Miami, FL
Cam Ward and company: Previewing the Miami Hurricanes’ 2024 quarterbacks
The 2024 season is on the horizon, and Hurricanes fans hope to see a major step forward in Year 3 of the Mario Cristobal era.
As Miami keeps adding talent through high school and transfer portal recruiting, UM appears poised to be a major contender in the ACC this season.
This summer, we will take a look at a different position group each week to see who departed, who arrived and who should have big impacts this year.
We will start with perhaps the biggest reason for optimism in Coral Gables: Miami’s quarterback room.
Who left
The Hurricanes had two key members of the quarterback room leave in the offseason, but neither departure was particularly surprising.
Tyler Van Dyke, who had been the Hurricanes’ primary starting quarterback since early in the 2021 season, left UM for Wisconsin via the transfer portal.
Van Dyke had moments of brilliance in his Miami career, including early last year. He finished the season with 2,703 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024.
The second departure came later, as rising third-year quarterback Jacurri Brown entered the transfer portal after spring practice ended. Brown played in one game last year, starting the Pinstripe Bowl against Rutgers. He wound up transferring to UCF.
The two departures would have left Miami shorthanded at quarterback, but they added several new signal-callers to make up for the losses.
Who returns
The Hurricanes have just one scholarship quarterback returning from last year’s team: sophomore quarterback Emory Williams.
Williams arrived as an unheralded three-star prospect a year ago but grew into Van Dyke’s primary backup. After earning late reps in three early-season wins, Williams got the start against Clemson when Van Dyke was dealing with an injury.
Williams led Miami to a win over the Tigers — their first since 2010 — with 24 completions on 33 attempts for 151 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But Williams went back to the bench after Van Dyke returned.
The Hurricanes put Williams back in the starting role as Van Dyke struggled in the second half of the season, and the freshman started on the road against Florida State. He completed just 8 of 23 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns before he suffered an arm injury that knocked him out for the remainder of the season.
Williams completed 62 percent of his passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns with one interception last year. Pro Football Focus gave him a 66.8 offensive grade in his limited time.
Williams returned to the practice field for spring camp, and he battled it out with transfer Reese Poffenbarger for the backup spot.
“Both Emory and Reese have really done a good job of staying on those heels of (transfer Cam Ward),” Cristobal said in the spring.
Who arrived
The biggest news of Miami’s offseason appeared to come on New Year’s Day. Former Washington State quarterback Cam Ward announced that he would enter the NFL draft instead of using his last year of college eligibility.
But that did not last long. Less than two weeks later, Ward changed his mind and committed to Miami, dramatically changing the outlook for the Hurricanes this season.
“That was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make,” Ward said in the spring. “From thinking I was ready for the NFL draft to knowing that I’m still not done yet in college. There’s still food left on the table for myself, for this team.”
Ward spent two seasons at Washington State after transferring there from FCS Incarnate Word. While playing for the Cougars, Ward became one of the PAC-12’s top quarterbacks. He racked up 3,736 passing yards with 25 touchdowns and seven picks in 2023. He also scored eight rushing touchdowns. Pro Football Focus gave him an 81.1 offensive grade with a 78.6 passing grade.
“Guys like that … that can make change, that can make a big difference, not just as a player but as a human being, they come around not too often,” Cristobal said.
Since arriving on Miami’s campus this winter, Ward has received rave reviews from his coaches and teammates.
“He can throw the ball, man,” linebacker Wesley Bissainthe said. “He’s putting the ball in places, very tight places. That shows me all I needed to see. He can throw the ball. Deep … whatever you need.”
Ward was not the only quarterback transfer. In the two weeks between Ward’s NFL draft announcement and his UM commitment, Miami received a transfer pledge from Poffenbarger, who arrived from Albany.
Poffenbarger did not have the name recognition that Ward did, but he has had a successful career so far. In 2023, he led FCS in passing touchdowns (36) and passing yards (3,603).
