Miami Hurricanes OC Dan Enos spent Monday afternoon’s press conference speaking on Jarren Williams’ performance vs. Bethune-Cookman. Despite a slow start, Enos continues to be impressed by the young gunslinger and the redshirt freshman starting QB went 19-24 (79%) for 254 yards and 3 TD’s against BCU.
“He started out a little tentative, first game at home or whatever,” Enos said. “We had three plays in a row there (to start) where we had some sort of miscue. Jarren was in the same boat, but I did think he played very well. He finished very strong. He wasn’t playing real well the first quarter-and-a-half, not bad, we were talking about that on the sidelines and the last two drives before the half we score and that’s a real positive for him to put those things behind him.
“I thought he did a real good job responding to a little adversity. Every game is not just `Here we go, completion, completion, completion.’ There’s handling success and handling adversity at that position. Thus far, Jarren has been very grounded, showed a lot of maturity.”
The Canes also got backup QB N’Kosi Perry his first live reps in the new offense as well. Perry finished 7-10 (70%) for 79 yards and one TD toss.
“N’Kosi played very well,” Enos said. “He did a really nice job, good feet, ran the team very, very effective, got them in and out of the huddle.”
Was Enos looking to get freshman Peyton Matocha reps as well?
“We discussed that Saturday too, but we wanted to get N’Kosi as many reps as we could get him since he hadn’t played at all this year,” Enos said. “A new offense for him.”
With Tate Martell spending more and more time with the WR group, Enos feels that his role in the offense will expand as the season goes on. Martell had one carry for 3 yards this weekend vs. BCU.
“Obviously a lot of times quarterbacks in high school are good athletes, can do other things,” Enos said. “We think Tate is going to continue to develop. We got a lot more plays in this weekend and he’ll continue to have a bigger role… He’s a natural ball catcher, he’s tough and competitive… He’s going to be a good player.”
Sophomore WR Mark Pope led Miami in receiving with 92 yards on 3 catches, while also adding a 21-yard carry.
“He looked great. For the first time in a game except a couple of flashes in practice he looked like the explosive, fast receiver that I heard a lot about when I first got here,” Enos said. “Mark is starting to feel more comfortable. If guys don’t know how to line up, what to do, you’re going to play slower. Play fast, you know what to do. Mark is understanding what you’re supposed to do and we’re seeing his athleticism take over… That was awesome to see him do that.”
Junior running back DeeJay Dallas had his second straight 100-yard rushing day (12 carries 108 yards), and put points on the board for the Canes with 3 TD’s.
“Deejay is sneaky fast or something,” Enos said. “He doesn’t look that fast but continually runs for long runs. He has good wiggle, really good vision. He can make his cuts while he’s still moving forward.”
Sophomore RB Robert Burns saw his first action of the year as the #3 back, running for 32 yards on 5 carries.
“Robert has done a really good job. He maybe didn’t have quite as good a camp as Cam (Harris) and Deejay did. But Robert has been plugging away,” Enos said. “I told him after the game `You keep running like that, you’ll earn more carries, more of a role on the team.’”
Freshman TE Larry Hodges earned the first playing time of his career against UNC last week, and turned it into 2 TD catches vs. BCU on Saturday.
“Larry has tremendous ball skills,” Enos said. “Really good hips, body control. We have very good tight ends so we’re trying to expand Larry’s role. He’ll be in the H-back role, in the backfield, on the line of scrimmage. He can run a route. Larry’s role will continue increasing.”
Known for his big play ability, junior WR Jeff Thomas is averaging just 8.58 yards per catch and has a long of 18 yards on the season.
“Jeff, the first game we had some opportunities, didn’t get him the ball,” Enos said. “Week 2, we threw him a post and go route, both incomplete… Also we’re trying to get more receivers involved, keep guys fresh. We’re also trying to get other guys - Mark Pope - deep balls. We can’t throw that many deep balls at a certain point. We’re happy the way Jeff is playing.”
The Canes are playing with a rebuilt offensive line that is starting two true freshmen, but Enos has been impressed by what he’s seen from his OL so far.
“The one fourth-and-one, that was on me, a bad call structurally. It wasn’t anything to do with the offensive line,” Enos said. “Other than that, I thought the offensive line did a tremendous job. The one pressure was on the back, not the offensive line.
