In just over three weeks, Miami will run through the smoke at Hard Rock Stadium for the first time in 2017. As the number of days until kickoff gets lower, expectations for the season seem to rise higher, and with good reason. Here are some of the best ‘Canes to wear the number 24 to tide you over for one more day until kickoff.

Warren Williams

While it’s hard to come by a picture of Williams, he plays an integral part in Miami Hurricanes football lore. The Fort Myers native featured as a productive back on Miami’s second ever national title team--and Head Coach Jimmy Johnson’s only national title at the college level.

Williams played in 45 games from 1984 to 1987 for Miami, finishing his Hurricane career averaging over 5 yards per carry. All told, he rushed for over 1,700 yards and had more than 700 receiving yards as a ‘Cane, including 982 yards from scrimmage for the 1987 National Champs. He found the end zone 16 times in his career.

Williams was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1988 NFL Draft, getting in early on the Hurricanes’ rich tradition of sending talent to the NFL. Over five NFL seasons, he rushed for nearly 1,200 yards and hauled in 38 passes for 339 yards on top of that.

Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images

Marcus Maxey

A redshirted scout team player for the storied 2001 National Title team, Maxey put everything he learned from the best team in the history of college football to good use over the next four years, seeing action in 48 games from 2002-2005.

The defensive back from Texas was never a star on Miami, but he was a productive contributor for the ‘Canes, first on special teams during his first two years and then cracking the defensive lineup as a starting nickel corner for a portion of his junior season in 2004. His senior season, he made 27 tackles and hauled in two picks.

While Maxey didn’t last long in the pros, he was drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by Kansas City.

Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Chavez Grant

This Booker T. Washington product donned the orange and green from 2006-2009, making a handful of starts every season as early as his freshman year. While Grant never quite lived up to his hype on the field after he selected Miami over the Florida Gators, he was an exemplary student and team leader for the ‘Canes, serving as a team captain in both 2008 and 2009.

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Travis Homer

Reaching our present day #24, Travis Homer enters 2017 with quite a bit of hype, looking to firmly plant himself as this year’s second option behind Mark Walton and the running back of the future for the ‘Canes.

A four-star recruit out of West Palm, Homer picked Miami over an impressive list of offers from schools including Alabama, Florida and Florida State. While he did see action in 12 games as a freshman, you can probably chalk this up to a bit of a burned redshirt, as Homer only rushed seven times for 44 yards, with the rest of his play coming on special teams, where he totaled eight tackles and a fumble recovery.

As the calendar turns to this season, the sophomore is fairly cemented as Miami’s number two option on the ground, with a concerning lack of depth behind him should he or Mark Walton (god forbid) get hurt as running backs are constituently in danger of doing. Still, he’s received a boatload of training camp hype and could feature as a menacing Robin to Mark Walton’s Batman.