With spring practices concluding, multiple outlets are releasing their Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for the upcoming college football season. It’s a time of great hope and optimism for many teams as they all will attempt to build off of their spring.
With the spring transfer window also coming to an end, the evaluation of teams becomes more accurate. Former QB and current college football analyst, Joel Klatt, released his Top 25 on Monday. Klatt, who went on to give his reasoning for each team, placed the University of Miami at No. 18.
With the big winter transfer portal edition of QB Carson Beck, and the departures of WR Xavier Restrepo, TE Elijah Arroyo, RB Damien Martinez, and more, the unknowns around Miami remain. Klatt hammers this point home in his reasoning for the Canes at No. 18.
"I can like a lot of what Mario Cristobal has done, but again, it’s like cautious optimism. I’m not going to go overboard with Miami. I’m not going to throw them out. Let’s wait and see with Miami. They’ve got enough experience and they’ve recruited well enough to at least give Mario Cristobal a kind of ‘wait and see’."
The cautious optimism shows the strength of Miami's transfer portal class as well as the concerns with the amount of production they are losing. Klatt mentioned Restrepo and Arroyo, but Miami is also losing their top six leading receivers from 2024. And there is no guarantee that Beck will be able to replace the production offered by Cam Ward.
Klatt did mention the defense and the hiring of new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman as a positive. Last season, it was obvious that Ward had a lot of pressure on his shoulders trying to make up for the lack of stops produced on the other side of the ball. Beck may not be able to match the production, and with the turnover at RB, WR, and TE, the defense will need to be better if Miami wants to make it into the CFP. But Klatt, along with other outlets, still believe Miami will be solidified in the Top 25 next season.