Miami Hurricanes WR Lawrence Cager is a playmaker

This past spring, Canes Warning listed Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Lawrence Cager as a player to watch and he is certainly living up to our expectations.

Four games into the Miami Hurricanes season, Cager’s four touchdowns are more than he accumulated in 2017. Cager is on track to shatter his 16 catches for 274 receiving yards he totaled last year.  The redshirt Junior leads Miami in touchdown receptions with four and his 174 receiving yards ranks second on the team.

The Beginning

Lawrence Cager was a member of the Miami Hurricanes’ 2015 recruiting class. Out of high school, the 6’5 Cager earned a three-star ranking and was named to the U.S. Army All-American team. Cager was ranked the 45th best wide receiver in his class and the seventh best player in the state of Maryland.

Cager did not see much playing time his freshman season totaling only eight catches, 70 yards and one touchdown in five games. Cager missed his entire sophomore season with an ACL injury.

During the 2017 season, Cager worked his way into the receiver rotation but still missed five games due to injury. Cager’s three touchdown receptions in 2017 were tied for third on the team. He finished sixth on the Hurricanes in receptions and fifth in receiving yards.

Leadership Mentality

Entering his redshirt junior season, having battled through injuries and having some shining moments during the 2017 season, Cager had a different mentality. This summer, Cager said:

"“I can’t play around no more…I’ve been here for too long. Just being a vet and younger guys expecting more out of me, coach expecting more out of me, I had to really get down on my leadership and just attack.”"

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Regarding Cager’s work ethic this summer, wide receivers coach Ron Dugans said:

"“Those guys see that and kind of feed off of what he’s doing. The biggest thing with Cager was just being consistent and catching the deep balls, blocking on the perimeter and not having missed assignments, and he’s done a really good job of being consistent.”"

During ACC media day, Head Coach Mark Richt admitted that in 2017 the offense had issues converting on third down and scoring touchdowns in the red-zone saying:

"“We were actually a pretty good explosive play team. Our problem was third down conversions and touchdowns in the red-zone.”"

Cager has taken it upon himself to solve any concerns about scoring in the red zone. Three of his four touchdowns this year have come in the red zone.

Against Savannah State, Cager caught an eight-yard slant from N’Kosi Perry for a touchdown. Malik Rosier threw Cager a five-yard fade that he was able to haul in for a touchdown against Toledo. Perry found Cager again against Florida International for a 17-yard touchdown connection in the back of the end-zone.

Conclusion

Since last season’s Orange Bowl matchup against Wisconsin, Cager has caught a team-leading five touchdowns. With ACC play starting this Thursday, September 27 against North Carolina, the Hurricanes will need Cager to continue his scoring dominance.

If Cager can continue to dominate in the red zone and take advantage of smaller defensive backs, the Miami Hurricanes’ chances of reaching the ACC Championship for the second consecutive year will certainly improve.