Following Wednesday’s drills, Miami Hurricanes defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson took to the podium to discuss how the battles at cornerback and safety have been playing out through two and a half weeks of spring ball. According to Robinson, it has been the veterans Bubba Bolden, Amari Carter, and Gurvan Hall that are shining the most at safety, while freshmen Avantae Williams and Kamren Kinchens have shown flashes as well.
"We have got the three guys who I think are moving in the right direction as far as Bubba, Amari and Gurvan," Robinson said. "Those guys have played a lot of football here.
"When you start talking about the young guys, you look at Avantae and you look at Kam Kinchens. Kam is a phenomenal young player. He's very intelligent. He has all the stuff that you want your son to have. If he continues to progress and do the things he is doing, he is going to be a fine player here at Miami. We have some young guys and I am seeing who they are and what they are. But Kam and Avantae are really standing out and impressing us as a staff."
Williams of course missed all of 2020 with medical issues, but he was considered one of Miami’s top talents in the 2020 recruiting class, and Robinson is working to mold him into a consistent and viable option at safety going forward.
"He's getting comfortable and adjusted in playing football again," Robinson said of Williams. "He's a very physical guy, so I am showing him how to be physical - keeping his head up, not ducking. He had some issues with that so we are cleaning up some of the technical issues.
"But he's a guy that loves football. At night, he's the kind of guy that calls you and says 'Coach, I want to go through this again', wants to be a good football player. So I'm excited about Avantae. I think he's going to be a very talented player for us in the future. He has to continue to develop. He's not where he needs to be obviously. But he is moving toward that goal."
The three older veterans of Bolden, Carter, and Hall have played a lot of football as safeties at Miami, and while the results have been lacking at times, Robinson is still looking for more from the younger talents like Williams and Kinchens to trust them as full-time players on the last line of defense.
"(Williams and Kinchens) need to earn the trust of the players on the field with them and the coaching staff," Robinson said. "Understand what to do and understand they have to do it the right way. The only way you can do that is by practicing and the whole key to starting is me trusting you to go on the field and do what you are taught to do. Obviously, there is no way of knowing that because they are all on ground zero with me. Who is going to transfer what we are doing in the meeting room to the practice field and then, in my mind, I will put that guy on the field in a game.”
At cornerback, UM went with an unorthodox method over the offseason, promoting DeMarcus Van Dyke from the recruiting department to CB coach despite Robinson having the “DB coach” moniker; however, the more veteran Robinson is excited to have Van Dyke essentially working under him and being able to mentor the young coach known as “DVD”.
"Coach DVD has done a tremendous job with those guys changing up some of the some of the techniques and different things in terms of progression in how we are going to play," Robinson said. "They have been doing a really good job competing. Every day is a competition. Nobody knows who is going to start. That helps. We have a lot of competition in that room and guys are doing a good job with it of going out and making plays… The press technique has been good. That's something we have to keep working on. But we are getting a lot better than we were Day 1 and if we continue to progress, we will be fine."
An interesting name at corner this spring has been Jalen Harrell, who moved to the position from safety over the offseason, and Robinson mostly praised the second-year player when asked about his progress since the switch.
"He’s a guy that's big and physical," Robinson said of Harrell. "It limits a lot of space when you play outside, especially with the way we play in bump and run. He can put hands on people and run vertical down the line. He has good straight-ahead speed and I think some of the quickness stuff and the different things gives him some difficulties. But it is something we are going to adjust and he is doing a fine job of learning what to do."
On the recruiting side of things, Robinson is already a known recruiting maven and he has begun establishing his presence in South Florida, taking the lead on many of UM’s high-profile recruitments regardless of position.
"It has been very good so far," Robinson said of recruiting. "I'm getting great communication with a bunch of guys. I think being here it's a chance to sit at the front door of some of the top recruits in the country. They are going to answer your phone call and you are going to have a chance to present for those guys. That is one of the things that has been so great here. The feedback and response has been wonderful.
"I think getting them on our campus is going to separate us from a lot of other people. Often times in recruiting, you never know what the other people have on campus. I didn't know that Miami, the university, was as gorgeous as it is. I think that is one of the things that when they open things up eventually that we will be able to get guys on campus and let them see that Coral Gables is a beautiful place and they have done a great job as far as facilities and the campus.”
