Every recruit asks the same question. Will I play?
At Miami right now, the answer is on the stat sheet. We're No. 2 in the country in snaps played by freshmen. Only USC is ahead of us, and USC has played eight games to our seven.
Here's the difference. USC paid for the No. 1 class in the country, did nothing in the portal, and looks horrible. Lincoln Riley might not survive Indiana and Ohio State. We added portal guys, we're playing freshmen at the second-highest rate in the sport, and we're the No. 1 team in America.
Former Hurricanes wide receiver Ahmmon Richards played as much as anybody as a true freshman, so I asked him what a recruit sees in that number.
"You don't have to sell this," he said. "It speaks for itself."
What he wants recruits to notice is that these aren't special teams snaps or fourth-quarter snaps in a blowout. JJ Dunnigan is starting. Ben Congdon is starting. He can look at Malachi Toney, Dunnigan or Congdon and say, I could be that guy.
Five Hall of Famers on the sideline, three first-round picks last year with more coming and proof that if you're a stud, you play.
Congdon led the way with 74. Dunnigan was second. Gavin Mueller played 28 and scored his first touchdown. Somourian Wingo played 26 and is returning kicks too. Brody Jennings got 22 and was on the field a lot. Vance Spafford (10) seems to come in every time Toney takes a play off.
Ahmmon zeroed in on two guys.
Mueller is getting comfortable. They're flexing him out wide, putting him in the slot, attaching him to the line. Wingo got real burn in the third quarter in a lineup with Toney and Vandrevius Jacobs, made a third-down catch, a guy miss and threw a stiff arm. He's finding his rhythm.
And shout out to Mike Viti. Israel Briggs came in as a pass catcher, and now every tight end in the room is thumping somebody in the run game. That was a question coming into the year and they're answering it. Briggs also has 40, 50, 60-yard explosiveness, like a wide receiver. Number 14 is going to make a big play with the ball before this season is over.
Every one of them except Cantwell played in key moments against Pitt. On the No. 1 offense in the country.
Ahmmon caught something while we went through the list. Cantwell was the No. 1 recruit in the country. He's rotational right now, still developing, taking a step back after playing more early. If he were starting too, we'd be No. 1 in freshman snaps by a mile.
The closest thing I can think of is where Mario Cristobal came from. Alabama, in the title years, threw elite freshmen in early. Cam Robinson, Najee Harris. Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle are just a few on a long list of freshmen who got burn.
They were recruiting studs who couldn't be left in the garage and that's the model.
Dunnigan has 290 snaps, fourth on the entire defense. He's a monster. Last week he punched out a fumble an inch from the ground and nearly forced another on a sack.
After him: Jennings 49, Camdin Portis 49, DeAnthony Lafayette 42 (he played meaningful pass-rush snaps at Clemson when we were banged up), and Keshawn Stancil with 33.
Stancil was recruited as a three-technique, and that's probably where he ends up. For now, they're playing him at end while he puts on weight.
Jennings is the one I like most after Dunnigan. The size, the awareness, he carries himself like he belongs.
Ahmmon felt it from the stands. The energy dropped off when the backups came in. Pitt's starters were still out there, sure. But it didn't look like a group trying to win a job.
"You're not getting paid in garbage time to go out there and just look like garbage," he said. "You're not out there to coast."
Everybody gets paid now. If you're fresh after standing on the sideline for three quarters and you're not locked in, that's on you.
And the recruiting board backs it up.
We have a long list of corners committed, including Donte Wright, A'Mir Sears and Ai'King Hall, and the staff is still recruiting more. Jaiden Bryant is coming to play right away on the edge. Linebacker didn't show up on the freshman list at all, which tells you why we added Noah Glover, AJ Randle, Aston Whiteside are still chasing Cypher.
Not everyone is going to have a spot. Now is the time to put good film out there and play it like it's the first quarter and you're the starter. That's how it should be.
We're on the CanesInsight YouTube channel every day breaking down the depth chart, the snap counts and the recruiting board. Watch the full segment below, and subscribe if you haven't.
At Miami right now, the answer is on the stat sheet. We're No. 2 in the country in snaps played by freshmen. Only USC is ahead of us, and USC has played eight games to our seven.
Here's the difference. USC paid for the No. 1 class in the country, did nothing in the portal, and looks horrible. Lincoln Riley might not survive Indiana and Ohio State. We added portal guys, we're playing freshmen at the second-highest rate in the sport, and we're the No. 1 team in America.
