The Miami Hurricanes’ tight end room may be one of the more interesting spots on the roster heading into the season, and the biggest question is simple: who steps in behind Elija Lofton?
Lofton is back, and he’s the clear veteran presence in a group that looks thin on experience after Alex Bauman’s departure. Last season, Lofton and Bauman shared the workload and still managed to produce.
Together, they finished with 384 receiving yards on 41 catches and four touchdowns. That production matters, but it also leaves Miami with a fresh puzzle to solve.
The staff brought in two highly regarded freshmen who could be part of the answer. Gavin Mueller, a four-star top-100 recruit, arrives with a big frame at 6-5 and 255 pounds.
The Illinois native didn’t start out as a football-first prospect, either; he was playing basketball before fully committing to the game. Once football became the priority, his rise was fast.
As a senior, he caught 32 passes for 515 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Mueller’s recruiting profile reflected that surge. Florida, LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M were among the schools that offered him before he flipped from Colorado to Miami ahead of December’s National Signing Day.
Israel Briggs gives the Hurricanes another young option. The four-star top-400 prospect comes from Clovis High School in California, where he put together a strong season with 48 catches for 599 yards and eight total touchdowns in 10 games. Miami beat out Florida State, Michigan, Nebraska and Oregon, among others, to land him.
Both freshmen bring receiving ability, but the path to playing time will come down to blocking as much as route running. That’s where new tight ends coach Mike Viti enters the picture. He arrived after 10 seasons at Army, where he had been in charge of the offensive line, which ranked as the best in the Football Bowl Subdivision last year.
The Hurricanes believe they may have learned a hard lesson about the value of a blocking tight end, with the source noting that missing one arguably cost them a National Championship.
Still, this is a program that has shown it will trust freshmen. With Lofton expected to lead the room, the rest of the depth chart is wide open, and Mueller and Briggs have a real shot to work their way into the rotation during fall camp.
The opportunity is there. What happens next will be decided on the field.
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