‘The ball finds his hands:’ Hurricanes freshman safety Bryce Fitzgerald seizing key opportunities

Key Highlights

• The visiting sideline celebrated.
• Safeties coach Will Harris could not contain himself — he ran to the back of the end zone to jump on the safety prodigy’s back.“I freaking literally ran, sprinted, down the sidelines, (toward) him,” quarterback Carson Beck said. The game-sealing pick was only the latest for Fitzgerald.
• The freshman safety has six interceptions this season — the most at UM since safety Kam Kinchens notched six in 2022 — and has grown into a ball-hawking threat in Miami’s secondary. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“The ball finds his hands,” defensive back Keionte Scott said. Fitzgerald looks like a veteran in the secondary, but he was actually the last freshman to arrive on campus.
• While the rest of the freshman class arrived in time for spring football, Fitzgerald did not enroll until summer. But the former Miami Columbus star dove into his work and got on the field quickly.
• Fitzgerald made his college debut in Week 1 against Notre Dame and played 20 or more snaps in three of the next four games.