clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Miami Football 2015 Player Profile: Joe Yearby

In an effort to keep even the most hardcore Miami fan up to date on their favorite players, SOTU will be running a Player Profile series. In these posts, our writers will profile players from each position that they think should get more face time. They will recap their previous year, or in some cases, preview what may be to come. That way, when the season get's here, you hopefully will have a new found love for the team on the field.

By Jerry Steinberg
Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Yearby

Sophomore - RB - 5'9 195 - Miami Central H.S.

As a true freshman,  ran for 509 yards (5.9 ypc) and 1 TD.  Also caught 7 passes for 92 yards and another TD.

Is clearly a star in the making on the field but ran into some issues off the field this spring and is rumored to be suspended (no confirmation) for the start of the season.

How will this affect his progress on the gridiron?   If the rumors are true, it certainly can't help a player who is looking to expand his role with Duke Johnson now in the NFL.

While not as explosive as Johnson, he is definitely good enough to be featured at this level:

Summary: Yearby is a bit smallish, but still runs very well between the tackles because of excellent patience and top level vision.  He didn't break a ton of tackles as a freshman, but was an efficient runner nonetheless. He also appears to have very soft hands, and should be a factor in the passing game in 2015. The speedy Yearby also will likely break more long runs with a better feel for the game and an offseason to get even faster.  But what is going on with JY outside of football? Very little has gotten out about the situation, but Miami fans have to hope Yearby is a go for the opener. He needs to get a rhythm early and pick up steam heading into the difficult portion of UM's schedule. If he isn't a go, freshman Mark Walton and power back Gus Edwards will get more reps.  And while Walton could be even more talented than Yearby, and Edwards brings something to the table Yearby doesn't have (size), neither are the best option in the early going to carry the load.  Hurricanes fans will have to hold their collective breathe and hope the rumors are false.  If JY doesn't miss any action, a 1,000 yard season and 10-12 TDs are very real possibilities.

Stay tuned for more player profiles from SOTU as we count down to kick off.

In This Stream

Countdown to Kickoff: 2015 Miami Hurricanes Football

View all 88 stories