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Jalen Rivers turned heads at the UA game

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Damiencane86 said:
I don't wanna get my hopes up, but if we can land a quality tackle in the portal to man the left side and Rivers is legit ready to play he can slide to RT, kick scaife inside to left guard and let Zion get the RS year he should've had all along. Donaldson can be first off the bench at left guard or center.
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Would be a very good OL imho
 
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Boarcane said:
Would be a very good OL imho
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I refuse to do this until we get some help via portal, I would hate to think we were rolling with the same five or just changing one guy ( Rivers). Sadly last year it was obvious who the best five was.
 
Cribby said:
I refuse to do this until we get some help via portal, I would hate to think we were rolling with the same five or just changing one guy ( Rivers). Sadly last year it was obvious who the best five was.
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fair enough. I’ll wait 👍
 
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sgtdan said:
Credit to David Wilson of the Miami Herald:



The Under Armour All-America Game was quiet for the Miami Hurricanes, even though they had five of their signed recruits slated to play in the showcase. Two players couldn’t play because of injury or off-field reasons. Two wide receivers were rarely targeted and neither logged a catch.
Most importantly for Miami, there was no reason to talk about the one offensive lineman it had in the game. Jalen Rivers earned the start at left tackle for Team Savage for his impressive play throughout the week of practices in Central Florida and then he made it through the entire game Thursday at Camping World Stadium without ever needing the spotlight. The four-star tackle was a stabilizing force for his team, particularly in pass protection.
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Whenever he was in the game, Rivers looked like the tackle the Hurricanes have been desperate to find.
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“This whole week was an eye-opener,” the 6-foot-6, 331-pound offensive lineman said Thursday in Orlando. “I went against top athletes and they got me better; I got them better, hopefully. I got different little coaching tips that I never really heard before, and I really took that in and I took their advice.”
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Rivers was a top performer throughout the entire week at the Under Armour Game. The senior landed on 247Sports.com’s list of top performers for two of the three practice sessions in Lake Buena Vista, and 247Sports called him the “No. 2” offensive lineman after the third and final practice session.
He lived up to his practice reputation in the actual All-America Game. He didn’t allow a sack and rarely allowed any pressure while playing roughly half the game at left tackle. Rivers was responsible for opening up a number of holes as a run blocker. Savage, which ultimately lost 30-24 to Team Pressure, consistently moved the ball better when Rivers was protecting quarterbacks’ blind side.

He looked like exactly the sort of player Miami needs and hoped it got when he signed his national letter of intent in the early signing period last month. Rivers, whom 247 pegs as the No. 15 tackle in the Class of 2020 and the No. 145 overall prospect, is set to arrive in Coral Gables next week to early enroll and, given the Hurricanes’ struggles along the offensive line throughout 2019, he could be a factor to play immediately.
While he didn’t pick Miami with the expectation he would immediately win a starting job, Rivers is excited to just join the competition and he knows what strong performances in the spring could yield.
“I just came in. Playing time wasn’t my necessary goal. It’s just a result that’ll come along with my major goal, which is to come in and compete, and work and not be soft,” Rivers said. “I have something to prove because I’m the freshman. I’m the new boy on the block, so it’s going to be fun.”

Rivers has all the physical attributes coaches are looking for at tackle. His 6-6 frame gives him the necessary length to handle athletic edge rushers, and he carries his 331 pounds well. He’s already athletic — he’s a state champion in the shot put, and also competed in basketball and weightlifting at Orange Park Oakleaf — with the ability to get even quicker if he sheds a little bit more bad weight.
The mental side of the game, Rivers feels, is his greatest strength. Oakleaf coach Frank Garis said Rivers was about 360 pounds as a freshman, so he has already proven he has the work ethic to get in better shape. He was a candidate to be valedictorian and, more importantly, he’s willing to learn. Rivers said his greatest attribute is how well he takes coaching, and he said he even picked up some tips from his time at the All-America Game.
“One major one that I’ve been told before, but that was earlier in my football career,” Rivers said, “when a defender gets by me — outside of me — put my hand on their hips to drive them out because I usually was putting it on their shoulders to push them out. But I think that’s more effective to put my hand on their hip when they drive, so that was the one major one.”
The last attribute is what might be most important if the Hurricanes are going to be willing to slot him in somewhere along the offensive line in 2020. Miami felt comfortable starting freshman offensive linemen Zion Nelson and Jakai Clark for most of the season because they proved to be more eager, and willing to learn than some of the upperclassmen who couldn’t shake some bad habits.
There’s one key difference with Rivers, though: Rivers is a blue-chip prospect, whereas Nelson and Clark were late additions to the Hurricanes’ Class of 2019. He’s polished, he has a high ceiling and he has the personality coach Manny Diaz claims to be valuing highly on the recruiting trail.

