Greg McElroy compares preseason hype for Miami in 2024 to Texas in 2023

Miami is a brand that, whether always fully justified or not, gets plenty of hype going into a given season. However, with how this year sets up compared to another program in very recent memory, Greg McElroy thinks this energy is very valid.

McElroy ranked the Hurricanes at No. 12 in his Preseason Top-25 earlier this week. In doing so, he explained the connections that he sees between Miami in 2024 and Texas in 2023 based on offseason hype and a roster that has clearly become far more talented heading into their respective coach’s third year at the school.

“I think he inherited a really difficult situation, first and foremost. I don’t think there was as much talent on the roster as one might like to assume,” said McElroy. “Some of the additions they’ve made in the portal, some of the additions they’ve made on the recruiting trail?”

“I look at this roster – and I remember people last year losing their mind about the Texas Longhorns. We had Texas ranked number six in the preseason last year – six or seven, in that vicinity. People were losing their minds saying, ‘Oh, here we go again! Texas always in the top-five, Top-10. They’re going to disappoint you. Just wait!’. We said, ‘Fair enough. They might very well disappoint us but look at the roster,'” McElroy continued. “Just look at the roster and assess this year’s team differently than past year’s teams. There’s some teams that are propped up based on hype. There’s some teams that are propped up based on merit. In this particular case involving Texas last year and Miami this year, there is merit to believe these groups are as talented as you might find in their respective conferences.”

Coming off an 8-5 finish in 2022, McElroy did in fact rank Texas at No. 7. The Preseason AP Poll had them slightly lower at No. 11. As we all know, though, the Longhorns finally broke back through with a 12-2 record, a Big 12 Championship, and a berth in playoff.

That’s the trajectory that McElroy can foresee for the ‘Canes.

Miami made a smaller improvement under Mario Cristobal than Texas did under Steve Sarkisian from year one to year two. Still, they went 7-6 and got back to a bowl game for the first time in three years.

Now, the Hurricanes have stacked a ton of talent together for this upcoming roster. That starts with four straight Top-15 classes, including three in the Top-10 and an incoming one at No. 5 nationally, on the recruiting trail. They have since filled that out with three straight Top-20 classes in the transfer portal, including this most recent one with notable additions in QB Cam Ward, RB Damien Martinez, and impactful defenders like DL Simeon Barrow Jr. and DE Tyler Baron.

This could very well be the season that they’ve been building toward for some time at Miami. McElroy thinks it too with him rating them as the top team out of their conference and a playoff hopeful in 2024.

“I think Miami is in a really, really good position. I think they’re the best roster right now in the ACC,” McElroy said. “It would not surprise me at all if they ultimately win the ACC this year and punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff.”