Like Ward, Poffenbarger has gotten praise from teammates and coaches.
“Competitor, man,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said in the spring. “He’s got a live arm. He’s played a lot of football, too. Football IQ is very high.”
The final newcomer to the quarterback room is freshman Judd Anderson. A three-star prospect from Georgia, Anderson was one of UM’s longest-tenured 2024 commits.
Playing behind Ward, Poffenbarger, Williams and Brown during the spring, Anderson did not get many reps during spring practice. However, his 6-foot-6 frame lends well to developing at the position.
“Judd Anderson impressed us from Day 1 with a couple of different things,” Cristobal said at his early signing day press conference. “No. 1 is leadership skills. We saw him play basketball, as well. His ability to move, make people miss, balance, body control, to be able to twist, bend and then get out of just really difficult body position was impressive. And then he was relatively new at quarterback in a particular high school before he made the move to another one and before long, you saw statistically what he did. It’s hard to do that: that many yards, that type of completion percentage, that many touchdowns. Natural leadership skills and just flat-out tough, unfazed, and there’s something he said about that. When you’re the one touching the football on every single play, it’s got to show, and your teammates got to feel that, and it just oozes out of him. Very hungry, tremendous appetite for betterment.”
Once a year, leaders in transportation and trade come together to discuss the “State of the Ports” and what the future holds.
Could a second airport be coming to Miami-Dade?
Last week, the county commission moved forward with studying the possibility, warning that Miami International Airport could reach capacity within the next 15 years.
“We are working through that right now. It is a long process that takes anywhere from 15 to 20 years,” said Ralph Cutie, Director and CEO of Miami International Airport.
As for expanding PortMiami, Director and CEO Hydi Webb says building outward isn’t an option.
“We really can’t build on our island and make it bigger, but what we are doing is building vertically,” Webb said.
These are just some of the discussions highlighted at this year’s “State of the Ports” event, which examines how the industry is adapting to growing demand, population increases, and rising tourism.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava emphasized the need to stay ahead.
“We have to make sure that we stay not only current, but that we get ahead—that’s why we call it ‘future-ready,’” she said.
Cutie says the airport’s Capital Improvement Plan now totals $14 billion. The plan will roll out over the next 15 years to accommodate an estimated 77 million passengers and 4.2 million tons of cargo by 2040.
That includes major upgrades across the airport.
“From replacing all of our passenger loading bridges to upgrading elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and renovating all of our restrooms,” Cutie said.
There are also improvements planned for concourses and terminals.
“We have a new Concourse K under construction—a $750 million project expected to be completed by 2029. Concourse D60, a $1.1 billion project, will break ground in 2027 and be completed by 2030,” he added.
Another major focus is cargo. Cutie says volume has grown for six consecutive years.
“We are finalizing our cargo development master plan, which will add a few million square feet to our cargo facilities,” he said.
At PortMiami, the strategy is similar—grow upward and operate more efficiently.
“We are stacking containers higher with modern infrastructure. We’re also building garages and facilities that can include parking, intermodal areas, and even office space,” Webb said.
She added that future plans could include shifting some operations off-site.
“We are studying the concept of an inland port—looking at what functions we can move off the port, like empty container storage,” Webb explained.
It’s important to note that these projects are expected to be funded through public-private partnerships, not taxpayer dollars, according to Tax Collector Dariel Fernández.
After four weekends without a Formula 1 race, we will soon be back on track with a spectacular event in the United States. As the paddock heads to the second Sprint weekend of the season, there are a number of talking points and unknowns to get stuck into ahead of the trip to Miami.
Upgrades, and lots of ‘em
The Miami Grand Prix has seen some teams bring significant upgrade packages in the past, but it’s a whole new ball game this year.
New regulations mean an increased development rate in the early part of the season, as teams are able to find bigger gains as they explore different directions that have been opened up by the rules.
