Eljia Lofton is becoming the additional playmaking threat that Miami's offense needs

Elija Lofton faced a lot of questions before the season and the Miami Hurricanes tight end is answering them each week.

Lofton entered spring camp about 20 pounds lighter and quicker, down to 242 pounds from his reported weight of 260 last season (although some will say it was closer to 265). His blocking, however, has improved despite the light weight, and we are also seeing what Lofton can bring to the game as a receiver last week, when he had five catches for 39 yards and a touchdown against Wake Forest.

This was such an excellent play call and a great way to show the skill set that Lofton possesses. He was  to work his way across the field, showing a blocking look, which got the linebacker to dismiss him as a receiving threat on the play. From there, Lofton worked into a wheel route, and it was an easy pitch and catch for Darian Mensan to execute.

Elija Lofton continues to integrate himself into the offense

A pass-catching tight end can be a quarterback's best friend and with the injury to Joshua Moore, the Hurricanes are in search of another big target for Mensah to rely on and some true complimentary pieces to Malachi Toney in the pass game.

Lofton says he's now playing at a "championship weight" and if there were any concerns it would affect his ability to block, those have been unfounded. If anything, Lofton is a better blocker than he was last season because the weight loss has forced him to focus more on his technique and using leverage rather than trying to overpower players on the edge. He is also saying all the right things when it comes to his responsibilities to the team.

"I just care about 1-0. It's not about the personal stats. It's about winning. It's about the team. It doesn't matter if I have zero catches, as long as I'm doing my job, and we're going to win, I couldn't care less what my stats look like," he said.

He might not care what his stats are, but don't think Shannon Dawson isn't paying attention and working up some new ways to use Lofton. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him working more in the slot and Dawson really challenging him to be much more of a playmaker in the passing game.

Some of that may have to wait until Miami can figure out what it is going to do to make the offensive line more productive, but as playmakers seem to be dropping like flies, the emergence of Lofton could be exactly what this Hurricanes offense needs. 

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