CBS Sports snubs Miami's best unit in updated preseason position rankings

The college football coverage on CBS Sports' website is pretty good. Dare I say it's a little underrated. But it's hard to defend today, especially after Chris Hummer ranked the best position groups in college football and did not have the Miami Hurricanes as the best group of wide receivers in the country.

Hummer opted for Indiana instead, which is a little head-scratching. Don't get me wrong, Charlie Becker is nice, and Nick Marsh was strong at Michigan State last year, but from top-to-bottom, the Hurricanes clearly have the best wide receiver room in FBS football. The only other program that might have an argument is Ohio State. 

CBS Sports slights Miami's wide receivers in position unit rankings

The Hurricanes' returning production is unmatched. We already know about Malachi Toney and what else can you say about the 18-year-old sophomore that already has a 1,000-yard receiving season under his belt and comes into 2026 as a Heisman hopeful? He's going to be one of the top playmakers in college football. But Miami doesn't have just one 1,000-yard receiver on the roster, the Hurricanes have two because Cooper Barkate decided to join his quarterback, Darian Mensah, in coming to Coral Gables from Duke. 

READ MORE: Malachi Toney already getting the national recognition he deserves heading into his sophomore campaign

Barkate had 72 catches for 1,109 yards last season with the Blue Devils, giving the Hurricanes two players that finished inside the top 10 for receiving yards last season. They also brought two more highly-productive transfers — Vandrevius Jacobs, who had 32 catches and 548 yards last year with South Carolina, and Cam Vaughn, who hd 35 catches for 541 yards in 2025 with West Virginia. And here's the kicker, Jacobs and Vaughn aren't guaranteed to be starters because sophomore Joshua Moore (17 catches, 210 yards) held down the starting spot at the X during spring camp. 

There's not a long list of teams that have four wide receivers with 30-catch, 500-yard receiving seasons (two of which had over 70 catches and over 1,000 yards) on their rosters. And with Toney and Barkate, Miami has two players that are widely expected to bring in All-ACC honors at the least. There should be zero concerns at quarterback with Darian Mensah coming in after leading the Power 4 in passing yardage last season. 

READ MORE: Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate illustrated their chemistry at Miami spring game

The irony of these rankings is that Hummer has the Hurricanes ranked as the top edge rushing group, which might be the area where Miami has the most to prove. Damon Wilson II was the top edge rusher on the transfer market, and he should be great playing for Corey Hetherman and Jason Taylor, but the in-house guys like Marquis Lightfoot, Armondo Blount and Herb Scroggins III all need to take the jump next season. 

But back to the wide receivers rankings. If there's any unit on the Hurricanes' roster that doesn't need the motivation, it's the receivers. They are a self-motivated group if there's ever been one, but if Hummer needs more proof, I'm sure these guys will be glad to provide it. 

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