Miami Football’s New Era: CaneSport's Gary Ferman on Cam Ward, Transfer Portal Impact, Mario Cristobal’s CRUCIAL Game 1

With the Miami Hurricanes football team in Week 2 of fall camp, CaneSport Publisher Gary Ferman joined the On3 Roundtable to share his perspective. Ferman began by recounting the pain felt by Canes fans over the last 20 years after the program went from the pinnacle of college football to just one 10-win season in those two decades.

With that said, there’s renewed optimism in Coral Gables this year, in part thanks to standout portal additions like QB Cam Ward, RB Damien Martinez, C Zach Carpenter, WR Sam Brown, DB Mishael Powell, CB D’yoni Hill, LB Jaylin Alderman and DL CJ Clark, Simeon Barrow, Tyler Baron and Elijah Alston, but also because of returners like WRs Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George, OL Francis Mauigoa, Anez Cooper and Jalen Rivers, TE Elijah Arroyo, DL Rueben Bain, LBs Francisco Mauigoa and Wesley Bissainthe plus CBs Daryl Porter, Jr. and Damari Brown. Also sprinkle in some true freshman talent like TE Elija Lofton and WR JoJo Trader among others, and add it all up to see perhaps the most talented roster Miami’s fielded in a long, long time.

“You would have had to go through what everyone in South Florida has gone through over the past 20 years to understand how high the expectations are for this year,” Ferman said. “There is hope going into the season. They’ve done a phenomenal job of continuing to turn over the roster, about 41 new additions that were not here at the end of last year. They’ve totally remade this football team. They have talent in a lot of different areas. I wouldn’t say a ton of elite talent like old school Hurricane fans were accustomed to, but a lot of talent on this team that gives them a chance to win the ACC and maybe make the college football playoff.”

Ferman points to a relatively easy schedule, plus the culture and leadership on this team as reasons for optimism.

“This is a team amped up to go to Gainesville (to face Florida) Aug. 31,” Ferman said “It’s going to be a critical day for the Miami program. They have to make a statement that day that this is not all blind hype – (prove that) this is the real deal now, and everyone has to get ready for it.”

On offense Cam Ward is going to be a major key to the season’s success. He was named ACC preseason Player of the Year after coming in from Washington State. Ward was projected as a mid-round NFL Draft pick before opting to return for a final year of college.

“I don’t know that the expectations could be any higher (for Ward),” Ferman said. “It’s a little unfair, just because he hasn’t played a single play at Miami. But he’s meant the world to this program not just on the field but off it. He’s an exceptional leader. Maybe hasn’t had the chance to show everything he brings to the table because he was out at Washington State with a very average team. He’s going to be surround by far greater talent (at Miami). An offensive line built to win, a running game to go around him, multiple receivers he can count on at any time in the course of a game, an elite looking tight end back healthy who looks like he could be one of the best tight ends in college football (in Arroyo).

“There’s not a massive weakness on the Miami offense. Maybe the lack of an absolute elite alpha dude at wide receiver, but they’re hoping Sam Brown might be able to do that. A little more mature model of Jacolby George, who was one of the best yard after catch receivers in college football. Then there’s the always reliable Xavier Restrepo.”

Ferman adds of Brown that “he has a lot of the skills you want” in a No. 1 elite wideout.

In the run game, Ferman says with Ward able to make plays with his arms, that will give Martinez “opportunities to run the ball in space.”

“They are also going to use him in the passing game, I believe, quite a bit,” Ferman said. “Damien Martinez will really get the chance to showcase himself for the NFL.”

On the other side of the ball Ferman says a couple of portal additions in particular up front should have a big impact working along with the returning Freshman All-American Bain: Barrow and Baron.

“They are going to get a chance to play a lot of football,” Ferman said of Barrow and Baron. “Barrow is a huge human being, will be a primary player on the interior. And Baron will get a chance to go after the quarterback quite a bit. They can use him inside/outside. They’ll probably have an eight-man rotation – these guys will be allowed to be fresh.”

In the back end, Ferman also said that safety Mishael Powell can be another transfer who makes a big impact after he played in the national title game with Washington last year.

“I don’t know if he’s elite, elite, elite, but you can’t underestimate the value of that kind of experience, the stabilizer he can be in the Miami secondary, which is universally proclaimed as the weakest part of the team,” Ferman said. “He’ll be able to showcase his abilities at safety as well as nickel and be a real stabilizer for  Miami secondary, which is seeking to find itself early in the season.”

It will all be shown off in the opener at Florida, a game that Ferman doesn’t think will be easy for Miami.

“Going into the Swamp is a lot to ask with 41 new players on opening day, but I do think there will be enough talent that is very motivated to carry Miami through that,” Ferman said. “I think the element of surprise with Florida unable really to get a good scout on Miami because of all these new additions could be a big factor in that game.”

Ferman adds of the game that “This is a coach’s nightmare quite honestly when you talk about a game like this that everybody has circled, that means the world to any Hurricane fan. There is going to be so much that goes into this game. And it’s the first game of the year. I’m sure as a head coach the biggest thing you fear is if you don’t win that game you have to keep your program from going in the tank, fans from going in the tank. But going into the game you are only worried about winning.

“This couldn’t be bigger for Miami, quite frankly, when you look at what’s been going on down here in the 305 for so many years, the hopes created when Mario Cristobal took the job, the financial investment made in the program. … You put all of that together and this is a statement situation for Miami. I’m not going to try to minimize it. This is a massive, massive football game. Miami can go up there and show college football that they are on the rise, that all the recruiting they’ve been doing now for two-plus years is not just a bunch of hype, that it’s a better roster, better coached football team now than it’s been and that it’s ready to win big in college football this year and be relevant once again.”

*Ferman also discounted some talk out there that Mario Cristobal might be on the hot seat even if perhaps the season doesn’t go as planned. He says any comparisons between UF’s Billy Napier being in the crosshairs of being fired with Cristobal are misguided.

“Napier came into a little bit of a different deal at Florida, and they’re very impatient up there,” Ferman said. “The tea leaves are not very good. They have a very tough schedule this year, their probability of having a winning season this year is not very high in my opinion. Miami on the flip side knew from day 1 when they hired Mario Cristobal, knew what a bad place the program was in and it was way worse than anybody even really imagined. I knew it was terrible, was saying for several years they needed massive leadership change at the top with the AD and head coach. It was worse than I thought. And anyone connected here in Miami is not harboring any illusions of Mario Cristobal being on any kind of hot seat. He signed a 10-year contract for a reason. It’s because there was an understanding of how big this job was. Now, did year 1 and year 2 go great? Not really. But it’s indicative of where the program was coming from that they struggled through those very average seasons. I’m expecting Miami to be massively better this year, am expecting the forward progress to be great. Does that mean 8, 9, 10, 11, maybe even 12 wins? We don’t know that yet.

“I don’t think there is any scenario whatsoever that Mario Cristobal’s job is in jeopardy. I think that people that are suggesting that around college football don’t understand, including the odds-makers out in Vegas that suggest he is the third-highest coach in the country with the probability of being fired. There’s just no accuracy to that.”