As the University of Miami football team quietly pieced together its recent three-game winning streak, two truths emerged.
The first was that true freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya is no longer playing like a true freshman, having completed 61 percent of his passes during the three-game stretch for 567 yards, seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The second was the Hurricanes’ workhorse, junior running back Duke Johnson, has gained 588 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns on the ground over the same span. He’s rushed for at least 100 yards in five consecutive games, and he’s closing in on Miami’s all-time rushing record.
In the wake of Miami’s 47-20 thrashing of North Carolina last weekend, Johnson said the Canes’ offense is clicking well and playing better right now “as a whole unit” than it has at any other point during his career.
The timing couldn’t be better. The Canes face their biggest test — undefeated Florida State — next, at home on Nov. 15.
So, how did Miami’s offense get to this point? Second-year offensive coordinator James Coley thinks there have been a handful of turning points.
One was Johnson’s offseason, during which he put on about 15 pounds so he could gain more yards after contact and become even more dependable after a broken ankle sidelined him the final five games of last season.
Another was a tweak to practice, maximizing reps for offensive linemen. Though so much attention entering the season was on the quarterback position, it was just as important for Coley and Co. to figure out how to replace the entire right side of Miami’s offensive line. So, they’ve made sure all the linemen get as much as they can out of practices.
“If there’s a punt period, we’ll have a power period with just the interior guys, the offensive linemen, the tight end and the running backs,” Coley said. “They’ll go through all the looks during that part of practice. In our practices, our linemen are working the entire time. Any time there’s a special teams period, we specialize and either do a run period or a screen period.”
In-game experience has helped the line, too, just as it’s helped Kaaya. The former four-star recruit said it’s hard to replicate the college football experience, no matter how much 7-on-7 you play or how many preseason practices you attend.
“In games, you’re seeing how windows open up, seeing how your protection works,” Kaaya said. “It’s hard to know exactly what that’s like without playing in college football games.”
Said Johnson: “At the start of the season, there was a lot more hesitation. (Kaaya) was kind of trying to play perfect, be the perfect quarterback — and that doesn’t exist. He’s just got to do what he’s capable of he’s doing, trust his receivers, just play football.”
Kaaya also has received some help from the most technologically advanced turning point of the season. It came during the week leading up to Miami’s game at Nebraska on Sept. 20.
“I bought a drone,” Coley said. “I asked our video guy, ‘If I bought a drone, would you fly it for me in practice right behind the quarterback?’ We got our first footages of it, and they were unbelievable. You get to see angles and the depth and reads that you don’t get with the regular cameras. We put a GoPro on it, and that’s been a big part of our meetings with the quarterback group. I think that’s been huge for us.”
Since that Nebraska game, too, Coley has noticed a shift in his quarterback’s performance and comfort level. He’s seen that Kaaya is more confident checking plays at the line and calling audibles, which allows the coaching staff to trust him more. When those audibles have resulted in big-yardage plays or touchdowns, teammates gained even more respect for Kaaya — and they, too, became even more comfortable with him controlling the game.
“They started noticing, ‘Hey this guy is for real,’” Coley said. “Once you’ve got everybody feeling that way, there’s confidence all around. … We feel very comfortable right now, and very balanced, because our quarterback can get us into all of these plays. … Some teams form their identity in training camp. For our guys, we started to figure out who we were in the Nebraska game. We’re a dual-threat team. We can pass. We can run.
“It’s an offense that’s maturing right now.”
The first was that true freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya is no longer playing like a true freshman, having completed 61 percent of his passes during the three-game stretch for 567 yards, seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The second was the Hurricanes’ workhorse, junior running back Duke Johnson, has gained 588 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns on the ground over the same span. He’s rushed for at least 100 yards in five consecutive games, and he’s closing in on Miami’s all-time rushing record.
In the wake of Miami’s 47-20 thrashing of North Carolina last weekend, Johnson said the Canes’ offense is clicking well and playing better right now “as a whole unit” than it has at any other point during his career.
The timing couldn’t be better. The Canes face their biggest test — undefeated Florida State — next, at home on Nov. 15.
So, how did Miami’s offense get to this point? Second-year offensive coordinator James Coley thinks there have been a handful of turning points.
One was Johnson’s offseason, during which he put on about 15 pounds so he could gain more yards after contact and become even more dependable after a broken ankle sidelined him the final five games of last season.
Another was a tweak to practice, maximizing reps for offensive linemen. Though so much attention entering the season was on the quarterback position, it was just as important for Coley and Co. to figure out how to replace the entire right side of Miami’s offensive line. So, they’ve made sure all the linemen get as much as they can out of practices.
“If there’s a punt period, we’ll have a power period with just the interior guys, the offensive linemen, the tight end and the running backs,” Coley said. “They’ll go through all the looks during that part of practice. In our practices, our linemen are working the entire time. Any time there’s a special teams period, we specialize and either do a run period or a screen period.”
In-game experience has helped the line, too, just as it’s helped Kaaya. The former four-star recruit said it’s hard to replicate the college football experience, no matter how much 7-on-7 you play or how many preseason practices you attend.
“In games, you’re seeing how windows open up, seeing how your protection works,” Kaaya said. “It’s hard to know exactly what that’s like without playing in college football games.”
Said Johnson: “At the start of the season, there was a lot more hesitation. (Kaaya) was kind of trying to play perfect, be the perfect quarterback — and that doesn’t exist. He’s just got to do what he’s capable of he’s doing, trust his receivers, just play football.”
Kaaya also has received some help from the most technologically advanced turning point of the season. It came during the week leading up to Miami’s game at Nebraska on Sept. 20.
“I bought a drone,” Coley said. “I asked our video guy, ‘If I bought a drone, would you fly it for me in practice right behind the quarterback?’ We got our first footages of it, and they were unbelievable. You get to see angles and the depth and reads that you don’t get with the regular cameras. We put a GoPro on it, and that’s been a big part of our meetings with the quarterback group. I think that’s been huge for us.”
Since that Nebraska game, too, Coley has noticed a shift in his quarterback’s performance and comfort level. He’s seen that Kaaya is more confident checking plays at the line and calling audibles, which allows the coaching staff to trust him more. When those audibles have resulted in big-yardage plays or touchdowns, teammates gained even more respect for Kaaya — and they, too, became even more comfortable with him controlling the game.
“They started noticing, ‘Hey this guy is for real,’” Coley said. “Once you’ve got everybody feeling that way, there’s confidence all around. … We feel very comfortable right now, and very balanced, because our quarterback can get us into all of these plays. … Some teams form their identity in training camp. For our guys, we started to figure out who we were in the Nebraska game. We’re a dual-threat team. We can pass. We can run.
“It’s an offense that’s maturing right now.”
