Miami Football: Can Lorenzo Lingard take over backfield?

Can Lorenzo Lingard build on his impressive freshman season for Miami football and take over in the Hurricanes’ backfield in 2019?

Not many players have had the fan fare of a guy like Lorenzo Lingard in Coral Gables, but that’s what happens when you join a program as a five-star recruit.

The Hurricanes wrestled Lingard away from Florida State and besides winning the recruiting battle, Miami added a major piece to its offense. He didn’t have a great freshman season, rushing for just 136 yards but he did that on only 17 carries, averaging 8.0 yards per attempt while adding two touchdowns.

Lingard proved in limited carries that he has superstar potential.

Travis Homer is gone, leaving the backfield in the hands of junior DeeJay Dallas who had 617 yards and six touchdowns on 5.6 yards per carry. But even though Dallas is projected as the starting running back, Lingard seems like the type of player who could elevate the offense behind quarterbacks like Tate Martell or N’Kosi Perry.

Miami’s run game has been solid over the past few years and it’s because the passing game has been mediocre, at best. But even with that potentially changing, Lingard and Dallas will form one heck of a duo in the backfield.

Can Lingard take over in the backfield, though?

Lingard may be a more pure running back as Dallas came in as an athlete, but both are extremely talented. The former may have a higher ceiling and is entering his sophomore season, so I believe Manny Diaz and the coaching staff will go with the hot hand early on, and that could very well be Lingard.

The Hurricanes have a good problem on their hands with two capable running backs, but Lingard gives the offense a higher ceiling and will be the team’s top breakout candidate in 2019.