Former Hurricanes wide receiver Ahmmon Richards played as much as anybody as a true freshman, so I asked him what a recruit sees in that number.
"You don't have to sell this," he said. "It speaks for itself."
This isn't garbage time
When Ahmmon was being recruited, he went to games and watched the young players. Are they on the field? Are plays being called for them? That's what a 17-year-old pays attention to.What he wants recruits to notice is that these aren't special teams snaps or fourth-quarter snaps in a blowout. JJ Dunnigan is starting. Ben Congdon is starting. He can look at Malachi Toney, Dunnigan or Congdon and say, I could be that guy.
Five Hall of Famers on the sideline, three first-round picks last year with more coming and proof that if you're a stud, you play.
The Pitt snap counts
These are the freshmen who played double-digit snaps Saturday, and a lot of them were real snaps before the final drives.Congdon led the way with 74. Dunnigan was second. Gavin Mueller played 28 and scored his first touchdown. Somourian Wingo played 26 and is returning kicks too. Brody Jennings got 22 and was on the field a lot. Vance Spafford (10) seems to come in every time Toney takes a play off.
Ahmmon zeroed in on two guys.
Mueller is getting comfortable. They're flexing him out wide, putting him in the slot, attaching him to the line. Wingo got real burn in the third quarter in a lineup with Toney and Vandrevius Jacobs, made a third-down catch, a guy miss and threw a stiff arm. He's finding his rhythm.
And shout out to Mike Viti. Israel Briggs came in as a pass catcher, and now every tight end in the room is thumping somebody in the run game. That was a question coming into the year and they're answering it. Briggs also has 40, 50, 60-yard explosiveness, like a wide receiver. Number 14 is going to make a big play with the ball before this season is over.
The offensive class is a home run
Season offensive snaps, special teams excluded: Congdon 300, Javian Mallory 153, Mueller 116, Jackson Cantwell 84, Wingo 83 and climbing, Briggs 72, Spafford 66.Every one of them except Cantwell played in key moments against Pitt. On the No. 1 offense in the country.
Ahmmon caught something while we went through the list. Cantwell was the No. 1 recruit in the country. He's rotational right now, still developing, taking a step back after playing more early. If he were starting too, we'd be No. 1 in freshman snaps by a mile.
The closest thing I can think of is where Mario Cristobal came from. Alabama, in the title years, threw elite freshmen in early. Cam Robinson, Najee Harris. Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle are just a few on a long list of freshmen who got burn.
They were recruiting studs who couldn't be left in the garage and that's the model.
The defensive class has to catch up
On defense, it's Dunnigan and then a cliff.Dunnigan has 290 snaps, fourth on the entire defense. He's a monster. Last week he punched out a fumble an inch from the ground and nearly forced another on a sack.
After him: Jennings 49, Camdin Portis 49, DeAnthony Lafayette 42 (he played meaningful pass-rush snaps at Clemson when we were banged up), and Keshawn Stancil with 33.
Stancil was recruited as a three-technique, and that's probably where he ends up. For now, they're playing him at end while he puts on weight.
Jennings is the one I like most after Dunnigan. The size, the awareness, he carries himself like he belongs.
Cristobal's warning
After the game, Cristobal said he didn't like how the defense held the standard late. What happens on the field from here tells him who plays more, who plays less, and what he has to handle in the portal and in recruiting.Ahmmon felt it from the stands. The energy dropped off when the backups came in. Pitt's starters were still out there, sure. But it didn't look like a group trying to win a job.
"You're not getting paid in garbage time to go out there and just look like garbage," he said. "You're not out there to coast."
Everybody gets paid now. If you're fresh after standing on the sideline for three quarters and you're not locked in, that's on you.
And the recruiting board backs it up.
We have a long list of corners committed, including Donte Wright, A'Mir Sears and Ai'King Hall, and the staff is still recruiting more. Jaiden Bryant is coming to play right away on the edge. Linebacker didn't show up on the freshman list at all, which tells you why we added Noah Glover, AJ Randle, Aston Whiteside are still chasing Cypher.
Not everyone is going to have a spot. Now is the time to put good film out there and play it like it's the first quarter and you're the starter. That's how it should be.
We're on the CanesInsight YouTube channel every day breaking down the depth chart, the snap counts and the recruiting board. Watch the full segment below, and subscribe if you haven't.
