[ So much TROLL-ing about the scrimmage just past that one can see below a local periodical objective take on it. ]
CORAL GABLES — March 21, 201 | Filed in: 2015 spring, Football. His offensive and defensive players will claim victory over one another, but Al Golden doesn’t view a scrimmage that way. “I just look at all the little things,” he said. “There’s no way to win as the head coach.”
There’s one way everyone loses, though: when both sides commit a slew of penalties.
Before watching the film of Saturday’s scrimmage at Greentree Practice Fields, Golden and his players knew that would be the most unsavory part. In their second scrimmage of the spring – a one-hour, 40-minute affair coming seven days before the annual spring game – the Hurricanes produced several big-yardage offensive plays and turned the ball over just once. But through the first three drives, UM’s rotating first- and second-string units committed eight penalties.
“We’ve got to get rid of those,” Golden said, adding that flags “cost us on both sides of the ball last year.” The Hurricanes finished 110th nationally and last in the ACC last year in penalty yards (827) and were 108th (12th of 14 ACC teams) in number of penalties (93).
Rising sophomore quarterback Brad Kaaya, who returned after missing Thursday’s practice with the flu, voiced his frustration after working from multiple third-and-long situations. Unofficially, Kaaya finished 12-of-19 for 140 yards and a touchdown. He was a bystander during the day’s only turnover. After a sack by Harris, play continued. Kaaya threw a pass 20-plus yards over the middle to junior tight end Stan Dobard, who fumbled. Cornerback Artie Burns recovered.
“It was just a little sloppy today,” Kaaya said. “The first team offense, we’d get in there and make a 30-yard run but it gets called 15 yards back. It’s tough when it’s first-and-15. Pretty much every drive, every third down we’d go from third-and-1 to third-and-nine or third-and-10, even third-and-15.”
Hurricanes quarterbacks Brad Kaaya (left) and Malik Rosier combined for 291 yards and three touchdowns on 58.6 percent passing. (Photos by Matt Porter)
The defense took advantage, registering four sacks – by defensive tackle Anthony Moten, rush end Trent Harris, safety Deon Bush and linebacker Juwon Young – all on third down, and eight tackles for loss in total. Strong-side linebacker Darrion Owens, playing a larger role in place of the injured Tyriq McCord, had a team-high seven tackles.
“The defense was all over the ball today. They were all over the field,” Kaaya said. “It just seems like they’re more aggressive. It seems like they all are almost working in unison. I don’t know. It’s like one hive, it seems like.”
Sophomore running back Joe Yearby put up 108 total yards and two touchdowns. He took a Kaaya screen pass 71 yards for a touchdown and finished off another drive with a 16-yard rush. He caught two passes for 74 yards and carried seven times for 34 yards. Junior Gus Edwards didn’t break a long run, but gained 85 yards on 16 carries.
Playing mostly against the second-team defense, dual-threat backup Malik Rosier went 5-for-10 for 151 yards and two touchdowns, including an eight-yard scramble that set up Yearby’s rushing score.
“I just think [offensive coordinator James Coley] is using him differently than he does Brad and he’s allowing Malik to play in his comfort zone,” Golden said. “I think that’s smart on James’ part. So he’s got a little different package and obviously he’s getting more comfortable.”
Rosier threw touchdown passes of 45 and 26 yards to Malcolm Lewis, who finished with four receptions for 89 yards. Rosier’s first pass of the day was a screen that Braxton Berrios took 56 yards. Berrios added a 20-yard catch two drives later, but laid on the turf after making that grab. Golden said Berrios “got the wind knocked out of him” and the team was monitoring a possible rib injury.
“We’re just being real cautious right now,” Golden said, adding that the weather was “sneaky hot.” High-noon temperatures reached 86 degrees with no cloud cover. “I blew a couple of drives dead just because the play count was getting high. We’ve got to be careful this time of year. We’re very grateful that we came out of it [healthy].”
So who won?
Rosier: “I think offense personally. I mean I’m an offensive guy, but I mean the defense did good. They stopped us a couple times. They did throw some different coverages at us that we’re not used to seeing, but overall the offense did great.”
Owens: “I hope we won, but I don’t know.”
Kirby: “We won. I know the ones beat the ones on the offense.”
Golden: “I don’t know who ended up winning, but we’ll evaluate it off the film.”
Other notes:
— Senior wide receiver Rashawn Scott made several impressive plays, including a strong deke on Burns after catching a pass in the flat. Of his wide receiver unit as a whole, Golden said: “They made some nice plays: all the ones we connected that were going to come back because of a penalty, and there were a couple in there that we’ve just got to get a little bit more precise. … When we can get the ball out to Rashawn and he can get us a first down on a one-on-one I think that’s going to be good for us. Same thing on a couple of little screens out there where we made something with the ball. It doesn’t need to be a 15- or 16- yard throw. It’s a minus-2-yard throw that gets us 14, and in Rashawn’s case, it’s a line of scrimmage throw that gets us a first down.”
