With the season opener against LSU closing in on Sunday, the prospect of finally playing for something that matters is beginning to set in for the Miami Hurricanes. For starting QB Malik Rosier, the key to the game is getting the younger players focused and settled into the game.
“I think a lot of the older guys are really pumped,” Rosier said. “Jaquan Johnson pulled me the other day and we had like a five-minute talk just about ‘are we ready? Is the offense ready? Is the defense ready?’
For me and him being the captains, we feel like we are ready. The big thing is, there is going to be a lot of young guys playing, and we’re in Dallas, so the big thing is to get them to calm down, especially Brevin Jordan because he is going to get his first start against an SEC defense. We just have to let them know that they are great and that they are going to make big plays for us.”
As a returning starter, Rosier has plenty of experience to draw from this season. Whereas last year, Rosier may not have been able to read every defender properly, this year he is beginning to pick up on the subtle nuances of the game.
“I think that the big thing is that you start picking up on little details, you know, going through twelve games, there are little things you pick up,” Rosier said. “Whether it is a linebacker or a lineman, or whether it is a safety and how he eyeballs the defender, and it helps you pick up on coverages and tendencies. I have a great staff around me that helps me and just being older and having that experience helps me and the guys are doing a great job of running their routes, so I think we are going to have a big impact in this game.”
Although the game is technically at a neutral site, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas is much, much closer to Baton Rouge than it is to Coral Gables, and the Tigers will likely have a home field advantage.
“We don’t really care about that, to be honest,” Rosier said. “For us, it is a neutral site, and I feel like a lot of Miami fans are going to show up. I’ve had a lot of family and friends tell me that they are going to be there to support. They might have “home field advantage,” but for us, we are just going to go out there and play football, whether there are fans or not. It’s still 11-on-11 and 100 yards of field.”
**As the anchor of the offensive line, center Tyler Gauthier is trying to make sure that each of his linemen are prepared to play against LSU, especially the young guys that have never played a college game before.
“They’re learning, especially the freshman,” Gauthier said. “They have to learn the playbook, they have to learn how to play with our intensity. They’re getting it for sure. I would trust any one of them to go in if they have to. I‘m happy to see how they’re coming along, all it’s going to take is a little more time and they’ll have it down.”
Miami has kept the starting offensive line completely the same since the end of spring ball and the five have begun to develop a bond off the field as well.
“It’s great, even outside of football we’re always hanging out, always getting food together,” Gauthier said. “It’s good, we can talk to each other. If something is wrong with anyone’s lives, they know who to come to. It’s us, it’s that five.”
Known for their aggressive defense, LSU’s defensive line has produced many big time draft picks over the years, but Gauthier says his group is ready for the challenge.
“We all love the test that’s coming out the gate,” Gauthier said. “You know, they’re big, they’re strong. We’re not starting off with a smaller team this year; we’re jumping right into it. I think that's what we need. We need that to get us going.”
Coming off a three game losing streak to end last season, the Canes are more than anxious to get that bad taste out of their mouths.
“We learned to just keep our foot on the gas and take nothing for granted. We thought we were riding high, we were 10-0. We can’t do that, we got to go out there and play every game like its our last game and I think that’s what we’re going to do this year.”
**For Miami left tackle Tyree St. Louis, it’s simple: win the battle in the trenches, win the war against LSU.
“Games are definitely won in the trenches, and I am very excited on going against an SEC defensive line,” St. Louis said. “It’ll be the best competition for us and also we can put Miami on the map by saying ‘just because we are the ACC doesn’t mean we can’t compete against the SEC.’”
Malik Rosier is back as the leader of the offense behind center, and St. Louis sees big things from him this season.
“Malik is going to do amazing,” St. Louis said. “He did great last year and he will do even better this year. He has more leadership, more senior skills, more senior offensive linemen and an entirely better offense, so he’ll do great this year.”
Looking back on last season, St. Louis believes the season finale against Pitt was a catalyst for the year and after that loss, the team’s mentality was never the same. In 2018, St. Louis says reaching the team’s goals will be about learning from their past mistakes and taking each opponent of their own volition.
“The Pitt game was the main thing that stopped us,” St. Louis said. “It was a team which we expected to go in and blow them out and win. We had faced bigger and better opponents and we had fought until the last second. In no one’s mind we thought we would lose the Pitt game, but we didn’t prepare like that. So when we did lose, it kind of shocked us and set us back saying ‘we are vulnerable, we can be beat.’ It doesn’t matter who we beat before, if we don’t come in the game with the same mindset as past games, we are going to lose, which we did.”
How comfortable is St. Louis starting at left tackle for the first time?
“I have been comfortable for a while. Very comfortable and very confident.”
**Going into LSU week, starting running back Travis Homer is ready to see what this SEC hype is all about.
“I think, you know, it’s exciting to be able to play a SEC team after just playing all ACC the entire season last year and that we finally get to switch it up and get on the other side,” Homer said.
UM’s running game will be going up against a formidable unit in LSU’s front 7. What has Homer seen from LSU’s defense on film?
“I’ve watched some film, I’ve seen that they are fast and physical and they have great defense,” Homer said. “The scouts are really giving us a great look of bringing that physicality and speed… [The D-Line], I’ve seen that they are strong, and they’re going to keep fighting no matter what.”
Of course, much of Homer’s success or failure on Sunday will depend if the offensive line can create some room to run for him up front.
