One of the more hotly contested position battles on the Miami Hurricanes depth chart this fall has been the competition for the No. 2 corner job. The Canes have a pair of talented sophomores grinding every day to start across from Trajan Bandy, and DJ Ivey has been one of those contenders.

“It’s going well,” Ivey said. “I mean, we’re all competing for the spot, but regardless, we’re all going to play a role in the defense.”

Although Ivey was mainly working with the first team in spring, he has been playing on the second team behind Al Blades this fall. What do the coaches tell him he has to work on to return to the ones?

“Just more consistency,” Ivey said. “Just be consistent with my technique, all the play calls, and all that.”

Helping get him there is cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph, who has gained a reputation for being able to develop his young charges at Miami.

“He’s more of a guy that simplifies everything,” Ivey said of Rumph. “So when we bring what we learn in the film room to the field, it’s easy for us. Everything we learn in the film room, he breaks it down as simple as possible.”

In the past, Rumph has compared Ivey to a version of himself – that’s quite high praise for a college sophomore to be likened to an All-American and first round NFL draft pick.

“I see it,” Ivey said. “I just got to – I won’t say I have to live up to the expectations, but I’ve got to do my thing as well. So I’m just out here competing.”

Ivey doesn’t just lean on Rumph, though. As the elder statesman of the corner group, Bandy offers his wisdom to Ivey and others at times as well.

“He just tells us to compete, tackle and run to the ball - everything else is going to play itself out,” Ivey said of Bandy. “He doesn’t say much because he’s not that type of guy, but when he does, he means business.”

It’s often said that a player’s biggest jump happens in their second season and Ivey feels that he is much more comfortable in the UM defense heading into 2019.

“I would say the playbook, I’ve been in the playbook big,” Ivey said of the biggest difference from his first season. “Freshman year, I knew I had an opportunity to play, but not as much as this year due to the fact that I had guys in front of me, I wasn’t really confident in myself. This year, I’ve been in the playbook harder, had a little more urgency. That’s the other thing, my confidence has gone up too.”

The Hurricanes are setting up to head to Orlando and face-off against the rival Florida Gators in just two days. Despite the depth of UF’s receiver corps, Ivey feels confident that he is well-prepared for whatever an opponent can throw at him.

“Their wide receivers, they’re alright, but we just focused on us right now,” Ivey said. “We still have things we need to do, so we’re not even worried about them.

“I think we face the best wide receivers in the ACC every day to be honest. I ain’t going to lie, all of them tough. There are so many, all of them give me a run.”

As for his personal goals for the season, Ivey is looking for “at least 3 interceptions. Get better with my tackling and show the coaches that I’m physical and can tackle.”