BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
I’ve always made it a point that when there is something important with the Miami Hurricanes Football Team, I don’t miss it!
That proved to be the case on Monday afternoon as the Canes held their Pro Day featuring players that could be on NFL rosters, or perhaps land with the Canadian Football League.
NFL scouts, player personnel and coaches were on hand at the Canes indoor practice facility to see this year’s group led by safety Cam Kinchens.
Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce was also in attendance as well as former Canes TE Will Mallory, who now plays for the Indianapolis Colts, to support his former teammates.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell coined a phrase that said, “what do you learn when a player is in shorts?” This obviously refers to the players not involved in contact drills.
Canes Head Coach Mario Cristobal was in attendance to not only support his players but to also provide information about his players. Former Miami Dolphin and current Canes Coach Jason Taylor did the same.
But there was one player that didn’t work out for the scouts but will likely do so in 2025.
His name is Xavier Restrepo, the 21-year old wide receiver who is a native of Coconut Creek, FL, who attended Deerfield Beach High School.
The 5-10, 198 pounder is a Fifth-Year Senior and was First-team All-ACC in 2023.
He was Miami’s leading receiver in 2023.
He delivered one of the best seasons by a wide receiver in Miami history, starting all 13 games and set a program single season record with 85 catches. Restrepo recorded 1,092 yards and six touchdowns, only sixth 1,000-yard season by a pass catcher in program history.
He led the team in all-purpose yards with 1,149 and he had five 100-yard games over the course of the season.
As I spent the entire workout seeking players to interview, the light went off in my head to speak to an individual for whom I’ve spoken to so many times.
What intrigued me about talking to Restrepo is he was sponging the Pro Day and I could tell by his body language that he wanted to get a feel of what he’s likely to participate in during the Spring of 2025.
I decided to approach him and he was very nice to give me a few minutes just before he had to go to class.
We talked about the Canes off-season and what he was learning from the event.
When you listen to the interview, you’re going to be rooting for him to have a sensational year and look forward to seeing him play on Sundays.
What I’ve learned through the years about finding stories is that certain ones just fall in your lap and when the opportunity presents itself, you simply pounce on them.
I learned this lesson covering a lot of Spring Training Games.
Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.
His broadcasts can be seen by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.
Scott just published a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble.