— Coley has mentioned using Rosier as a package quarterback. Asked whether he ran the normal offense or his own special package, Rosier said, “A little bit of both. Some of the plays were normal. Some of the plays were just our base plays, but there’s a little tag where like usually Brad hands it off, but I just read the end. It’s a little different. But there were a couple of plays that were designed just for me.”
— Kaaya and Rosier’s combined passing stats: 17-for-29 (58 percent) for 291 yards and three touchdowns, with zero interceptions. Third-stringer Vincent Testaverde rotated in for two series, throwing two incomplete passes. He did complete a long touchdown to D’Mauri Jones during pre-scrimmage 7-on-7 action. “Nothing against Vinny, but he just transferred from Texas Tech so the playbook’s still difficult. Vinny’s getting there,” Rosier said.
— The starting offensive line, from left to right: Trevor Darling, Hunter Wells, Nick Linder, Danny Isidora, Sunny Odogwu. The second unit: Jahair Jones, Alex Gall, Tyler Grimsley, Joe Brown, Kc McDermott. Several players rotated between the first and second units. Among the changes: Gall to center after the first two series, McDermott swapped tackle spots, Isidora flipped to right tackle, Brown played some right guard with the first unit. “I think it was a good rotation,” Golden said. “We’re not ready to settle in, but I thought it was a good effort. Those guys want to please, man. They want to work and that’s going to be good for us.”
— Sophomore kicker Michael Badgley had two shots at a 42-yard field goal and missed both. That’s well within his range. He did not miss an extra point.
— Not participating: cornerback Tracy Howard, strong-side linebacker Tyriq McCord, defensive tackle Calvin Heurtelou, safety Rayshawn Jenkins, rush end Scott Patchan, offensive lineman Hunter Knighton and offensive tackle Taylor Gadbois. None of them were expected to play. Heurtelou, Jenkins and Gadbois are sitting out this spring with injuries. McCord (knee) and Howard (shoulder) suffered in-camp injuries. Patchan (knee) and Knighton are participating in no-contact drills.
— Linebacker Jermaine Grace left after he suffered an apparent left shoulder injury late in the scrimmage.
CORAL GABLES — March 21, 201 | Filed in: 2015 spring, Football. His offensive and defensive players will claim victory over one another, but Al Golden doesn’t view a scrimmage that way. “I just look at all the little things,” he said. “There’s no way to win as the head coach.”
There’s one way everyone loses, though: when both sides commit a slew of penalties.
Before watching the film of Saturday’s scrimmage at Greentree Practice Fields, Golden and his players knew that would be the most unsavory part. In their second scrimmage of the spring – a one-hour, 40-minute affair coming seven days before the annual spring game – the Hurricanes produced several big-yardage offensive plays and turned the ball over just once. But through the first three drives, UM’s rotating first- and second-string units committed eight penalties.
“We’ve got to get rid of those,” Golden said, adding that flags “cost us on both sides of the ball last year.” The Hurricanes finished 110th nationally and last in the ACC last year in penalty yards (827) and were 108th (12th of 14 ACC teams) in number of penalties (93).
Rising sophomore quarterback Brad Kaaya, who returned after missing Thursday’s practice with the flu, voiced his frustration after working from multiple third-and-long situations. Unofficially, Kaaya finished 12-of-19 for 140 yards and a touchdown. He was a bystander during the day’s only turnover. After a sack by Harris, play continued. Kaaya threw a pass 20-plus yards over the middle to junior tight end Stan Dobard, who fumbled. Cornerback Artie Burns recovered.
“It was just a little sloppy today,” Kaaya said. “The first team offense, we’d get in there and make a 30-yard run but it gets called 15 yards back. It’s tough when it’s first-and-15. Pretty much every drive, every third down we’d go from third-and-1 to third-and-nine or third-and-10, even third-and-15.”
Hurricanes quarterbacks Brad Kaaya (left) and Malik Rosier combined for 291 yards and three touchdowns on 58.6 percent passing. (Photos by Matt Porter)
The defense took advantage, registering four sacks – by defensive tackle Anthony Moten, rush end Trent Harris, safety Deon Bush and linebacker Juwon Young – all on third down, and eight tackles for loss in total. Strong-side linebacker Darrion Owens, playing a larger role in place of the injured Tyriq McCord, had a team-high seven tackles.
“The defense was all over the ball today. They were all over the field,” Kaaya said. “It just seems like they’re more aggressive. It seems like they all are almost working in unison. I don’t know. It’s like one hive, it seems like.”
