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Xavier Restrepo And Jaylan Knighton Making Noise In Fall Camp

The two true freshmen are making a name for themselves early on for the Hurricanes

By marshthomas
Miami Hurricanes football practice Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Through the first few weeks of fall camp, several players have stepped up for the Miami Hurricanes, making a name for themselves in preparation for the 2020 season. Two of those players have been true freshmen Xavier Restrepo and Jaylan Knighton.

Restrepo and Knighton, who were high school teammates at Deerfield Beach, came into their freshman years with high expectations, and haven’t disappointed thus far.

In the two scrimmages Miami has held during fall camp, Restrepo has been the Canes leading receiver, with 7 receptions, 133 yards and 2 total touchdowns, as he had a 70-yard score off a reverse in the first scrimmage. This past weekend, Restrepo finished with 5 catches, for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Knighton, not to be outdone, is the leading rusher so far, with 160 yards on the ground, he’s also scored 2 touchdowns. The first scrimmage, Knighton broke out onto the scene with 126 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Restrepo’s production hasn’t come as a complete shock to me, but I will admit I was a little surprised, when you consider the plethora of options at wide receiver. Miami has four WR’s that are expected to carry the load at the position, senior Mike Harley, juniors Mark Pope and Dee Wiggins, then redshirt freshman Jeremiah Payton. However, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee has said he likes to use at least a six-man rotation at receiver, so you can expect to see Restrepo and others see plenty of playing time.

Then there’s Knighton, who began to turn heads during Miami’s week of spring practice. Since Deejay Dallas is now in the NFL, and Lorenzo Lingard transferred to Florida, many people are expecting the speedster out of Broward County to make an impact early on. Speaking of speed, it was reported that Knighton hit 21.9 MPH during the second scrimmage.

In Lashlee’s up-tempo spread offense, Knighton’s skill-set is one that fits perfectly, and he’ll be sharing reps with junior running back Cam’ron Harris, as well as fellow true freshman Donald Chaney Jr.