UM’s Cristobal dishes on who’s impressing, why WR room is in good hands, who has had top spring
The Miami Hurricanes lost their top four wide receivers and two most experienced tight ends.
But coach Mario Cristobal likes what he has seen from their successors early in spring camp.
At wide receiver, seven young players — and LSU transfer CJ Daniels — are competing to replace NFL-bound Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George and Sam Brown as well as Isaiah Horton, who transferred to Alabama.
“I see a lot of contested catches,” Cristobal said Tuesday of his receivers, as UM resumed spring practice after 11 days off for spring break. “Very encouraging to see the competitiveness of the receivers.”
Second-year player Jojo Trader seems like a likely starter, though Cristobal isn’t ready to go there. “Jojo has had a really strong spring,” Cristobal said.
But a handful of other young receivers also have made a strong case, the coach said:
“Ray Ray Joseph has had an incredible spring. I don’t think he gets enough attention. Running extremely fast, looks extremely explosive. Ny Carr, tremendous catch today.”
Cristobal said freshmen receivers Malachi Toney, Daylyn Upshaw and Joshua Moore are arriving at the facility at 5:30 a.m. to catch extra passes and do voluntary work on their games.
They “live in the building,” Cristobal said.
“Malachi Toney, you’ve heard a lot of and it’s warranted. We are going to accelerate him along with a couple of other guys. Daylyn Upshaw has had a great spring so far. Josh Moore, you see the body type. He’s an absolute monster.
“They haven’t approached it like freshmen. We asked them to accelerate their maturity and they’ve taken it upon themselves” to do that.
“They’re putting in the time to be able to play fast and it has shown so far in a big way.”
At tight end, second-year player Elija Lofton is poised to replace NFL-bound Elijah Arroyo, while Jackson Carver and Tulane transfer Alex Bauman compete with freshmen Luke Gilbert and Brock Schott for some of Cam McCormick’s former snaps.
“Elija Lofton is a matchup problem for people — bigger, stronger,” Cristobal said. “Can’t say enough about Carver; he’s 25 pounds heavier and looks great.
“Luka Gilbert and Brock Schott stand out, as well. Jack Nickel did a great job. Bauman is a little nicked up but he will be back this week and he showed some great stuff.”
More from Cristobal
▪ Starting quarterback Carson Beck, the Georgia transfer who’s recovering from offseason elbow surgery, remains involved at practice but isn’t throwing.
Among the backup quarterbacks, “Emory Williams has had a great camp,’ Cristobal said. “Judd [Anderson] had one of his better days today — made tough, spot on throws in real tight windows.”
And freshman Luke Nickel “showed why he was the Gatorade Player of the Year. The room has benefited from added reps” created by Beck’s recovery.
▪ Cristobal said during spring break, “we made it a point to players to stay in good shape. [They have a] better understanding of you don’t magically win more games as the years go by because you won a few more the year before. Everybody has good players. Nothing but our very best is going to be good enough.”
▪ Cristobal said third-year right tackle Francis Mauoigoa is 344 pounds with 20% body fat, “which gives him more muscle density of any player we’ve had at UM. We know he’s a special player. Elite power, elite mind-set…. What is that next level for him?”
The coach said right guard Anez Cooper “has had maybe the best spring of any player on the team. Coop pushed himself really hard. He wants to be that guy. We are going to push him harder to get the most out of him.”
Cristobal said left tackle Markel Bell “has had a great spring, [weighs] 345, 350 depending on what scale he gets on. He’s comfortable using his length and playing with body control. He has natural leverage.”
He said new center James Brockermeyer (who arrived from TCU) and left guard Ryan Rodriguez are “doing a great job,” and backup lineman Tommy Kinsler has had “a great spring, pushing at a couple of different positions.”
▪ Many NFL executives are expected to attend UM’s Pro Day next Monday, with quarterback Cam Ward projected as the potential top overall pick and at least a handful of other Hurricanes expected to be drafted, including Restrepo, Jalen Rivers, Damien Martinez and others.
“Pro Day will look like what Pro Day has looked like at Miami for a lot of decades,” Cristobal said. “When UM was winning at the highest level, we were winning in April [in the NFL draft] at the highest level. Next Monday will be a loaded boat here. [Teams also will] peek at the guys coming the following years also.”
The expected large NFL turnout for UM’s Pro Day is “a big statement for a lot of reasons… — a sign of what is going on inside the building in terms of development and talent acquisition,” Cristobal said. “It’s a really strong statement we’re progressing and moving toward all the things we spoke about doing when we got here a couple years ago. It’s a monster step in that direction.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 12:41 PM.
