College football expert Phil Steele respects the talent on the Miami Hurricanes Roster going into this 2024 season.
Multiple preseason magazines ran the Hurricanes as having some of the best players at their position groups in the country and Steele views UM as a top ten most talented team nationallygoing into this 2024 season.
How does Steele view the Hurricanes compared to the rest of the ACC going into this 2024 season? This article attempts to take a closer look.
Steele ranked nine position units one through 17 amongst the ACC teams—including special teams and the head coach—and it is interesting to add up those rankings for an idea of which program is poised to compete at a high level.
Here is a look at how the total unit rankings look, according to Steele (the lowest score is the best score):
- Miami: 27
- Florida State: 32
- Clemson: 36
- SMU: 42
- Louisville: 48
- Virginia Tech: 52
- NC State: 67
- North Carolina: 70
- Georgia Tech: 77
- Pittsburgh: 87
- California: 88
- Syracuse: 91
- Wake Forest: 94
- Duke: 108
- Boston College: 112
- Virginia: 114
- Stanford: 119
UM ranks as the top program in these rankings with defending ACC champion Florida State second and perennial powerhouse Clemson third. Steele is high on SMU as they make the transition from the AAC to the ACC in 2024 while Louisville and Virginia Tech are dark horse threats to compete for a conference championship.
Going into the 2024 season, Steele ranks three teams at the top of the ACC in Clemson, Florida State, and Miami.
While Steele ranks UM as having the best collection of talent in the conference, it is fair to point out that over the past two seasons, the Hurricanes have underachieved—which is likely holding the college football expert back from calling Miami the outright favorite to win the ACC.
From a Miami perspective, Steele ranks seven of the nine units as top three groups in the ACC. Steele ranks the Hurricanes' secondary as seventh best in the conference and the coaching situation seventh best as well.
UM has the top quarterback position group in the ACC, along with SMU, according to Steele. Cam Ward will lead the Hurricanes attack after throwing for 3,736 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for eight touchdowns in 2023 at Washington State. SMU is led by quarterback Preston Stone, who threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns while rushing for four touchdowns in 2023. SMU is making the leap from the AAC to the ACC in 2024.
The Hurricanes feature the second best running back unit in the ACC, along with California, according to Steele. Oregon State transfer Damien Martinez leads the way for the Hurricanes after he ran for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns. The Hurricanes also return Mark Fletcher after he ran for 514 yards as a true freshman and Ajay Allen after he ran for 361 yards and five touchdowns. California is led by the explosive Jaydn Ott, who totaled 1,315 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2024.
North Carolina receives the top running back position group grade in the ACC from Steele. The Tar Heels return Omarion Hampton, who ran for 1,504 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2023.
Steele has Miami's receiving corps tied for the best in the ACC with Louisville and SMU. The Hurricanes return Xavier Restrepo (1,092 yards, six touchdowns) and Jacolby George (864 yards, eight touchdowns) after productive seasons while adding Sam Brown from Houston after he totaled 815 yards and three touchdowns in 2023.
SMU features a well rounded receiving corps that features former Hurricanes Romello Branson and Key'Shawn Smith along with talented tight end R.J. Maryland. Louisville has added productive transfer Caullin Lacy (1,316 yards, 7 touchdowns) from South Alabama and talented transfer Ja'Corey Brooks from Alabama.
Steele ranks Florida State's offensive line as the best in the ACC while the Hurricanes rank second in the conference, according to the xpert. Miami's offensive line returns three starters from the 2023 group, including offensive tackles Jalen Rivers and Francis Mauigoa along with right guard Anez Cooper. The Hurricanes added veteran transfer Zach Carpenter from Indiana to be the Center.
Miami's defensive line ranks as the best in the ACC, according to Steele with the Hurricanes featuring plenty of proven production on the line of scrimmage in DE Rueben Bain, DE Tyler Baron, DE Akheem Mesidor, DE Elijah Alston, DT C.J. Clark, DT Simeon Barrow, and DT Marley Cook.
Clemson has the best linebacker group in the ACC, according to Steele with the Tigers featuring the talented Barrett Carter. Miami's linebacker group ranks third in the conference, according to Steele with the Hurricanes returning Kiko Mauigoa after he generated 18 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, one interception, and 25 quarterback pressures. Wesley Bissainthe also returns after totaling 44 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss and the Hurricanes added Jaylin Alderman as a transfer from Louisville after he totaled 62 tackles and seven tackles for loss in 2023.
The UM secondary ranks seventh in the ACC, according to Steele. The Hurricanes return Daryl Porter as a major contributor to the 2023 secondary while UM has added veteran Meesh Powell as a transfer from Washington as Miami must replace veterans Kamren Kinchens and James Williams at safety. Miami will also feature Damari Brown and Jadais Richard at cornerback.
Miami's special teams unit ranks third in the conference, according to Steele. The Hurricanes return both specialists in kicker Andy Borregales and punter Dylan Joyce. Steele credits Virginia Tech as featuring the top special teams unit in the ACC. The Hokies return both specialists in kicker John Love and punter Peter Moore along with kick returner Bhayshul Tuten and punt returner Tucker Holloway.
Mario Cristobal and his staff rank as the seventh best in the ACC, according to Steele. Cristobal is hands on with coaching the offensive line and UM returns offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and defensive coordinator Lance Guidry after both sides of the ball showed significant improvement in 2023. Steele ranks Dabo Swinney and his Clemson coaching staff as the best in the ACC.
On paper, Miami is poised to be talented enough to legitimately compete for its first ACC Championship since joining the conference in 2004. Can the Hurricanes get the job done? Comment below.
