NCAA: When will the Miami Hurricanes get Stacy Coley back?

The Miami Hurricanes have one of the best wide receivers in college football with their sophomore, Stacy Coley. Can his 2015-16 season become a breakout year?

In February 2013 the Miami Hurricanes got a blessing when they got a 6’1, 173-pound hometown wide receiver, from Oakland Park, FL, Stacy Coley. When National Signing Day came around, Coley, one of the most coveted wide receivers in the class (he had the No. 4 ranking for WR’s) ultimately chose to stay local as he made his announcement by putting on a green fitted hat that read the word SWAG, in big block orange letters only resembling the Miami Hurricanes recognizable colors. 

Then Coley arrived on campus in Coral Gables, and no one truly knew what we were in for. As a freshman Coley dazzled with his speed and huge play ability as he thrashed teams within the ACC such as Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, and Duke to name a few.

Coley impressed because not only was he a wide receiver with the ability to get in and out of breaks quickly to catch long touchdown passes, he also was nimble enough to get used from the backfield. The Hurricanes noticed his unique skills and because of his ability they often used reverses, and wide receiver screens putting him in open space and making him even more dangerous in the open field.

In his freshman year Coley had 33 catches for 591 yards, and seven receiving touchdowns. He also had and one rushing touchdown, one punt return touchdown, and two kickoff return touchdowns to cap of his freshman season. 

Even though Coley was one of the most dynamic players on the team, at times we forgot that he was a freshman since he was so confident and didn’t look bright eyed during his time spent with the media in press conferences, and interviews.

After his freshman year Coley was on a plane, because his career looked like he was on the ascension. We thought in his sophomore year that Coley was going to arrive as one of the most memorable players that the Hurricanes program had ever seen, but life doesn’t always go according to plan. 

When Coley stepped off the plane from his freshman year and began his sophomore year he took a puzzling step back. In 2014, his sophomore year, the dynamic playmaker that we saw in 2013 was long gone and there were no words, or no explanation why.

After getting so familiar with the endzone in his freshman season Coley failed to scored a single touchdown in his sophomore year. His lack of production was even more mind-boggling because Coley was playing with the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year, quarterback, Brad Kaaya.

Coley’s sophomore campaign leaves Hurricanes fans thinking when will he get back to playing at his freshman form. Better yet, it leaves us thinking will he become even better than his electrifying freshman season?

If Coley was on a metaphorical plane to end his freshman year because he was rising in the ranks of college football, to sum up Coley’s sophomore year, we can say that he stepped off of the plane and experienced jet lag. 

It’s been said when traveling into a new time zone, people often take a slow time to adjust to their original physical state. In 2013, there was no one on a faster trajectory to the limelight than Coley, and in 2014 it looked like he didn’t know what was going on while playing on the football field.

Thankfully Coley himself realizes that his junior year is a clean slate and he’ll have another chance to prove to all the doubters who thought he was a fluke, or aberration, that he’s not a one hit wonder.  

In an interview with Christopher Stock of 247 Sports, Coley said this:

"“My sophomore year will never, ever exist in my football days again. I want to get put down in the books [as one of the best at UM]“"

With a sophomore in Kaaya poised to become the next great quarterback at the University of Miami, Coley is going to have stability from a leadership perspective that will allow him to flourish in his junior season.

In addition what’s going to make Coley’s junior year even more special is the fact that he won’t have to compete with his former teammate Phillip Dorsett for playing time on the field. Now that Dorsett’s speed is going to the NFL, Coley will now have to fill in Dorsett’s shoes and become that home run threat that he was back in his freshman year where he was an All-American.

The Miami Hurricanes have missed having a playmaker as dynamic as Coley, for a long time, primarily going back to the days of Devin Hester. When Hester played for the Hurricanes every week we got to see him do something special on the football field.

Now that Coley’s ready for another big year, is expecting a Hester like season from Coley too much to ask?

Next: NFL: 5 teams that should consider drafting Phillip Dorsett