“Jakai Clark continues to play very well. He’s a true freshman, Zion (Nelson) is a true freshman. They’re playing against sometimes 22 year-old guys. It’ll be a challenge for them. Those guys rose to the challenge on Saturday. Corey Gaynor, DJ Scaife too.”
With Central Michigan up next on the schedule for the Canes, Enos has some history with the Chippewas. He was the head coach at CMU from 2010-14, but left the role to be a coordinator with Arkansas when he felt things weren’t working out with the administration.
“I was there as the head coach for five years, have great memories, worked with great people, I had a great staff,” Enos said. “So many good memories of being there for five years, have some very, very good friends that still live there. Just great memories. The big reason I left: The President at the time, the administration, I was putting my heart and soul in the program and they were not putting their heart and soul in Dan Enos if you will. It was time for my family and I (to move on).
“When you put your heart and soul into something, give everything you have, you want people to give you that same time back in return. We just felt after five years we weren't getting that, just felt the best move for my family at that time, for my career, was (to leave). It’s been good, really, really good for us. My time there with the people I was able to work with from a day-to-day standpoint - the staff, operations, trainers, strength staff - was A+. Loved the players. But at that time, it was just time to move on."
While Enos doesn’t rule out being a head coach again, he does say he now recognizes the nuances and benefits of being a coordinator compared to the man in charge.
“Would I like to be a head coach again? Absolutely, if the opportunity presents itself,” Enos said. “I'm a different person than I was in 2009.
"Sometimes when you're young in your career, you're consumed with being a head coach. That's just the ultimate goal. I was blessed to have that opportunity. But as you move through life you, realize that sometimes there are different opportunities - I don’t have to be a head coach is what I'm trying to say. I love being a coordinator, coaching offense, calling plays, coaching quarterbacks. When you’re head coach, some of that stuff you can’t do. If the opportunity presents itself, if it’s an unbelievable opportunity, we’d certainly consider it. But I’m very, very happy doing what I’m doing. Different things happen for different reasons… I feel like God has a plan for me, my family, he's directing my steps. Whatever may happen may happen."
**The Canes only had 2 sacks against Bethune-Cookman, and have just 7 overall through 3 games this season, something that is uncharacteristic from UM since Manny Diaz arrived in 2016. Speaking on the lack of sacks, DC Blake Baker felt the team left a bunch on the field against BCU.
“I think this week we left several sacks on the table, that was one of the disappointing things when you watch the film overall,” Baker said. “We should have had three or four more sacks. We have to do our job, trust each other.”
With only 1 TFL and no sacks through 3 games, some feel junior DE Jonathan Garvin is off to a slow start this season. However, Baker agreed with Diaz’s sentiment he expressed earlier in the day, saying he’s graded out well overall in film review.
“I think Garvin has done a really nice job for sure, by far he’s been our best defensive end in my opinion from a consistency standpoint,” Baker said. “I’m sure people are sliding more attention to him, running away from him. But he’s been a bright spot at the position.”
Senior safety Robert Knowles picked up the start this past weekend over sophomore Gurvan Hall, and Knowles recorded his first career turnover and TFL in the effort.
“He had a good game last week and he extended that throughout practice,” Baker said of Knowles. “I felt he deserved the nod.”
Despite Knowles and junior Amari Carter starting on the first snap of the game, Baker said the safety rotation has been pretty much even along with Hall, and it will stay that way for the foreseeable future.
“We have three good safeties who will challenge each other,” Baker said. “All three guys are going to play. When you look at snap counts, it was about even last weekend.”
With Bubba Bolden set to return for Virginia Tech on October 5th, Baker says the team is planning on playing him as a traditional safety, but didn’t rule out giving him some reps at striker in the future.
“We’ll always try to get the best 11 on the field,” Baker said. “Bubba is still learning the defense. Our striker and safety are very similar. We haven’t discussed those avenues. When we get him on the field, who knows what the future holds.”
Although senior LB Zach McCloud is now a backup and hasn’t played as much as he has in the past, the team isn’t planning on redshirting him.
“From a defensive snap count, he hasn’t played nearly as much as Shaq (Quarterman) and (Mike) Pinckney, but when you look at special teams, he’s one of the highest on the team,” Baker said. “His role is going to continue to expand. He did not play inside linebacker until this year. Reps will help him, continuing to build his reps up each week.”
With the blowout of Bethune-Cookman, Baker has able to get a good look at his second and third stringers, and two freshmen in particular caught his eye.