Robinson also mentioned that junior CB Al Blades is doing light work off to the side this spring as he works his way back into shape in his return from a heart condition.
"We have got the three guys who I think are moving in the right direction as far as Bubba, Amari and Gurvan," Robinson said. "Those guys have played a lot of football here.
"When you start talking about the young guys, you look at Avantae and you look at Kam Kinchens. Kam is a phenomenal young player. He's very intelligent. He has all the stuff that you want your son to have. If he continues to progress and do the things he is doing, he is going to be a fine player here at Miami. We have some young guys and I am seeing who they are and what they are. But Kam and Avantae are really standing out and impressing us as a staff."
Williams of course missed all of 2020 with medical issues, but he was considered one of Miami’s top talents in the 2020 recruiting class, and Robinson is working to mold him into a consistent and viable option at safety going forward.
"He's getting comfortable and adjusted in playing football again," Robinson said of Williams. "He's a very physical guy, so I am showing him how to be physical - keeping his head up, not ducking. He had some issues with that so we are cleaning up some of the technical issues.
"But he's a guy that loves football. At night, he's the kind of guy that calls you and says 'Coach, I want to go through this again', wants to be a good football player. So I'm excited about Avantae. I think he's going to be a very talented player for us in the future. He has to continue to develop. He's not where he needs to be obviously. But he is moving toward that goal."
The three older veterans of Bolden, Carter, and Hall have played a lot of football as safeties at Miami, and while the results have been lacking at times, Robinson is still looking for more from the younger talents like Williams and Kinchens to trust them as full-time players on the last line of defense.
"(Williams and Kinchens) need to earn the trust of the players on the field with them and the coaching staff," Robinson said. "Understand what to do and understand they have to do it the right way. The only way you can do that is by practicing and the whole key to starting is me trusting you to go on the field and do what you are taught to do. Obviously, there is no way of knowing that because they are all on ground zero with me. Who is going to transfer what we are doing in the meeting room to the practice field and then, in my mind, I will put that guy on the field in a game.”
At cornerback, UM went with an unorthodox method over the offseason, promoting DeMarcus Van Dyke from the recruiting department to CB coach despite Robinson having the “DB coach” moniker; however, the more veteran Robinson is excited to have Van Dyke essentially working under him and being able to mentor the young coach known as “DVD”.
"Coach DVD has done a tremendous job with those guys changing up some of the some of the techniques and different things in terms of progression in how we are going to play," Robinson said. "They have been doing a really good job competing. Every day is a competition. Nobody knows who is going to start. That helps. We have a lot of competition in that room and guys are doing a good job with it of going out and making plays… The press technique has been good. That's something we have to keep working on. But we are getting a lot better than we were Day 1 and if we continue to progress, we will be fine."
An interesting name at corner this spring has been Jalen Harrell, who moved to the position from safety over the offseason, and Robinson mostly praised the second-year player when asked about his progress since the switch.
"He’s a guy that's big and physical," Robinson said of Harrell. "It limits a lot of space when you play outside, especially with the way we play in bump and run. He can put hands on people and run vertical down the line. He has good straight-ahead speed and I think some of the quickness stuff and the different things gives him some difficulties. But it is something we are going to adjust and he is doing a fine job of learning what to do."
On the recruiting side of things, Robinson is already a known recruiting maven and he has begun establishing his presence in South Florida, taking the lead on many of UM’s high-profile recruitments regardless of position.
"It has been very good so far," Robinson said of recruiting. "I'm getting great communication with a bunch of guys. I think being here it's a chance to sit at the front door of some of the top recruits in the country. They are going to answer your phone call and you are going to have a chance to present for those guys. That is one of the things that has been so great here. The feedback and response has been wonderful.
"I think getting them on our campus is going to separate us from a lot of other people. Often times in recruiting, you never know what the other people have on campus. I didn't know that Miami, the university, was as gorgeous as it is. I think that is one of the things that when they open things up eventually that we will be able to get guys on campus and let them see that Coral Gables is a beautiful place and they have done a great job as far as facilities and the campus.”
Robinson also mentioned that junior CB Al Blades is doing light work off to the side this spring as he works his way back into shape in his return from a heart condition.
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