A contender for Catch of the Year? Watch Hurricanes’ CJ Daniels haul in stellar TD
CJ Daniels wasted little time making a big impression for the Miami Hurricanes.
Daniels, a transfer wide receiver from LSU, made a highlight-reel catch late in the second quarter of No. 10 Miami’s season-opening 27-24 win against the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish that likely will have a chance to be a contender for Catch of the Year at the end of the season.
With Miami facing a second and 3 from the Notre Dame 20 yard line, Daniels hauled in a pass from quarterback Carson Beck, leaping for a one-handed grab between a pair of Notre Dame defenders — defensive backs Adon Shuler and Leonard Moore — for a spectacular 20-yard touchdown.
“I was on my back,” Beck said on his vantage point of the catch, “and then I just [saw] him in the end zone. I had no idea that he had caught it like that. So I’m over there turning up because I threw a touchdown. And then I see it on the big screen and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. There is no way he just caught that.’ But, man, he always tells me, ‘Just put it up there. I’ll go get it.’ I mean, he proved that tonight.”
The play gave Miami a 14-7 lead entering halftime of the primetime matchup at Hard Rock Stadium.
Daniels finished the game with five catches for 46 yards and the touchdown. Beck completed 20 of 31 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
The Hurricanes were hoping for big plays from Daniels. Coach Mario Cristobal twice tried to lure him to Miami — first when he entered the portal out of Liberty following the 2023 season and again last season when he departed from LSU. He came to UM with 148 career catches for 2,434 yards and 21 touchdowns, most of which came during his four seasons at Liberty (106 catches, 1,959 yards, 21 touchdowns).
“I’ve been chasing CJ for two years,” Cristobal said. “We finally got him right. What a play he made, unbelievable.”
When Daniels got to UM in the spring, he was sidelined by a foot injury, but that didn’t stop him from making an impact. He became the veteran presence a young Miami receivers room needed after the team lost its top four players at the position from last in Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George, Sam Brown and Isaiah Horton.
“That guy took over the room, and he established regiment and culture,” Cristobal said. “He had those guys in there in the early hours watching the film. He had those guys taking care of their bodies, teaching those guys how to track the ball and how to play the game at a higher levels. ... CJ Daniels is an absolute pro.”
Which makes his message to the team after the win, one in which Miami saw a 14-point second-half lead evaporate before putting together a game-winning field goal drive in the final minutes, all the more appropriate.
“We’re leaving the locker room and he’s like, ‘We’re just get started, man. Just get started. Let’s keep this thing going,’” Cristobal said. “He epitomizes what you want as a team player.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2025 at 9:20 PM.
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