Miami WRs Praise Kevin Beard, Growth of Isaiah Horton

In his first spring with the Hurricanes, new wide receivers coach Kevin Beard has brought energy and leadership to Miami’s receiving core. He received praise from a couple of those wideouts after UM’s practice on Saturday.

“He’s by far the best coach I’ve ever had receiver-wise,” third-year wideout Brashard Smith said. “He’s teaching me everything, like the little things, my routes and getting up on a defender and stuff like that. I feel like it’s a big change for me.”

Jacolby George agreed with Smith’s statement.

“I agree. I don’t want to speak on the past but yeah, he’s the best one we’ve had so far,” the third-year receiver said. “He connects with us more and he lets us know what we’re doing wrong and when we’re doing wrong, and he lets us know it’s ok to fail and to learn from it.”

Both Beard and George share the connection of having attended Plantation (Fla.) High School.

“I feel like me and Coach Beard, we get along real good just cause we came from the same background, we’re from the same city and especially since we’re from the same high school, we get along good.”

Sophomore Isaiah Horton has impressed his teammates in this first spring under Beard. The 6-foot-3 wideout, known for his ability to high-point deep passes, caught a vital 3rd-and-long pass from Jacurri Brown.

“Isaiah, he’s really growing. He’s really stepping up and taking on a bigger role from last year … He’s showing that he’s improving.”

Horton had a quiet freshman campaign, catching one pass for six yards. He could be in line for a bigger role this season with multiple players at his position transferring out of Miami during the offseason.

The second-year receiver has noticed his own growth, especially in his maturity.

“I guess I could say I’ve grown maturity-wise,” Horton said. “I came in, I had a little maturity errors here and there but I feel like my maturity’s grown a lot since I’ve been here.”

“It was a moment I just talked to myself. I was like, ‘Isaiah we got to do better. You’re better than this. What we’re doing is not what we came here to do. We got a goal in mind. Let’s get your mind right and go get it.’”

With his size and ability to grab jump balls, Horton brings a unique skill set to Miami’s offense that will likely be utilized more this upcoming season.