What Canes are getting with their offensive additions: Analyst feedback
All of UM’s freshmen on offense are enrolled and eligible to participate when spring football practice begins next week.
The question now is whether there is another Malachi Toney or even another Bryce Fitzgerald/Gerard Pringle Jr. in the group, a first-year player who will make an immediate impact.
Toney is a unicorn of sorts. But nobody would be surprised if there is another Fitzgerald or Pringle in this group, whether it’s five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, or angular receiver Milan Parris or run-stuffing defensive tackle Keyshawn Stancil.
In a phone conversation, longtime recruiting analyst Larry Blustein sized up UM’s class on offense.
QUARTERBACK
Dereon Coleman, Orlando Jones: ESPN rates him the nation’s 160th best prospect and the No. 12 quarterback in this class.
Coleman threw 69 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions in 42 high school games. This past season, he threw 25 touchdowns and one interception and ran for 503 yards in guiding Jones High to an 11-2 record and a Florida 4A state semifinal berth.
Blustein’s take: “Tremendous athlete. He’s a dual threat guy. He has great vision and picks out receivers well.” Blustein says his arm strength is very, very good.
But how does he rate as a pocket passer when he’s not taking off?
“Pretty good, but he’s not real tall,” Blustein said, with Coleman listed at an even six feet. “So he has to break contain a lot.”
Luke Nickel is the clear favorite to back up Darian Mensah, but Coleman will compete with Nickel and Judd Anderson.
RUNNING BACK
Javian Mallory, Boca Raton West Boca High: Rated 279th in ESPN’s top 300 and the No. 12 running back. Mallory averaged an absurd 9.5 yards per rush last season and scored 18 touchdowns (14 on the ground).
Blustein’s take: “He’s a combination of Pringle and Mark Fletcher because he’s a power guy with a lot of speed. He has great vision. And he’s polished because he played varsity football for five years.”
But it’s difficult to see early carries in a loaded room led by Fletcher, Pringle, CharMar Brown and Jordan Lyle.
WIDE RECEIVER
The Canes added Ohio-based Parris, a 6-5 red zone threat who is rated the No. 47 overall prospect by 247; California-based Vince Spafford, who is rated by ESPN as UM’s second-best addition; St. Augustine-based Somourian Wingo, who is rated by 247 as the 50th best player nationally in this class; and North Carolina-based Tyran Evans.
Blustein’s take: “Parris and Wingo are big time kids. They will get right in the mix to play immediately. Wingo has great hands, runs great patterns. Same with Milan, and he has a lot of speed. Both are outside guys. I like Spafford a lot, too. He’s going to be your punt returner” besides competing at slot behind Toney.
Receivers coach Kevin Beard told me that his freshman group can be every bit as good as last season’s (Toney, Joshua Moore and Daylyn Upshaw), though Toney’s greatness sets an extremely high bar.
TIGHT END
UM added two: California-based Israel Briggs (247 Sports’ No. 15 tight end; had seven touchdowns and 535 receiving yards as a senior last year) and Illinois-based Gavin Mueller, a multi-purpose weapon who had 30 touchdowns as a quarterback, running back and tight end.
247 Sports ranks Mueller as the No. 7 tight end and the No. 114 prospect overall.
Blustein’s take: “Both are really, really good. They’re recruiting guys that are more receiving type guys at the position. Elija Lofton is not a tight end to me; he’s a hybrid. These guys are bigger and more in the line of Alex Bauman.”
Bauman, the Tulane transfer, started ahead of Lofton last season but is out of eligibility. Keep an eye on Mueller, who’s supposedly turning heads at Greentree.
OFFENSIVE LINE
UM added six, led by Gatorade Player of the Year/five-star tackle Cantwell.
The others:
Ohio-based Ben Congdon (247 Sports’ No. 18 tackle); Fort Myers-based guard Joel Ervin (247’s No. 11 interior lineman); Tampa Bay Tech’s Canon Pickett (247’s No. 66 interior line prospect), Jacksonville Bolles School’s JJ Sparks (247’s No. 96 interior lineman) and Orlando Boone’s Rhys Woodrow (247’s No. 85 interior lineman).
Blustein’s take: “Cantwell has got an opportunity to [win a starting job immediately]. He will be a three-year guy before the NFL [can draft him]. Woodrow might be the biggest surprise out of all of them; he’s very intelligent, has great size. A prototypical guard and physically one of the strongest kids they got.
“I saw Joel Ervin two years ago and wasn’t impressed. He was gawky. But he has changed his game more than anyone in the last two years. He’s now extremely athletic and strong. He’s going to push his way in there” to compete immediately for a rotation spot.
“This is as excited as I’ve ever been about a group of offensive linemen,” Mario Cristobal said, noting that Cantwell already has NFL Combine-type measurables. “More talented or as talented as any class we’ve had.”
We’ll have Blustein’s evaluation of UM’s defensive class on Thursday. This is the first in a five-part series previewing UM spring football.
Here are Cristobal’s thoughts on UM’s freshman additions on offense.
Here are Cristobal’s thoughts on UM’s freshman additions on defense.
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 12:41 PM.
