Berrios Hopes for Big Day in Homecoming at UNC
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Every game day is special for Braxton Berrios, but this Saturday will mean a little bit more.
A native of Raleigh, N.C., Berrios knew he would get several opportunities to play in his home state when he committed to Miami. With the Hurricanes playing in the ACC, games at the four North Carolina schools in the conference were a given.
Berrios has his final scheduled homecoming game at noon Saturday against the North Carolina Tar Heels (1-7, 05 ACC), but he hopes to help Miami (6-0, 4-0 ACC) make one more trip to the Tar Heel State for the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 2.
“It’s awesome,” Berrios said of returning home. “Hopefully it’s my second-to-last trip to North Carolina during my senior year, but it’s the last one in the regular season and we’ve got to make the most of it. There probably will be a good amount of family and friends and I expect to go up there and win.”
The senior wide receiver has been one of Miami’s top offensive threats in the first six games of 2017. He has 25 catches on the season and leads all players with 337 yards and five touchdowns in six starts.
Berrios’ stat line in 2017 exceeds his combined stat line from the past two years (2015-16), when he totaled three starts, 24 catches, 264 yards and two touchdowns in 24 games. But he flashed game-breaking potential in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl, catching four passes for 64 yards and a touchdown against West Virginia, and that led to a more prominent role in the offense as a senior.
“As a staff, when we were installing the offense in the spring, it was assumed I could take on a bigger role,” Berrios said. “They knew I was ready for it and knew I had been waiting for a chance like this.”
The larger role has paid dividends for Berrios and the undefeated Hurricanes. Miami is ranked 8th in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches Polls. The Hurricanes are currently on an 11-game winning streak dating back to Nov. 5, 2016, and Berrios has played a key role in helping keep the streak alive.
Berrios came up big against Florida State, on Oct. 7, starting and hauling in a career-high eight receptions for 90 yards with two scores. Berrios caught two passes for first downs on the game-winning drive against the Seminoles and was named ACC Receiver of the Week two days after the rivalry win.
The speedy receiver posted his first career 100-yard receiving game in a win over Toledo on Sept. 23, catching five passes, including a career-long 55-yarder, for 105 yards with one receiving score.
In addition to his scores at Florida State and against Toledo, Berrios scored in the season opener against Bethune-Cookman and at Duke. The four-game touchdown streak to open the season was the first by a Hurricane since legendary WR Reggie Wayne in 2000. Berrios’ two-touchdown performance against Florida State on Oct. 7 was the first multi-score game of his career at UM.
Berrios’ streak of a touchdown catch in five straight games ended Oct. 14 vs. Georgia Tech. It started in a win over West Virginia in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl, and was the longest such streak for a Hurricane pass-catcher since WR Leonard Hankerson in 2010.
His outstanding play has caught the attention of opponents and has forced Miami to find new and different ways to get him involved.
“That’s something that happens when you get more involved with the offense,” Berrios said. “It’s something different and something we adjust to as a team because if they are focused on one person more than another, we can exploit something else and as a team, we’ve been able to counter and plan for that.”
While Berrios has been a major threat in Miami’s passing game, he also has been an excellent punt returner for the Hurricanes. His 16.5 yards-per-punt return average was the sixth-best mark in FBS and the best mark in the ACC entering the week.
“It’s a thrill. It really is,” Berrios said of returning punts. “I have never gotten that kind of thrill anywhere else. Even with all of the catches or touchdowns, it’s a different deal.”
A year ago, Berrios ranked 11th nationwide in punt return average (11.3), totaling 215 yards on 19 returns. He also has his first punt return for a touchdown, a 41-yard score against Florida A&M, and had a 43-yard return against Florida State to set up Miami’s final touchdown in its 2016 rivalry game.
“It all happens really fast,” Berrios said. “I’d say it’s one of if not the scariest jobs in football and you have to have a mentality when you go back there. You have to find the direction and the depth of the kick, look at your cover guys and see if they covered down or not and then it’s about making a split-second decision on whether you are going to fair catch it or not.”
Whether it’s in the passing game or on special teams, Berrios will look to shine in his home state for the Hurricanes on Saturday.