“Sam Brooks came in, was productive,” Baker said. “Jason Blissett had a tackle for loss. There are some guys you never know how they’re going to perform till they’re out there on that stage.”
“He started out a little tentative, first game at home or whatever,” Enos said. “We had three plays in a row there (to start) where we had some sort of miscue. Jarren was in the same boat, but I did think he played very well. He finished very strong. He wasn’t playing real well the first quarter-and-a-half, not bad, we were talking about that on the sidelines and the last two drives before the half we score and that’s a real positive for him to put those things behind him.
“I thought he did a real good job responding to a little adversity. Every game is not just `Here we go, completion, completion, completion.’ There’s handling success and handling adversity at that position. Thus far, Jarren has been very grounded, showed a lot of maturity.”
The Canes also got backup QB N’Kosi Perry his first live reps in the new offense as well. Perry finished 7-10 (70%) for 79 yards and one TD toss.
“N’Kosi played very well,” Enos said. “He did a really nice job, good feet, ran the team very, very effective, got them in and out of the huddle.”
Was Enos looking to get freshman Peyton Matocha reps as well?
“We discussed that Saturday too, but we wanted to get N’Kosi as many reps as we could get him since he hadn’t played at all this year,” Enos said. “A new offense for him.”
With Tate Martell spending more and more time with the WR group, Enos feels that his role in the offense will expand as the season goes on. Martell had one carry for 3 yards this weekend vs. BCU.
“Obviously a lot of times quarterbacks in high school are good athletes, can do other things,” Enos said. “We think Tate is going to continue to develop. We got a lot more plays in this weekend and he’ll continue to have a bigger role… He’s a natural ball catcher, he’s tough and competitive… He’s going to be a good player.”
Sophomore WR Mark Pope led Miami in receiving with 92 yards on 3 catches, while also adding a 21-yard carry.
“He looked great. For the first time in a game except a couple of flashes in practice he looked like the explosive, fast receiver that I heard a lot about when I first got here,” Enos said. “Mark is starting to feel more comfortable. If guys don’t know how to line up, what to do, you’re going to play slower. Play fast, you know what to do. Mark is understanding what you’re supposed to do and we’re seeing his athleticism take over… That was awesome to see him do that.”
Junior running back DeeJay Dallas had his second straight 100-yard rushing day (12 carries 108 yards), and put points on the board for the Canes with 3 TD’s.
“Deejay is sneaky fast or something,” Enos said. “He doesn’t look that fast but continually runs for long runs. He has good wiggle, really good vision. He can make his cuts while he’s still moving forward.”
Sophomore RB Robert Burns saw his first action of the year as the #3 back, running for 32 yards on 5 carries.
“Robert has done a really good job. He maybe didn’t have quite as good a camp as Cam (Harris) and Deejay did. But Robert has been plugging away,” Enos said. “I told him after the game `You keep running like that, you’ll earn more carries, more of a role on the team.’”
Freshman TE Larry Hodges earned the first playing time of his career against UNC last week, and turned it into 2 TD catches vs. BCU on Saturday.
“Larry has tremendous ball skills,” Enos said. “Really good hips, body control. We have very good tight ends so we’re trying to expand Larry’s role. He’ll be in the H-back role, in the backfield, on the line of scrimmage. He can run a route. Larry’s role will continue increasing.”
Known for his big play ability, junior WR Jeff Thomas is averaging just 8.58 yards per catch and has a long of 18 yards on the season.
“Jeff, the first game we had some opportunities, didn’t get him the ball,” Enos said. “Week 2, we threw him a post and go route, both incomplete… Also we’re trying to get more receivers involved, keep guys fresh. We’re also trying to get other guys - Mark Pope - deep balls. We can’t throw that many deep balls at a certain point. We’re happy the way Jeff is playing.”
The Canes are playing with a rebuilt offensive line that is starting two true freshmen, but Enos has been impressed by what he’s seen from his OL so far.
“The one fourth-and-one, that was on me, a bad call structurally. It wasn’t anything to do with the offensive line,” Enos said. “Other than that, I thought the offensive line did a tremendous job. The one pressure was on the back, not the offensive line.
“Jakai Clark continues to play very well. He’s a true freshman, Zion (Nelson) is a true freshman. They’re playing against sometimes 22 year-old guys. It’ll be a challenge for them. Those guys rose to the challenge on Saturday. Corey Gaynor, DJ Scaife too.”
