How will UM replace Brevin Jordan if he turns pro? This top TE recruit is ready to fill in
Elijah Arroyo has been ready to play in this Miami Hurricanes offense since even before Miami hired Rhett Lashlee in January.
The offensive coordinator recruited the four-star tight end in the one season he spent with the SMU Mustangs last year and even managed to get SMU in the top 10 for Arroyo, alongside powerhouses like the Texas A&M Aggies and Hurricanes. When Arroyo was a junior, his offensive coordinator at Independence in Frisco, Texas, even took inspiration from Lashlee’s offenses with the Mustangs and Auburn Tigers.
“He loved the way he ran his offense,” Arroyo said Saturday.
When Lashlee landed in Coral Gables, it made Miami a logical fit for Arroyo. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound receiver grew up in South Florida, rooting for the Hurricanes and learning about their legacy of great tight ends. Once Arroyo started playing tight end full-time as junior, scholarship offers started to pour in and Miami finally made an offer in January, shortly after Lashlee took over. The pieces all aligned perfectly for Arroyo to orally commit in May.
Since his commitment, Arroyo has not wavered. He’s on track to early enroll and will sign his national letter of intent with the Hurricanes on Dec. 16 once the early signing period begins. After taking another massive leap forward as a senior, Arroyo is poised to potentially play a significant role for Miami as soon as next year.
If Brevin Jordan heads to the NFL after this season, the Hurricanes will have to replace more than 300 yards of production from a player who was a finalist for the John Mackey Award in 2019. Fellow tight end Will Mallory should shoulder most of the load — unless he enters the 2021 NFL Draft, too — but Arroyo feels ready to contribute from Day 1 at Miami.
“I’m going to be ready when the season starts,” said Arroyo, who’s now the No. 9 tight end in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2021. “I don’t really care that much about starting my freshman year. They told me I’m going to get playing time and I’m excited about that, but starting as a freshman isn’t really a priority to me.”
In eight games this year, Arroyo has 28 catches for 635 yards and 12 touchdowns with one fumble — a massive leap forward from an already productive, 13-game junior season with 48 catches for 648 yards and five touchdowns.
As a freshman, he was a quarterback on junior varsity, then he rode the bench as a sophomore as he transition from quarterback to tight end. Now he’s one of the best in the country.
“I feel like I’m just a lot more confident this year, which has helped me,” Arroyo said. “I don’t think anyone can guard me.”
Arroyo, like so many of the offensive players in the Hurricanes’ 2021 recruiting class, committed before he actually saw Lashlee’s offense in action at Miami. Seeing this season has made him even more excited to sign next week.
“It’s really, basically, exactly what I imagined it would be,” Arroyo said. “I just can’t wait to get to coach Lashlee’s offense. I already know I’m going to do well in that offense and I’m excited to see just what I can do — what the team can do — as an offense.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 1:46 PM.
