Cam Ward labels transfer receiver Samuel Brown 'the factor that we needed'

Miami went to the transfer portal to bring in several difference makers on the offensive side of the ball this offseason, including former Houston star Samuel Brown.

The Georgia native caught 62 passes for 815 yards and three touchdowns last season, and Cam Ward expects him to fit in perfectly in the Hurricanes offense.

“He was the factor that we needed, that we were missing,” Cam Ward said at ACC Kicoff. “We needed someone with more speed, we needed someone that’s going to catch the ball.”

Samuel Brown started his career at West Virginia, before transferring to Houston for the past two seasons. He caught over 100 passes during his two seasons with the Cougars while showcasing his versatility as a wideout.

“He’s great at the over-the-shoulder catch. He can beat you vertically, he wins versus man,” Ward said. “That’s really what we need. Zone’s the easy part. All you’ve gotta do is find the soft spot, run the right concepts, look for the ball. But Sam brings that maturity in that receiver room, along with JG and X.”

Miami has an impressive group of receivers that includes Xavier Restrepo, who had more than 1,000 receiving yards last year, and Jacolby George, who finished with 864 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns.

Ward expects Samuel Brown to fit in great with that group.

“Him coming from Houston where he didn’t get all the targets that he wanted, I think it’s going to set him up here for success, because he knows how not to be a selfish player,” Ward said. “He knows how to be a team player. I feel like that’s going to be the biggest thing for us.

“The less selfish we are, the more games we’ll win. Selfish teams lose a lot of football games. That’s why you see Georgia, Bama, Oregon, you see all those guys winning because they’re not selfish. So if we’re not a selfish team we’ll win a lot of football games.”

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal is entering his third season with the Hurricanes and this is without a doubt his most talented team yet. Miami went 5-7 in Year 1 and 7-6 in Year 2, but Cristobal now has a team that should be able to compete for an ACC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Adding players like Brown certainly helped raise the expectations for Miami. It will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes can live up to them.