Miami football fifth in ACC returning production

The Miami football team is fifth in the ACC in returning production per the SP+ projections from Bill Connelly of ESPN via Will Backus of 247 Sports who examined “ACC football: Ranking the teams by returning production in 2022.”  Miami ranks 28th overall and returns 73 percent of its production per Connelly.

Connelly tweeted that Miami is “portaling its way back into the top 15.”  Miami has added 11 transfers to the 2022 roster. Five of the 11 transfers to Miami have occurred since the start of spring practice in March. The majority of the transfers to Miami were starters with their former programs.

Miami has risen at least15 spots since February in the updated SP+ projections largely behind the transfers they have added. The majority of the transfers Miami has signed during the 2022 offseason are projected starters for the upcoming season. Connelly bases preseason projections on three factors.

Returning production, recent recruiting and recent history are the factors Connelly uses to determine his projections for the upcoming season. The returning productions account for transfers and attrition. The recruiting rankings account for the past few years and recent history measures the success of the program.

"5. MIAMI HURRICANESReturning production: 73%Overall ranking: 29Miami is set on offense with Tyler Van Dyke at quarterback. He has the upside to be a top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and has all the arm talent in the world. The defense has plenty of question marks, but the Hurricanes loaded up with one of the best defensive line transfer portal hauls from the 2022 cycle.The Hurricanes and new coach Mario Cristobal landed four defensive line transfers that hold at least a grade of 87 in 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings, highlighted by four-star West Virginia transfer Akheem Mesidor.UCLA transfer Mitchell Agude and UAB transfer Antonio Moultrie should provide immediate pass rush help after the Hurricanes lost Zach McCloud and Deandre Johnson."

Van Dyke is the foundation of the 2022 Miami football roster. Agude and Mesidor project as the 2022 starting edge rushers. Moultrie will provide depth and versatility on the defensive line as an edge rusher or tackle. Miami also added DL Jacob Lichtenstein and defensive tackle Darrell Jackson.

Cristobal has repeatedly stated the importance of upgrading the play Miami has received on the DL. Miami signed three freshmen DL and two offensive linemen in the class of 2022 while bringing in two transfer OL from Oregon. Miami has been successful in adding transfers to improve the roster in recent years.