had 62 catches for 815 yards and three touchdowns. Brown forced 20 missed tackles after receptions last season, which ranked eighth among Power 5 receivers, per Pro Football Focus.
“I know what I’m getting with Sam,” Dawson said. “He knows what he’s getting with me, which is probably why he’s here. There are some things we are doing here that are different [from their time together in Houston]. There’s a learning curve for him as well. He’s no different than everybody else. His effort is good, makes plays here and there.”
Part of what Dawson is getting is speed; Brown said he has timed in the “high 4.3s, low 4.4s.”
“He’s a playmaker,” receivers coach Kevin Beard said. “Talking to him and asking him what is his expectation of this year, besides being a leader, he wants to be one of the most explosive players in the country.
“You have to come to practice every day and put the work in to make that a reality. He’s really excited to do that and I’m really excited to watch him.”
Brown said of Beard: “I trust him and he trusts me.”
The bowl game suspension was a turning point for Brown, who said he “realized what I had at stake. Houston took a chance on me. I want the team to trust me fully. This team, we can be good.”
He wore No. 4 at Houston, but switched back to his high school number (11) partly because Mark Fletcher has No. 4 with UM.
“The transition has been pretty smooth,” Brown said. “I thrive in Air Raid. Just put me on the perimeter and let playmakers be playmakers.”
What should Canes fans know about him?
“My height is deceiving,” said Brown, who’s listed at 6-2. “I play a lot smaller than that in terms of my elusiveness and routes.”
