Outspoken Miami QB Jacurri Brown, WRs, reveal thoughts on new offense, public perceptions
Three University of Miami receivers on Saturday reflected with outspoken sophomore quarterback Jacurri Brown about their UM careers, the progress of the passing game and public perceptions.
As practice winds down toward Friday night’s spring game, junior outside receiver Jacolby George and junior slot man Brashard Smith, who along with former Hurricane Romello Brinson were once regarded by teammates as the fearsome but youthful “three amigos,’’ joined redshirt freshman receiver Isaiah Horton and Brown in lauding coordinator Shannon Dawson’s new offense.
Brown played in eight games (two starts) last season, completing 27-of-45 passes (60 percent) for 230 yards and three touchdowns, with three interceptions. Now a hearty 6-4 and 225 pounds, up from 195 when he first arrived at UM, Brown is known for his speedy athleticism and running skills — not for his accuracy. He finished 2022 third on the team in rushing, with 223 rushing yards on 54 carries for a 4.1-yards-per-carry average — and that includes the yardage lost from being sacked six times.
Asked if he feels he needs to prove something for being criticized for his throwing ability, Brown didn’t hesitate.
“Oh yeah, for sure,’’ Brown said. “OK, let’s be real. I’m a Black quarterback, right? So they put those Black quarterbacks in a box of athleticism. And I mean, I feel like if let’s say Cam Newton had the same mindset as Tom Brady, he’d still be playing in the League right now, even with his physique and everything like that. I feel like if I expand on my mental part of the game, then I’ll be great forever.”
Brown said Saturday that he badly wanted to progress and worked hard in the film room and in observing and communicating with starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who has become a close friend.
“He puts a different touch on balls,’’ Brown said. “And for me, I had a strong arm so I was really gunning it in. But I had to work on my touch, my feet, for sure. Just having a wider base. ...I learned that I can throw as good as I can run,’’ he added of Dawson’s pass-prolific offense. “...Me and Tyler have been close. It’s a love, really, relationship and I’ve learned I don’t got to be Superman every play. Just put the ball in play and play with touch, play with fun.’’
Brown said Dawson’s offense “is very quarterback-friendly.’’
“You don’t really [have] to be erratic with your eyes and look for blitzes. You beat the blitz with the throw, and it’s not a lot of confusion.
“...Just a smooth, laidback guy, man,’’ the quarterback said of Dawson. “I feel like my connection with the OC should be really positive. So hearing it from him, hearing the same voice and knowing that, just put the ball in play, it’s really just progressions to that. You don’t really have to read the defense. Just put the ball in play and play ball.’’
Receivers
Miami’s receivers have neither had the depth of talent nor been healthy enough in recent seasons to adequately contribute to the offense — not to mention Van Dyke being injured for several games in 2022.
Horton, a 6-3, 205-pound redshirt freshman from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, played in four games last season, catching one pass for six yards. He was a four/three-star prospect rated the No. 39 wide receiver in the country and No. 8 player in Tennessee by ESPN and the No. 49 receiver by 247Sports.
“My game has improved the most based on my speed,’’ Horton said. “I’m working on everything — hands, speed, getting out of my breaks, agility... We’ve got a great vibe, great coaching. We’re coming together as a team. I love the energy right now.”
Horton, Smith and George each reveled about new receivers coach Kevin Beard.
“Perfect. By far the best coach I’ve ever had receiving wise,’’ Smith said. “He’s teaching everything like the little things, like my routes and getting up on the defender. It’s a big change for me. ...I like the tempo and how quick we are.”
Said Horton: “Coach Beard is developing me, not just as a player, but as a man, too. I appreciate that. ...You can trust him. He’ll tell you the good [and] the bad.”
And this, from George: “He connects with us more and lets us know what we’re doing wrong and lets us know it’s OK to fail and we’ll learn from it.’’
Smith, out of Pinecrest Palmetto High, is a versatile, do-everything receiver who is used in multiple ways and has played behind starter Xavier Restrepo this spring. Last season, Smith played in 11 games and caught 33 passes for 308 yards. He also returned 11 kicks for 250 yards (22.7 average). As a freshman in UM’s 69-0 rout over FCS opponent Central Connecticut State in September 2021, Smith had five catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
“The three amigos, that’s what we call ourselves,’’ Smith, who turned a 3-yard toss from Van Dyke into a 75-yard touchdowns sprint, said that day. On Saturday, he said he’s taking it slower as the game has slowed down. “I feel like my best year will be coming up. Everything is positive. Everyone around me is lifting everyone up. I like what we have right now.’’
George, who missed three games with a thumb injury last season, has made significant improvement this spring and now lines up at first-team wideout. In UM’s second scrimmage last weekend, George scored on at least two touchdown passes.
George is a Plantation High graduate who caught 13 passes last season for 140 yards, with no touchdowns. He also returned five punts for 71 yards. In 2021 he caught seven passes for 183 yards and a touchdown.
“This one is more explosive,’’ George said of the new offense. “More opportunities for receivers to go up and get the ball. More deep balls, more letting us be us.’’
Brown said Dawson teaches receivers “just to get to a spot, so they can choose different releases, do what they’ve got to do at the top of the route to get there. It’s just timing.
“Those guys,’’ he said, “are having fun out there.’’