With Central Michigan up next on the schedule for the Canes, Enos has some history with the Chippewas. He was the head coach at CMU from 2010-14, but left the role to be a coordinator with Arkansas when he felt things weren’t working out with the administration.
“I was there as the head coach for five years, have great memories, worked with great people, I had a great staff,” Enos said. “So many good memories of being there for five years, have some very, very good friends that still live there. Just great memories. The big reason I left: The President at the time, the administration, I was putting my heart and soul in the program and they were not putting their heart and soul in Dan Enos if you will. It was time for my family and I (to move on).
“When you put your heart and soul into something, give everything you have, you want people to give you that same time back in return. We just felt after five years we weren't getting that, just felt the best move for my family at that time, for my career, was (to leave). It’s been good, really, really good for us. My time there with the people I was able to work with from a day-to-day standpoint - the staff, operations, trainers, strength staff - was A+. Loved the players. But at that time, it was just time to move on."
While Enos doesn’t rule out being a head coach again, he does say he now recognizes the nuances and benefits of being a coordinator compared to the man in charge.
“Would I like to be a head coach again? Absolutely, if the opportunity presents itself,” Enos said. “I'm a different person than I was in 2009.
"Sometimes when you're young in your career, you're consumed with being a head coach. That's just the ultimate goal. I was blessed to have that opportunity. But as you move through life you, realize that sometimes there are different opportunities - I don’t have to be a head coach is what I'm trying to say. I love being a coordinator, coaching offense, calling plays, coaching quarterbacks. When you’re head coach, some of that stuff you can’t do. If the opportunity presents itself, if it’s an unbelievable opportunity, we’d certainly consider it. But I’m very, very happy doing what I’m doing. Different things happen for different reasons… I feel like God has a plan for me, my family, he's directing my steps. Whatever may happen may happen."
**The Canes only had 2 sacks against Bethune-Cookman, and have just 7 overall through 3 games this season, something that is uncharacteristic from UM since Manny Diaz arrived in 2016. Speaking on the lack of sacks, DC Blake Baker felt the team left a bunch on the field against BCU.
“I think this week we left several sacks on the table, that was one of the disappointing things when you watch the film overall,” Baker said. “We should have had three or four more sacks. We have to do our job, trust each other.”
With only 1 TFL and no sacks through 3 games, some feel junior DE Jonathan Garvin is off to a slow start this season. However, Baker agreed with Diaz’s sentiment he expressed earlier in the day, saying he’s graded out well overall in film review.
“I think Garvin has done a really nice job for sure, by far he’s been our best defensive end in my opinion from a consistency standpoint,” Baker said. “I’m sure people are sliding more attention to him, running away from him. But he’s been a bright spot at the position.”
Senior safety Robert Knowles picked up the start this past weekend over sophomore Gurvan Hall, and Knowles recorded his first career turnover and TFL in the effort.
“He had a good game last week and he extended that throughout practice,” Baker said of Knowles. “I felt he deserved the nod.”
Despite Knowles and junior Amari Carter starting on the first snap of the game, Baker said the safety rotation has been pretty much even along with Hall, and it will stay that way for the foreseeable future.
“We have three good safeties who will challenge each other,” Baker said. “All three guys are going to play. When you look at snap counts, it was about even last weekend.”
With Bubba Bolden set to return for Virginia Tech on October 5th, Baker says the team is planning on playing him as a traditional safety, but didn’t rule out giving him some reps at striker in the future.
“We’ll always try to get the best 11 on the field,” Baker said. “Bubba is still learning the defense. Our striker and safety are very similar. We haven’t discussed those avenues. When we get him on the field, who knows what the future holds.”
Although senior LB Zach McCloud is now a backup and hasn’t played as much as he has in the past, the team isn’t planning on redshirting him.
“From a defensive snap count, he hasn’t played nearly as much as Shaq (Quarterman) and (Mike) Pinckney, but when you look at special teams, he’s one of the highest on the team,” Baker said. “His role is going to continue to expand. He did not play inside linebacker until this year. Reps will help him, continuing to build his reps up each week.”
With the blowout of Bethune-Cookman, Baker has able to get a good look at his second and third stringers, and two freshmen in particular caught his eye.
“Sam Brooks came in, was productive,” Baker said. “Jason Blissett had a tackle for loss. There are some guys you never know how they’re going to perform till they’re out there on that stage.”
