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Miami Hurricanes News and Notes: Jeff Thomas, Brian Hightower provide hope for bleak Miami offense. Gerald Willis III is a grown man.

True freshman Hightower and speedster Thomas were major bright spots for the Hurricanes

By Gabriel Urrutia
NCAA Football: ACC Championship-Clemson vs Miami Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Miami loses 33-17 to open the season

— Jeff Thomas is every bit of the man he has been advertised as. He looks bigger and stronger than he was a year ago with the same big-play ability. After watching how hard he played for four quarters, I would not be surprised to see him take over as Miami’s leading wide receiver. Thomas finished the game with five catches for 132 yards.

— True freshman wide receiver Brian Hightower was very close to having two touchdown catches in his Hurricanes debut. Malik Rosier just barely under threw a pass near the pylon that Hightower was in a position to catch. He later caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Rosier — his only touchdown pass of the night.

— We were lied to about Rosier all off-season. We saw the same exact guy that played against Pitt, Clemson and Wisconsin. There was no improvement from any vantage point one could see it from. He was 15/35 passing (42.8%) for 259 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, including a pick-six to LSU linebacker Jacob Phillips.

— Gerald Willis III is a grown man in the trenches. Miami seemed to be physically outmatched at certain points, but Willis certainly looked like he was capable of handling the demands of major college football. Willis had to be physically restrained during pre-game when things got chirpy between the two teams.

Miami plays Savannah State in home opener Saturday September 8th

— The Tigers went 3-8 last year.

— They lost their season opener 52-0 against UAB, a school who just is in their second season of football after suspending the program after the 2014 season.

— Miami can play true freshman in up to four games and still redshirt them. I fully expect to see quarterback Jarren Williams get valuable playing time along with running backs Lorenzo Lingard and Cam Davis.

Mini Rant:

It’s time to bounce back. The Canes got Savannah State, Toledo, FIU and North Carolina before facing off with Florida State, who is currently down 17-3 at the half against Virginia Tech. THE SEASON IS NOT OVER! This loss should humble this team and provide concrete evidence as to what needs to change. I’m out. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE U!