Sophomore running back Joe Yearby put up 108 total yards and two touchdowns. He took a Kaaya screen pass 71 yards for a touchdown and finished off another drive with a 16-yard rush. He caught two passes for 74 yards and carried seven times for 34 yards. Junior Gus Edwards didn’t break a long run, but gained 85 yards on 16 carries.
Playing mostly against the second-team defense, dual-threat backup Malik Rosier went 5-for-10 for 151 yards and two touchdowns, including an eight-yard scramble that set up Yearby’s rushing score.
“I just think [offensive coordinator James Coley] is using him differently than he does Brad and he’s allowing Malik to play in his comfort zone,” Golden said. “I think that’s smart on James’ part. So he’s got a little different package and obviously he’s getting more comfortable.”
Rosier threw touchdown passes of 45 and 26 yards to Malcolm Lewis, who finished with four receptions for 89 yards. Rosier’s first pass of the day was a screen that Braxton Berrios took 56 yards. Berrios added a 20-yard catch two drives later, but laid on the turf after making that grab. Golden said Berrios “got the wind knocked out of him” and the team was monitoring a possible rib injury.
“We’re just being real cautious right now,” Golden said, adding that the weather was “sneaky hot.” High-noon temperatures reached 86 degrees with no cloud cover. “I blew a couple of drives dead just because the play count was getting high. We’ve got to be careful this time of year. We’re very grateful that we came out of it [healthy].”
So who won?
Rosier: “I think offense personally. I mean I’m an offensive guy, but I mean the defense did good. They stopped us a couple times. They did throw some different coverages at us that we’re not used to seeing, but overall the offense did great.”
Owens: “I hope we won, but I don’t know.”
Kirby: “We won. I know the ones beat the ones on the offense.”
Golden: “I don’t know who ended up winning, but we’ll evaluate it off the film.”
Other notes:
— Senior wide receiver Rashawn Scott made several impressive plays, including a strong deke on Burns after catching a pass in the flat. Of his wide receiver unit as a whole, Golden said: “They made some nice plays: all the ones we connected that were going to come back because of a penalty, and there were a couple in there that we’ve just got to get a little bit more precise. … When we can get the ball out to Rashawn and he can get us a first down on a one-on-one I think that’s going to be good for us. Same thing on a couple of little screens out there where we made something with the ball. It doesn’t need to be a 15- or 16- yard throw. It’s a minus-2-yard throw that gets us 14, and in Rashawn’s case, it’s a line of scrimmage throw that gets us a first down.”
— Coley has mentioned using Rosier as a package quarterback. Asked whether he ran the normal offense or his own special package, Rosier said, “A little bit of both. Some of the plays were normal. Some of the plays were just our base plays, but there’s a little tag where like usually Brad hands it off, but I just read the end. It’s a little different. But there were a couple of plays that were designed just for me.”
— Kaaya and Rosier’s combined passing stats: 17-for-29 (58 percent) for 291 yards and three touchdowns, with zero interceptions. Third-stringer Vincent Testaverde rotated in for two series, throwing two incomplete passes. He did complete a long touchdown to D’Mauri Jones during pre-scrimmage 7-on-7 action. “Nothing against Vinny, but he just transferred from Texas Tech so the playbook’s still difficult. Vinny’s getting there,” Rosier said.
— The starting offensive line, from left to right: Trevor Darling, Hunter Wells, Nick Linder, Danny Isidora, Sunny Odogwu. The second unit: Jahair Jones, Alex Gall, Tyler Grimsley, Joe Brown, Kc McDermott. Several players rotated between the first and second units. Among the changes: Gall to center after the first two series, McDermott swapped tackle spots, Isidora flipped to right tackle, Brown played some right guard with the first unit. “I think it was a good rotation,” Golden said. “We’re not ready to settle in, but I thought it was a good effort. Those guys want to please, man. They want to work and that’s going to be good for us.”
— Sophomore kicker Michael Badgley had two shots at a 42-yard field goal and missed both. That’s well within his range. He did not miss an extra point.
— Not participating: cornerback Tracy Howard, strong-side linebacker Tyriq McCord, defensive tackle Calvin Heurtelou, safety Rayshawn Jenkins, rush end Scott Patchan, offensive lineman Hunter Knighton and offensive tackle Taylor Gadbois. None of them were expected to play. Heurtelou, Jenkins and Gadbois are sitting out this spring with injuries. McCord (knee) and Howard (shoulder) suffered in-camp injuries. Patchan (knee) and Knighton are participating in no-contact drills.
— Linebacker Jermaine Grace left after he suffered an apparent left shoulder injury late in the scrimmage.
