Tight Ends - Get Ready to see some Double-TE sets of Stan Dobard and Chris Herndon with David Njoku flex out wide, or Stan Dobard and David Njoku with Chris Herndon flex out wide.
David Njoku, who caught a pretty end-zone fade for a touchdown in the scrimmage, could be a 6-foot-4, 240-pound weapon for UM. “Just think of Clive [Walford] when he was a sophomore, all that stuff. The ability to flex out and move, just a lighter version [of a tight end],” a UM source said. “But he’s tough enough to put him on the line of scrimmage and block.” Walford, now with the Oakland Raiders, caught 25 passes for 451 yards and four touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore in 2012. Among UM’s current tight end group, sophomore Chris Herndon also has flex ability – and has lined up at fullback – as a speedy 6-4, 255-pounder. Stan Dobard (6-4, 262) is the most physical blocker. Redshirt junior Jake O’Donnell (6-6, 258) has seen game action in double-tight end sets. Like with most position groups at UM, the unit is light on experience. Only Dobard (eight catches, 162 yards) and O’Donnell (one catch, 10 yards) have played in games.
After Thursday’s scrimmage, Al Golden said at a glance, he believed his team did not have any serious injuries. In the two days since, a few minor ailments have surfaced.
At Saturday morning’s practice, the first since the scrimmage, senior safety Deon Bush and sophomore wide receiver Braxton Berrios were limited by hamstring injuries, Golden said. It’s unclear how either were injured. Berrios took a notably hard hit in the scrimmage from safety Jamal Carter after a catch he made over the middle.
Backup middle linebacker Juwon Young, a sophomore, has an “sprain on the bottom of his foot,” Golden said, and was held out of practice Saturday. “We’re going to have to be careful for a little while until it calms down,” Golden said. Freshman Jamie Gordinier, recruited to play the strong side, is filling in the middle.
Another scrimmage standout, junior linebacker Jermaine Grace, wore a wrap on his right thigh and brace on his right shoulder. He did not appear to be limited during the media viewing portion of practice, and wore his usual practice uniform instead of a red (no-contact) or yellow (limited). “He’s fine,” Golden said.
UM took Friday off to rest and get treatment following Thursday’s two-hour scrimmage. Read the full scrimmage report here.
* After being limited by what Golden called a “bone bruise or tendinitis” for the first week of camp, freshman safety Jaquan Johnson was in a regular uniform. Johnson played in the scrimmage. The other player who had been in a yellow jersey since the start of camp, redshirt freshman cornerback Ryan Mayes (hamstring), remained limited.
Still in flux: If you’re looking for an official Hurricanes depth chart, keep waiting.
Asked who separated themselves, or maybe moved from the second unit to the first unit, Golden wouldn’t single someone out. Each player on his first, second and third units – the personnel of which remain blurry, since players are constantly rotating in and out – saw between 30 and 40 plays in the scrimmage.
“We haven’t had a group like this where there’s really no incumbents – Kirb [middle linebacker Raphael Kirby] and [quarterback] Brad [Kaaya], but other than that, everybody’s competing,” Golden said. “We’re using 13 offensive linemen with the first and second team. We’re rotating all those guys in. The defensive line is as tight as it’s ever been in terms of competition. Secondary. Wideout. Tight ends. Running backs. … That’s the first scrimmage, so we’ll see how the body of work is this week.”
Golden’s comments aside, it would be a surprise if center Nick Linder or right guard Danny Isidora didn’t start. Likewise Jermaine Grace at weak-side linebacker. To a lesser extent, Alex Gall seems to be the favorite at left guard and Calvin Heurtelou looks like the starting nose tackle.
The rest of the starting spots are up for grabs. A look:
RB: Gus Edwards, Joe Yearby, Trayone Gray and Mark Walton are splitting carries evenly.
WR: Stacy Coley, Rashawn Scott, Herb Waters and Berrios seem to be the top four, with Malcolm Lewis, Tyre Brady, Lawrence Cager, Darrell Langham the second group.
TE: More on them below.
LT: Kc McDermott, coming off last year’s knee surgery, and Trevor Darling, though Tyree St. Louis is getting a look.
RT: Sunny Odogwu started Thursday’s scrimmage, but McDermott said he was the starter during Saturday’s practice.
DE: Battle between Chad Thomas (I’d give the edge to him), Ufomba Kamalu and Jelani Hamilton.
DT: Anthony Moten, Courtel Jenkins and Kamalu. Does it matter who starts? “Nope,” Moten said. “We’re all gonna ball.”
NT: Heurtelou’s the favorite, but Jenkins can play that spot, Michael Wyche will see his share of action and Kendrick Norton has made a big impression in camp.
RUSH: Trent Harris, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Darrion Owens (at times) and Demetrius Jackson.
SAM: Owens with an edge over Tyriq McCord at the moment.
CB: Artie Burns, Tracy Howard, Corn Elder battling for two spots.
S: Bush, Carter, Dallas Crawford, Rayshawn Jenkins for two spots. Johnson, when healthy, will be in this mix, too.
* Freshmen on defense who are getting reps with the first unit, according to Golden: Norton, defensive end R.J. McIntosh, cornerback Sheldrick Redwine and safety Jaquan Johnson. “There’s times in practice that we do put them in there,” Golden said. Cornerback Michael Jackson has seen a little action with the ones. Gordinier is in the two-deep with Young’s injury.
* Freshman Mark Walton returned kicks during an early-practice drill, alongside Coley, Elder, Yearby and Berrios.
Depth help: The NCAA “cloud” is moving further and further away from Coral Gables. Golden, who now has 80 scholarship players after playing last year with 78 (unofficially), said UM’s administration has placed a greater emphasis on finding quality walk-ons. UM has 125 players in the program, Golden said.
“It used to be if you got in, you could come out for football,” he said. “Our walk-on program is much better than it was, and our scholarship count has increased. And as you guys have noted or have asked me, the number of guys that leave has dramatically declined now [a major problem in the 2011-13 recruiting classes; only one from the 2014 class has left so far]. All that is coming to fruition now on our team, which is nice.”
