Miami football Midseason Awards
Breakout Player: TE Elijah Arroyo
A lot of people saw Elijah Arroyo as a breakout candidate before the year. He always had the athleticism and the potential, but he only recorded 11 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown the past three years combined as he battled injuries and was buried on the depth chart.
Now getting a chance as the clear best tight end on the roster, Arroyo has made the most of his opportunity. He's made several big plays and is averaging 20.4 yards per catch, which is second-most in the ACC among players with over 10 receptions and the most for a tight end with over 10 receptions in the entire country.
Arroyo is only averaging 2.3 receptions per game, but he's scored a touchdown in four of the last five games played and he made one of the best plays of the season when he ran the whole field and chased down a would-be pick-six against Virginia Tech.
Next. Miami had one defensive player and one on offense named to the On3 midseason True Freshman All-American team.. Miami had one defensive player and one on offense named to the On3 midseason True Freshman All-American team.. dark
Without Arroyo's hustle, Miami would have been down 34-17 early in the third quarter. Instead, they forced Virginia Tech into a three-and-out and stifled a fake field goal to swing momentum back their way. Arroyo's chasedown won't show up in the stat sheet, but it's the difference between Miami being 5-1 and 6-0.