Mario Cristobal analyzes play of Xavier Restrepo, Isaiah Horton in bowl game

In the Miami Hurricanes final contest of the 2023 season, they came up short against the Big Ten’s Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the Pinstripe Bowl. It was a tough end to the Hurricanes season, which was filled with plenty of ups and downs. Regarding the category of ups on the field, wide receivers Xavier Restrepo and Isaiah Horton were two of the most prominent bright spots for the program.

And head coach Mario Cristobal made sure to give both his playmakers on the outside their flowers for how they performed all season long and against Rutgers.

“Both those guys played really well. Restrepo has done a really good job all year,” said Cristobal. “Made some big catches today as well. We were hoping to get that one right before the half. But always plays hard, always throws his body around. And he is a very reliable yet explosive player. He did a really good job today. Certainly he would trade any record for the win.”

“Isaiah Horton continues to develop. We felt that towards the end of the year, he was developing into that guy that could split time as a starter, and he showed why today. He made some really good plays, some real tightrope sideline plays, and he’s a guy that’s going forward where we’re counting on doing a lot of big things.”

Restrepo was Miami’s leading receiver in the Pinstripe Bowl, hauling in 11 receptions for 99 yards with one touchdown. Horton was right behind him with five catches for 54 yards. The duo caught all but five of quarterback Jakari Brown’s pass attempts in the game.

Restrepo was the Hurricanes’ leading receiver on the season with 87 receptions for 1092 yards and six receiving touchdowns. Horton was top five on the team with 13 catches for 168 yards and one receiving touchdown.

Both players will have the opportunity to build off of their 2023 seasons after Restrepo announced he would be remaining in Miami for another season instead of declaring for the 2024 NFL draft. And while several other players have opted to find new homes, leaving the program by way of the NCAA transfer portal, Horton remains with the Hurricanes entering into the 2024 offseason.

And that gives hope to Miami fans as their top two threats on the outside we’ll be back on the field for them in 2024 with arguably the nation’s top quarterback in recently acquired former Washington State star QB Cam Ward.

After much thought and consideration, Ward, like Restrepo, decided to forgo the 2024 NFL draft in an attempt to boost his stock for next year’s draft.