“I think they’re doing great, they are a lot faster and stronger,” Homer said on the O-Line. “So, they are able to open up the holes quick and keep them open.”
“I think a lot of the older guys are really pumped,” Rosier said. “Jaquan Johnson pulled me the other day and we had like a five-minute talk just about ‘are we ready? Is the offense ready? Is the defense ready?’
For me and him being the captains, we feel like we are ready. The big thing is, there is going to be a lot of young guys playing, and we’re in Dallas, so the big thing is to get them to calm down, especially Brevin Jordan because he is going to get his first start against an SEC defense. We just have to let them know that they are great and that they are going to make big plays for us.”
As a returning starter, Rosier has plenty of experience to draw from this season. Whereas last year, Rosier may not have been able to read every defender properly, this year he is beginning to pick up on the subtle nuances of the game.
“I think that the big thing is that you start picking up on little details, you know, going through twelve games, there are little things you pick up,” Rosier said. “Whether it is a linebacker or a lineman, or whether it is a safety and how he eyeballs the defender, and it helps you pick up on coverages and tendencies. I have a great staff around me that helps me and just being older and having that experience helps me and the guys are doing a great job of running their routes, so I think we are going to have a big impact in this game.”
Although the game is technically at a neutral site, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas is much, much closer to Baton Rouge than it is to Coral Gables, and the Tigers will likely have a home field advantage.
“We don’t really care about that, to be honest,” Rosier said. “For us, it is a neutral site, and I feel like a lot of Miami fans are going to show up. I’ve had a lot of family and friends tell me that they are going to be there to support. They might have “home field advantage,” but for us, we are just going to go out there and play football, whether there are fans or not. It’s still 11-on-11 and 100 yards of field.”
**As the anchor of the offensive line, center Tyler Gauthier is trying to make sure that each of his linemen are prepared to play against LSU, especially the young guys that have never played a college game before.
“They’re learning, especially the freshman,” Gauthier said. “They have to learn the playbook, they have to learn how to play with our intensity. They’re getting it for sure. I would trust any one of them to go in if they have to. I‘m happy to see how they’re coming along, all it’s going to take is a little more time and they’ll have it down.”
Miami has kept the starting offensive line completely the same since the end of spring ball and the five have begun to develop a bond off the field as well.
“It’s great, even outside of football we’re always hanging out, always getting food together,” Gauthier said. “It’s good, we can talk to each other. If something is wrong with anyone’s lives, they know who to come to. It’s us, it’s that five.”
Known for their aggressive defense, LSU’s defensive line has produced many big time draft picks over the years, but Gauthier says his group is ready for the challenge.
“We all love the test that’s coming out the gate,” Gauthier said. “You know, they’re big, they’re strong. We’re not starting off with a smaller team this year; we’re jumping right into it. I think that's what we need. We need that to get us going.”
Coming off a three game losing streak to end last season, the Canes are more than anxious to get that bad taste out of their mouths.
“We learned to just keep our foot on the gas and take nothing for granted. We thought we were riding high, we were 10-0. We can’t do that, we got to go out there and play every game like its our last game and I think that’s what we’re going to do this year.”
**For Miami left tackle Tyree St. Louis, it’s simple: win the battle in the trenches, win the war against LSU.
“Games are definitely won in the trenches, and I am very excited on going against an SEC defensive line,” St. Louis said. “It’ll be the best competition for us and also we can put Miami on the map by saying ‘just because we are the ACC doesn’t mean we can’t compete against the SEC.’”
Malik Rosier is back as the leader of the offense behind center, and St. Louis sees big things from him this season.
“Malik is going to do amazing,” St. Louis said. “He did great last year and he will do even better this year. He has more leadership, more senior skills, more senior offensive linemen and an entirely better offense, so he’ll do great this year.”
Looking back on last season, St. Louis believes the season finale against Pitt was a catalyst for the year and after that loss, the team’s mentality was never the same. In 2018, St. Louis says reaching the team’s goals will be about learning from their past mistakes and taking each opponent of their own volition.
“The Pitt game was the main thing that stopped us,” St. Louis said. “It was a team which we expected to go in and blow them out and win. We had faced bigger and better opponents and we had fought until the last second. In no one’s mind we thought we would lose the Pitt game, but we didn’t prepare like that. So when we did lose, it kind of shocked us and set us back saying ‘we are vulnerable, we can be beat.’ It doesn’t matter who we beat before, if we don’t come in the game with the same mindset as past games, we are going to lose, which we did.”
How comfortable is St. Louis starting at left tackle for the first time?
“I have been comfortable for a while. Very comfortable and very confident.”
**Going into LSU week, starting running back Travis Homer is ready to see what this SEC hype is all about.
“I think, you know, it’s exciting to be able to play a SEC team after just playing all ACC the entire season last year and that we finally get to switch it up and get on the other side,” Homer said.
UM’s running game will be going up against a formidable unit in LSU’s front 7. What has Homer seen from LSU’s defense on film?
“I’ve watched some film, I’ve seen that they are fast and physical and they have great defense,” Homer said. “The scouts are really giving us a great look of bringing that physicality and speed… [The D-Line], I’ve seen that they are strong, and they’re going to keep fighting no matter what.”
Of course, much of Homer’s success or failure on Sunday will depend if the offensive line can create some room to run for him up front.
“I think they’re doing great, they are a lot faster and stronger,” Homer said on the O-Line. “So, they are able to open up the holes quick and keep them open.”
