Dawson assesses UM’s receivers, backs, tight ends, O-line. And ’27 class news
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes after spring practice No. 2 on Thursday:
▪ UM’s 2025 offense -- led by freshman phenom Malachi Toney, Mark Fletcher Jr. and Carson Beck — was certainly formidable, finishing 32nd in the nation in points per game (30) and 30th in yards per play (5.8).
But UM has a deeper group of weapons this coming season, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said Thursday.
“If you look at the running back room, receiver room and tight end room, we’re deeper than we’ve been since we’ve been here,” Dawson said. “In past years, if we got a receiver hurt, we were in a bind.”
At running back, the Canes added well-regarded freshman Javian Mallory to a loaded group led by Fletcher, CharMar Brown, Gerard Pringle Jr., Jordan Lyle and Chris Wheatley-Humphrey.
“The running back room is a huge strength; we’re stacked in that room,” Dawson said. “We are going to be comfortable with the fourth or fifth guy playing in that room. That position takes the most abuse on offense.
“We like to share the abuse. It’s good to have that position to be deep. And great to have a guy like Mark, who’s one of the best leaders I’ve been around, to lead that room.”
▪ At receiver, UM lost CJ Daniels, Keelan Marion and JoJo Trader — plus seldom-used Chance Robinson and Ny Carr — but added three well-regarded transfers (Duke’s Cooper Barkate, South Carolina’s Vandrevius Jacobs and West Virginia’s Cam Vaughn) as well as four coveted freshmen.
“If you look at those young receivers, I feel like we are going to have five or six outside receivers which can play, which is huge,” Dawson said. “They run the most because they stretch the field; you like to have more of those guys playing.... You want to have guys you can roll in and can trust.
“We had situations in the last few years where we wanted certain guys in there on third down. Now, I feel like and hope we have a handful of guys we don’t care who’s in the game. Third and four, if the second guy is in, that’s OK. I think we’ve gotten to that point.”
▪ At tight end, UM lost Alex Bauman and Brock Schott (who joined Indiana in December), but added two four-star freshmen (Gavin Mueller and Israel Briggs) to a group headlined by Elija Lofton and Luka Gilbert. And Jackson Carver (who missed last season with a leg injury) and Jack Nickel are skilled blockers.
“You’ve got Lofton coming back, who I think is on the verge of finding his own at that position,” Dawson said. “Gavin was a great addition. Luka is playing [well]. If you look at the skill and big skill, you have a lot of depth in that room that will sort itself out in summer and fall.”
▪ The offensive line loses four starters (Francis Mauigoa, Markel Bell, Anez Cooper and James Brockermeyer), but Dawson said he’s “excited about the young guys that are playing for us up front.
“Non-padded practices are hard to evaluate up front. What I’ve seen so far, we are going to have some guys that you haven’t talked about a lot that are going to shine. We are excited about the new blood up front. We are going to move people around. I trust [offensive line coach Alex] Mirabal with my life to develop an o-line.”
There are strong building blocks with guard Samson Okunlola, five-star freshman left tackle Jackson Cantwell, Matthew McCoy (who has shifted from guard to right tackle) and center Ryan Rodriguez, among others. Guard Max Buchanan also has made an impression.
▪ Though the Hurricanes see upside in former Georgia lineman Jamal Meriwether, he couldn’t break through in three years at Georgia, playing just 69 offensive snaps (56 this past season).
Most have come at guard, but he has the body (6-7, 305 pounds) that could accommodate playing tackle, where he played some in high school at Brunswick (Georgia) High.
As a three-star prospect in the 2023 class, he was 247 Sport’s 38th-ranked offensive tackle in the country. In this portal cycle, he was rated the No. 68 offensive tackle and the No. 853 player overall.
In a best case scenario for him, he seizes a starting spot at guard, opposite Okunlola. Buchanan might be the slight early front-runner for that guard job, with Juan Minaya, SJ Olifatuli and veteran transfer Jonathan Cline among others competing.
Cline signed with UCF out of high school in Cartersville, Georgia, but never played in two seasons there and transferred to East Tennessee, where he appeared in 12 games last season. He played left tackle in high school.
▪ UM added two South Florida players to its 2027 recruiting class this week, landing commitments from three-star Hollywood McArthur High defensive back Sherrod Gourdine and Key West High defensive lineman Josh Johnson.
In evaluating the 2027 recruiting class, 247 Sports rates Gourdine the 47th best Florida-based prospect and the No. 529 prospect in the nation.
The 5-11 Gourdine also had offers from UF, Auburn and California, among others. Andrew Ivins, 247’s director of recruiting, says Gourdine is “a hard-nosed nickel projection that fits Mario Cristobal’s smashmouth program. It’s a bit of a throwback, but I think there are some shades of Trajan Bandy in Gourdine’s game and he’s a little bigger than Bandy.”
Johnson, who’s 6-5 and 270 pounds, is rated by 247 as the No. 90 Class of 2027 prospect in Florida and No. 877 prospect overall. Florida, Illinois and Georgia Tech were among his other offers.
Miami’s 2027 class has seven commitments (all from South Florida) and is ranked 10th nationally by 247 Sports.
This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 12:33 PM.