Where many of the teams might have been aiming to bring their first major updates to the Bahrain Grand Prix, the two scheduled rounds in April being unable to take place has meant more time to develop and manufacture new parts, as well as additional spares before the race weekend in Miami.
The scale of the changes could be massive across the grid, with McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella going as far as describing his team’s efforts as representing a whole new car, and he doesn’t think they’ll be alone.
“In our intent, there was always the idea to deliver a completely new car – especially from a aerodynamic upgrades point of view – for the North American races,” Stella said. “So we could keep up with this plan. Obviously, the fact that the calendar has been changed sort of helped a little bit, like I’m sure helped all the other teams that could work more streamlined towards upgrading the car rather than being busy with racing.
“But I could say overall that across Miami and Canada, we will see an entirely new MCL40… I would like to stress that this is what I would expect of most of our competitors.”
Antonelli’s happy hunting ground
Sometimes it’s a little hard to believe the current championship leader is only in his second season in F1, and even harder to recall the struggles he faced during the European swing of races last year.
Kimi Antonelli had an encouraging start to 2025, but the first headline moments came in Miami and Montreal. Prior to his first podium in Canada, the visit to the Miami International Autodrome saw Antonelli set the fastest time in Sprint Qualifying, and he followed that with a top three Qualifying performance, just 0.067s adrift of pole position.
Given the difficulties he faced with the Mercedes throughout the middle part of last year, Antonelli’s performance in Miami stands out as a particularly strong weekend. Arriving with a nine-point championship lead over George Russell after back-to-back wins from pole position, will he be able to replicate that on his return this year?
Regulation tweaks
This year’s regulations have been a major talking point among drivers and fans alike, and were always designed with mechanisms that could be adjusted if required once there was proven on-track data from race weekends.
With three rounds down in Australia, China and Japan, the unexpected gap in races provided a larger window for discussions to take place among the sport’s key stakeholders – also including the teams, drivers, FIA and power unit manufacturers – about any changes that could address certain aspects of car performance.
Meetings were described by many of those involved as extremely collaborative, and the main outcomes focused on trying to allow drivers to maximise Qualifying performance as well as reducing the likelihood of excessive closing speeds in race conditions.
The changes have been carefully considered and simulated using the data from the opening three events, but Miami will be the first true test of them in race conditions.
Two American teams and a first home race for Cadillac
Miami has quickly become a significant stop on the calendar for the entire field, with multiple teams carrying out additional activations and often running special liveries.
There will likely be a number of designs on display again this year, but two teams get to call it the first of three home races, as Haas return looking to add to a record of just three points – two of them in a Sprint – in the previous four editions. Given the strong form to start the year that sees Haas sitting fourth in the Teams’ Championship, more points will certainly be the target.
While the on-track aims are currently at a different stage to Haas, it will still be a big weekend for Cadillac as they make their debut on home soil. The team are hoping to bring their first upgrade package to Miami, but also feel the support from the American crowd as they continue their maiden season in the sport.
Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are sure to have a huge amount of backing during the race weekend, as is another member of the Cadillac line-up…
A Sprint weekend and an F2 US debut
It’s not just Cadillac getting to enjoy their first home race in Miami, but their third driver Colton Herta also has an unexpected chance to race in Formula 2 in the United States.
Herta has made the switch from IndyCar and with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia unable to take place in April – they were both set to feature F2 rounds – that has meant the next two North American F1 weekends will host instead. For the first time as either F2 or its previous guise as GP2, the feeder series will be racing on the continent, giving fans a chance to see the next generation racing twice over each weekend.
And speaking of racing twice, that’s exactly what the F1 grid will be doing as both Miami and Montreal are Sprint weekends, providing two opportunities to score points.
Given the length of the gap between races, and the amendments made to the regulations since the last time the teams were on track in Japan, the FIA has opted to extend the only practice session on Friday from its usual one-hour length to run for 90 minutes. It’s sure to be an action-packed weekend.
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