Miami Hurricanes Football: Five Juniors That Are Ready to Take the Next Step

Standish Dobard – Tight End

Miami is trying to replace tight end Clive Walford and those are extremely big shoes to fill. On the bright side, Brad Kaaya likes throwing down the middle of the field to his tight end, and he has a couple of good one’s to throw to this season.

One of those tight ends is junior Stan Dobard. Dobard was the primary backup to Walford last season, and he’s currently in a camp battle with Christopher Herndon IV for the starting tight end spot for the opener. Dobard has good size and a lot of skill, but he has to work a little bit on his exploding off the line better and holding on to the ball once he catches it.

Dobard had a couple of fumbles last season, including a costly one against Florida State in the 30-26 loss. Dobard also only had one game with more than one catch, and that’s something that should improve with extra opportunities, but Dobard needs to be ready to go.

I believe Dobard comes out of camp with the starting job and will get the first crack at holding down the tight end spot. If he’s able to hold on to the ball and play a little bit faster, especially off the line, I think Dobard can have a breakout season and the Canes could continue to utilize the tight end position as much as they would like.

Next: Gus Edwards