Coming off his team’s loss to North Carolina this past weekend, Miami head coach Manny Diaz likes what he’s seen out of his team so far in practice this week as the Canes prepare for Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.
“The practice yesterday from a tempo standpoint of just getting from drill to drill and moving around the field was probably one of the best we’ve had in any of our weeks," Diaz said. "It’s our first real game week (without an offseason or bye to prepare). The embracing of routine has been a boost to our guys.”
UM’s running game gashed the Tar Heels, as DeeJay Dallas and Cam Harris combined for 167 yards on 24 carries (6.96 ypc) and were consistently breaking into the second and third levels of the UNC defense. Harris even had a long run negated by a penalty, the second time that’s happened to him in 2 games this season.
“Poor Cam Harris has about 100 yards of rushing taken away on two penalties,” Diaz said. “We want to be a physical downhill rushing attack with running backs that are low to tackle when they get in the open field.”
With the clock about to run out late in the 4th quarter in the loss against UNC, the Canes had one last chance to tie the game, but Bubba Baxa missed a 49-yard FG attempt wide left. It was Baxa’s second miss of the game in which he also had an extra point blocked, but Diaz is fully behind the sophomore kicker.
“The only thing he can do is continue to work, continue to trust himself and fully commit to every kick… the guy can kick as far as he wants to,” Diaz said. “The more he feels us around, support him (the better). He’s going to miss a kick again at some point, it’s going to happen. We can’t demand perfection. But like with all our guys, `Am I improving, finding a way to become the best version of myself?’”
With special teams seemingly costing the team multiple games going back to the beginning of last season, Diaz says UM now working on specials more than ever. While Jon Patke is the official special teams coach, Diaz says every coach on staff pitches in to help cover special teams coaching, including himself.
“We have upped the amount of time we practiced special teams from the past, are 25 to 30 minutes depending on what the day is,” Diaz said. “Our punt coverage vs. North Carolina’s punt coverage yielded us 112 yards of hidden yardage. The kickoff teams were a wash because only one kick was returned. I think we’re starting to see some of the benefits of our (attention) to special teams.”
Sophomore QB N’Kosi Perry missed the first half of practice this morning for personal reasons, but returned for the second half and Diaz says there’s no reason to worry about Perry’s status with the team.
“He’s been very supportive of Jarren (Williams),” Diaz said. “He’s been very professional.”
Diaz is focused on developing more depth up and down his roster and hopes this weekend’s game against Bethune-Cookman will provide opportunities for some younger players to step up.
“Right now, it’s all attention on who can help us win the football game,” Diaz said. “We want to be a team like last week - 10 different receivers caught a ball.”
After junior S Amari Carter was thrown out of the game for targeting in the third quarter vs. UNC, senior S Robert Knowles (5 tackles) came in a played well according to Diaz.
“He’s a guy that has been a success story, has had some ups and downs throughout his career,” Diaz said of Knowles. “Here’s the rare thing - he’s a guy that stayed, a guy that loves Miami. In this day and age, everyone in the outside world would say `Transfer.’ He loves Miami, hasn’t done that. The way he works and the way he played Saturday - you can see the difference between older guys and younger guys. His demeanor, urgency - he calmed the secondary down when he went in there. He’s always been an ‘A+’ in terms of tackling. I’m very happy to see Rob getting more of a role and having more success.”
Diaz also pointed out defensive tackles Chigozie Nnoruka and Jordan Miller as players he was impressed with on the D-Line after reviewing film.
“The practice yesterday from a tempo standpoint of just getting from drill to drill and moving around the field was probably one of the best we’ve had in any of our weeks," Diaz said. "It’s our first real game week (without an offseason or bye to prepare). The embracing of routine has been a boost to our guys.”
UM’s running game gashed the Tar Heels, as DeeJay Dallas and Cam Harris combined for 167 yards on 24 carries (6.96 ypc) and were consistently breaking into the second and third levels of the UNC defense. Harris even had a long run negated by a penalty, the second time that’s happened to him in 2 games this season.
“Poor Cam Harris has about 100 yards of rushing taken away on two penalties,” Diaz said. “We want to be a physical downhill rushing attack with running backs that are low to tackle when they get in the open field.”
With the clock about to run out late in the 4th quarter in the loss against UNC, the Canes had one last chance to tie the game, but Bubba Baxa missed a 49-yard FG attempt wide left. It was Baxa’s second miss of the game in which he also had an extra point blocked, but Diaz is fully behind the sophomore kicker.
“The only thing he can do is continue to work, continue to trust himself and fully commit to every kick… the guy can kick as far as he wants to,” Diaz said. “The more he feels us around, support him (the better). He’s going to miss a kick again at some point, it’s going to happen. We can’t demand perfection. But like with all our guys, `Am I improving, finding a way to become the best version of myself?’”
With special teams seemingly costing the team multiple games going back to the beginning of last season, Diaz says UM now working on specials more than ever. While Jon Patke is the official special teams coach, Diaz says every coach on staff pitches in to help cover special teams coaching, including himself.
“We have upped the amount of time we practiced special teams from the past, are 25 to 30 minutes depending on what the day is,” Diaz said. “Our punt coverage vs. North Carolina’s punt coverage yielded us 112 yards of hidden yardage. The kickoff teams were a wash because only one kick was returned. I think we’re starting to see some of the benefits of our (attention) to special teams.”
Sophomore QB N’Kosi Perry missed the first half of practice this morning for personal reasons, but returned for the second half and Diaz says there’s no reason to worry about Perry’s status with the team.
“He’s been very supportive of Jarren (Williams),” Diaz said. “He’s been very professional.”
Diaz is focused on developing more depth up and down his roster and hopes this weekend’s game against Bethune-Cookman will provide opportunities for some younger players to step up.
“Right now, it’s all attention on who can help us win the football game,” Diaz said. “We want to be a team like last week - 10 different receivers caught a ball.”
After junior S Amari Carter was thrown out of the game for targeting in the third quarter vs. UNC, senior S Robert Knowles (5 tackles) came in a played well according to Diaz.
“He’s a guy that has been a success story, has had some ups and downs throughout his career,” Diaz said of Knowles. “Here’s the rare thing - he’s a guy that stayed, a guy that loves Miami. In this day and age, everyone in the outside world would say `Transfer.’ He loves Miami, hasn’t done that. The way he works and the way he played Saturday - you can see the difference between older guys and younger guys. His demeanor, urgency - he calmed the secondary down when he went in there. He’s always been an ‘A+’ in terms of tackling. I’m very happy to see Rob getting more of a role and having more success.”
Diaz also pointed out defensive tackles Chigozie Nnoruka and Jordan Miller as players he was impressed with on the D-Line after reviewing film.
