Miami Hurricanes vs. Virginia Cavaliers NFL Draft Prospect Watch

It’s “The U” on national television, so if you’re trying to think of an excuse not to watch the World Series, this is a pretty good one.

Miami is obviously not as good as they have been in recent years, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t chock full of guys who we will be talking about come April, and one guy in particular is sure-fire first round pick Lamar Miller, a breakout sophomore running back.

Miller has excellent speed, balance, size, vision, and deceptive power and can make guys miss in the open field. He is truly a treat to watch. I think he will declare for the draft even as just a redshirt sophomore this Spring, and I think he will be a top 15 selection. He is second only to Trent Richardson right now this season in my opinion, and is having a huge year for the Canes.

He is averaging 5.9 yards per carry in his short career, and has six touchdowns so far this season. I expect that number to increase to at least eight by the end of the night on Thursday night.

You can check out an in-depth look at other Hurricanes prospects that I will be keeping an eye on tonight, and don’t forget about the Cavs.

While the focus for the Hurricanes is a lot on the offensive side of the ball (Miller, Harris, Benjamin), the focus for Virginia will be on the defensive side of the ball where cornerback Chase Minnifield and defensive end Cam Johnson, a guy who flashed ability last year but has been slow to produce in 2011.

Minnifield is probably the guy that most people know about, and as I type this, he just blew up a screen play for a loss on third and short, but Johnson has two sacks, four tackles for loss, and some nice athletic ability for a guy that is 6’4″ 270 pounds.

Those two guys are really going to have to step up if the Cavs are going to go to Miami and upset the Hurricanes on their home field.