What Jaden Harris learned from Kinchens, Williams as he prepares for expanded Hurricanes role

Jaden Harris spent his first two seasons with the Miami Hurricanes biding his time as he waited for his opportunity.

It looks like that time is now.

Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry on Tuesday said Harris is slated to start at safety opposite Washington transfer Mishael Powell as the Hurricanes look to replace the production from Kam Kinchens and James Williams — both of whom are now in the NFL and both of whom helped Harris find his footing during his first two seasons in Coral Gables.

“Learning from those guys, it just helped me grow as a man more than as a player,” Harris, a redshirt sophomore, said Wednesday. “I’m really blessed to have those guys in my circle. We still talk every day.”

Harris, a three-star prospect coming out of Atlanta Riverwood High School, played in 10 games last season and made starts against Bethune-Cookman and Temple but his playing time overall was limited. He only recorded seven tackles, three of which came in the Temple game.

Since the end of last season, Harris knew there was a chance he would be relied upon more this season with the turnover in Miami’s secondary. Despite his minimal playing time, Harris took it upon himself to be one of the more vocal players throughout spring practice and the summer.

“I’m just trying to lead these guys,” Harris said. “Help out the young guys. I’m focused on leading the group as best as I can and putting my best days forward.”

Three Hurricanes receivers named to watch list

Just how stacked could the Hurricanes be at wide receiver this year?

Their top three receivers — Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George and Houston transfer Sam Brown — all on Wednesday were named to the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the best receiver in college football. Miami was the only school to have three representatives on the list, which had 49 players in total.

Restrepo and George both had breakout 2023 seasons for the Hurricanes. Restrepo set the school record with 85 catches to go along with 1,092 receiving yards — second in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season — and six touchdowns. George caught 57 passes for 864 yards and eight touchdowns.

And now Miami adds Brown into the mix. He caught 62 passes for 815 yards and three touchdowns with Houston last season before transferring to the Hurricanes this offseason.

Quotables

▪ Guidry on the defensive line rotation: “Some years, you could play more and some years, you’ve got to roll with the guys you’ve got. This year, I think we’ll be able to play more. I don’t know exactly what that number is yet. Once we get through these live scrimmages and you see some of the younger guys, you’ll see if a guy like [freshman defensive lineman [Justin] Scott can truly play, and I think he can. But just to see how he progresses through the year, to see how much he can play. We’ll know when we get there, when we get to it.”

▪ Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson on tight end Elijah Arroyo: “He is a talented kid. I mean, he can do multiple things. He’s a good receiver. He blocks well. You can hand the ball to him. So, he’s got a lot of tools to work with and so he just needs to keep competing, which he’s doing. I mean, just keep banking reps and getting better at the offense. And again, he shows up every day at times, but he’s like everybody else. Can we be more consistent? Yes, everybody can.”

▪ Senior kicker Andres Borregales on his transformation since his freshman year: “I look back at my freshman year and how I carried myself on the field, I feel like I was a little bit timid at times just because I was in new waters, new territory. I was always confident in myself and what I can do, but the last three offseasons, I’ve been just grinding and I’ve improved mentally and physically. I’ve gotten bigger, so that’s that’s helped a lot, too, but just from freshman year to now, I feel like it’s two different people.”