The Miami Hurricanes football program is entering the 2024 season with big expectations.
UM is widely considered a Top 25 team in the preseason and is expected to compete for an ACC Championship this year.
Lindy’s Sports college football preview magazine highlighted plenty of Hurricanes as ‘All-ACC’ caliber going into the season.
Six Miami players were named to Lindy’s All-ACC First Team: QB Cam Ward, RB Damien Martinez, WR Xavier Restrepo, OL Francis Mauigoa, K Andy Borregales, and LB Kiko Mauigoa.
Ward arrives at Miami as a transfer from Washington State with big expectations after passing for 3,736 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 66.6 percent of his attempts and rushing for eight touchdowns.
Going into this 2024 season, Ward is widely considered the top quarterback in the ACC.
Ward will be surrounded by productive weapons on offense as well like Oregon State running back transfer Damien Martinez, who ran for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns and returning wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, who caught 85 passes for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns.
Offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa is coming off a 2023 season in which he was named a true freshman All-American as the starting right tackle for the Hurricanes.
Borregales converted 22-of-26 field goal attempts in 2023. He has made 56-of-67 field goals during his UM career.
Miami featured the most first team selections. Florida State featured the second most with five.
Five UM players were selected to the second team: WR Jacolby George, OL Anez Cooper, OL Jalen Rivers, DL Rueben Bain, and DB Mishael Powell.
George returns to UM after totaling 864 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 2023. Cooper and Rivers return as starters who played over 800 snaps on offense in 2023.
Bain was a true freshman All-American in 2023 after totaling 7.5 sacks and 45 pressures. Powell is a transfer from Washington who totaled 38 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and three interceptions for the Huskies in 2023.
Miami and Florida State featured the most players on Lindy’s All-ACC Second team with both programs featuring five players.
Three Hurricanes were named to the third team: OL Zach Carpenter, DL Akheem Mesidor, and P Dylan Joyce.
Carpenter arrives as a transfer center from Indiana with plenty of playing experience. Mesidor missed the majority of the 2023 season with a foot injury and will look to get back to his 2022 form in which he generated seven sacks. Joyce finished his first season at Miami averaging 43.8 yards per punt.
Across all three teams, Miami features 14 players on the three All-ACC teams by Lindy, which was the most in the conference. Florida State had 12 players named to the teams. Clemson has five players listed across the three teams.
Lindy’s ranks Miami as the third best team in the ACC, trailing Florida State and Clemson. On a national scale, Lindy’s ranks the Hurricanes No. 17 overall in the country going into the 2024 season.
After finishing with a 7-6 record in 2023, Miami is looking to take a big step forward in 2024. The Hurricanes also expect to win an ACC Championship in football for the first time since joining the conference in 2004.
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