Coral Gables — Throughout camp players on both sides of the ball have said Miami's defense has been playing more aggressively and physically. And though the Hurricanes will have to account for the departure of Denzel Perryman — a first-team All-ACC selection who led Miami with 110 tackles — the unit has the kind of depth D'Onofrio and Golden say they haven't had since arriving in Coral Gables.
Miami will return 17 players that saw time in the defensive rotation last year including former Miramar High standout Jermaine Grace, a linebacker who finished second on the team with 60 tackles, and fellow linebacker Raphael Kirby, who was fifth last year with 54 tackles.
The Hurricanes also expect to get a boost also from defensive lineman Jelani Hamilton, who redshirted last year but has been impressive in camp. Also back is rush end Al-Quadin Muhammad, who was suspended last season but returned in the spring and has earned praise from teammates and coaches throughout the offseason.
Calvin Heurtelou, a junior college transfer a year ago, now has a year's experience in Miami's system, as does sophomore lineman Chad Thomas. Both are expected to contribute significantly this season, while freshmen RJ McIntosh, a Cardinal Gibbons alum, and Kendrick Norton have performed well in camp and could find themselves in the rotation sooner rather than later.
Added defensive lineman Ufomba Kamalu, “I felt like we had to have really good communication today. Me and Calvin [Heurtelou] were talking a lot. Courtel [Jenkins], Chad [Thomas] and Quan [Muhammad] and Trent [Harris]. I feel like whenever the play changed, we always communicated with each other. That was a lot better today.”
All of those factors and the defensive line in particular — will be stronger than it was last year.
"This is fun. This is good. Just seeing the guys compete and having all the nose tackles look the same, and all the ends kind of look the same and the tackles, having some speed rushers, this is good," a UM source said. "They're fighting for the first and second down reps, and the nickel, and the speed package."
Added Heurtelou, "When you have a defensive line with a lot of depth that can just keep pounding and keep punching the offensive line and keep getting physical with them all game, it's just an advantage to the defense."
Although the Hurricanes limped to a 6-7 record a year ago, one of the positives coach Al Golden touted when the season was over was Miami's improvement on defense.
And while the unit did struggle in some games — particularly against the run at both Nebraska and Georgia Tech — there were some numbers that proved Miami's defensive unit made progress from 2013.
That year, Miami's 90th-ranked defense allowed opponents an average of 426.6 yards per game. Last season, that number was cut to 329.6, good enough for the Hurricanes to finish ranked 14th in total defense. Miami improved against both the pass and the run, going from 92nd (249.8 yards per game) to 17th (192.5) against the pass and from 78th in the country (176.5) to 30th (137.08) against the run. And overall, the Hurricanes gave up 48 fewer plays of 10 yards or more compared to 2013.
Added safety Dallas Crawford, "I know we don't want to feel like we did last year. That's why we're working so hard. Not to keep going back to last year, but we just know we don't want to feel like that."
