After participating in Wednesday’s drills, redshirt freshman QB Jarren Williams said he is becoming more comfortable in the offense and he sees his teammates making improvements every day.
“It’s still growing. It’s complex, we have so many different variations,” Williams said. “We move different pieces and it can change the whole play. We’re still growing and building chemistry every day. I’m feeling really comfortable with the offense now.”
The Miami offense racked up the yardage against UNC, putting up nearly 500 yards of total offense, but UM’s primary issue on offense so far has been converting yards into points. After 2 weeks, UM is one of the worst teams in the country in red zone offense, as they are 107th in the country at scoring in the red zone (67%). The Canes were 4 of 6 on Saturday against the Tar Heels putting points on the board in the red zone and settled for 4 FG attempts in the game.
“We have to finish,” Williams said. “We drive the whole field, kick a field goal. We decided that’s not going to happen anymore. We’ve been working extra hard on our red zone schemes and really just making sure that we finish the drives. We are really focusing on scoring.”
While Williams has been feasting in the short and intermediate game, the Canes only took two shots downfield over 20 yards against UNC, so the deep ball is an aspect of his game Williams would like to get going.
“My deep passes - the deep ball is definitely something I have to work on every day if I want to be efficient with that,” Williams said. “I know I had Jeff (Thomas) on a go ball, felt the pressure coming, kind of didn’t step into it. I have to throw it quicker, too… I feel like I can improve even on my medium passes to short still… Tight windows - I feel I can make those throws.”
Both the offensive line and Williams improved in terms of sacks taken, going from 10 vs. UF to 4 vs. UNC, but Williams is still looking to get the ball out even quicker.
“I want to get rid of the ball, not take sacks - if that’s me throwing the ball away or getting out of the pocket,” Williams said.
Sophomore QB N’Kosi Perry missed the first half of practice this morning for personal reasons, but returned for the second half and Williams is confident that Perry will continue to be a positive force on the team.
“Me and N’Kosi are like best friends,” Williams said. “He’s never complained, always comes out and works hard… He’s a very positive influence on me. N’Kosi has been really great for this team and this program. I feel he’s a guy we can count on.”
The team returns to Hard Rock Stadium this weekend for the home opener against Bethune-Cookman, and Williams recognizes the importance of defending the home turf and taking care of business, something that’s been stressed by head coach Manny Diaz.
“It really just drills that mentality in us that losing at home is not a standard, that can’t happen, it’s not accepted,” Williams said. “We’re not thinking about not losing, but moreso winning. We’re excited to be home and get in front of our fans for the first time.”
“It’s still growing. It’s complex, we have so many different variations,” Williams said. “We move different pieces and it can change the whole play. We’re still growing and building chemistry every day. I’m feeling really comfortable with the offense now.”
The Miami offense racked up the yardage against UNC, putting up nearly 500 yards of total offense, but UM’s primary issue on offense so far has been converting yards into points. After 2 weeks, UM is one of the worst teams in the country in red zone offense, as they are 107th in the country at scoring in the red zone (67%). The Canes were 4 of 6 on Saturday against the Tar Heels putting points on the board in the red zone and settled for 4 FG attempts in the game.
“We have to finish,” Williams said. “We drive the whole field, kick a field goal. We decided that’s not going to happen anymore. We’ve been working extra hard on our red zone schemes and really just making sure that we finish the drives. We are really focusing on scoring.”
While Williams has been feasting in the short and intermediate game, the Canes only took two shots downfield over 20 yards against UNC, so the deep ball is an aspect of his game Williams would like to get going.
“My deep passes - the deep ball is definitely something I have to work on every day if I want to be efficient with that,” Williams said. “I know I had Jeff (Thomas) on a go ball, felt the pressure coming, kind of didn’t step into it. I have to throw it quicker, too… I feel like I can improve even on my medium passes to short still… Tight windows - I feel I can make those throws.”
Both the offensive line and Williams improved in terms of sacks taken, going from 10 vs. UF to 4 vs. UNC, but Williams is still looking to get the ball out even quicker.
“I want to get rid of the ball, not take sacks - if that’s me throwing the ball away or getting out of the pocket,” Williams said.
Sophomore QB N’Kosi Perry missed the first half of practice this morning for personal reasons, but returned for the second half and Williams is confident that Perry will continue to be a positive force on the team.
“Me and N’Kosi are like best friends,” Williams said. “He’s never complained, always comes out and works hard… He’s a very positive influence on me. N’Kosi has been really great for this team and this program. I feel he’s a guy we can count on.”
The team returns to Hard Rock Stadium this weekend for the home opener against Bethune-Cookman, and Williams recognizes the importance of defending the home turf and taking care of business, something that’s been stressed by head coach Manny Diaz.
“It really just drills that mentality in us that losing at home is not a standard, that can’t happen, it’s not accepted,” Williams said. “We’re not thinking about not losing, but moreso winning. We’re excited to be home and get in front of our fans for the first time.”