“I know that some people aren’t coachable and I feel like I am. I take heed to every tip, or advice that I got from coaching or whoever and I adjust well,” Rivers said. “Just learn from my mistakes and also I just think my work ethic compared to other people is just totally different, and I think Miami is going to be happy with my work ethic
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Thank God for DaUval. One of the best things Richt did was get our foot in the door up here.
 
rokulika said:
Zion allowed a sack in every game.
Let him be the swing tackle.
LT Rivers LG Campbell C Clark RG Reed RT Scaife
Nelson, Gaynor and Donaldson off the bench.
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still think we try and grab another tackle off portal and Scaife kicks inside
 
Just listened to Navarro’s latest podcast. He said if Barry is out he would need to consider staying vs asking for a release. Seems like he is really close with Barry. Hopefully it’s less of a factor than it sounded.
 
craval85 said:
If you're going to blame anyone for MIA's O-LINE struggles it should be the pastor and searels because of the way they recruited the position. Just survey the room it is one unmitigated disaster after another. Yes I realize Barry isn't the best recruiter, but you can hardly blame him for what he inherited. If it wasn't clear before, it should be now that star rankings are more or less irrelevant when it comes to the O-LINE
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Yes but we knew were in triage mode the moment Campbell, Hillary and Herbert all failed to pop last winter. So Barry knew this a year ago. How do you land two players in a year for 5 starting positions?Searels was terrible but this guy just kept digging the grave deeper. I hope he’s the first kicked out the door by Lashlee.
 
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Canesmia01 said:
Just listened to Navarro’s latest podcast. He said if Barry is out he would need to consider staying vs asking for a release. Seems like he is really close with Barry. Hopefully it’s less of a factor than it sounded.
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Navarro says a lot of bullsh*t
 
Like any 2* player who is thrown into a starting role because of lack of depth..Zion looked the way he should have looked. He wasn't a 4-5* kid folks. You saw the difference between him and Evan Neal's performance and there shouldnt have been any question as to which one was the HS All American.

That said, I was encouraged by how he seemed to never get mentally broken no matter what. And as Dmoney said, he showed some big time flashes. I am interested to see if he turns the corner this Spring. You can say what you want but physically he looks the part of an OT.

Reed is a guy who I want to see get every chance to start this Spring. Clark is going to be a 4 year starter and All ACC if he keeps this trajectory up. Its time for guys like Campbell and Gaynor to start earning their scholarships. Times up for them. Hillary and Herbert are useless. And last but not least..its time for Donaldson to decide if he wants to spend his career making $$ playing in the NFL (he has NFL talent) or does he want to work the door doing security at Tootsies for the rest of his life. His choice.

Jalen is a great piece but like one poster said, I'm tired of throwing TFr OL out there. Lets hope he can just be a contributing backup.
 
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brock said:
Clown? Out of line right there, never came at you like that so move along with the bullsh*t. Just like y’all can’t blindly get behind the idea of just MAYBE one of the qbs we have on the roster will improve as they mature I cant Get behind Zion starting next year when it was clear he was the weakest link on the oline even over another true freshman in Jakai clark. Yeah I’m not comfortable with the idea of Zion playing left tackle again for us next year and no one should be.

True freshman or not, that was the worst offensive tackle play we have seen in years at Miami. Scaife didn’t look anywhere near like that as a true freshman OT, ereck flowers didn’t either.
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So instead of having an improved Zion start you'd rather start another true freshman with inferior traits? Seems like a bad idea to me.

I've said that Perry deserves a shot with the new offense. It was one time so I understand if you missed it. If Lashlee can define reads for him and keep him protected like we saw him do at SMU then Perry could be pretty effective. His running ability would be an asset as well. But QBs don't change so there's always the risk that YOLO Perry gets out of rhythm and gifts the ball to the defense.

With Jarren I've seen enough between his lack of maturity, ballooning weight and poor pocket poise. Plus he's just not as good a fit with the new offense. Seems like the writing is on the wall for him to transfer.

I like Tate as an athlete and competitor but there's no evidence that he can be an effective thrower at the P5 level. He puts a ceiling on your passing game with his limited traits as a passer. A position change would make sense.
 
Jassid82 said:
Like any 2* player who is thrown into a starting role because of lack of depth..Zion looked the way he should have looked. He wasn't a 4-5* kid folks. You saw the difference between him and Evan Neal's performance and there shouldnt have been any question as to which one was the HS All American.

That said, I was encouraged by how he seemed to never get mentally broken no matter what. And as Dmoney said, he showed some big time flashes. I am interested to see if he turns the corner this Spring. You can say what you want but physically he looks the part of an OT.

Reed is a guy who I want to see get every chance to start this Spring. Clark is going to be a 4 year starter and All ACC if he keeps this trajectory up. Its time for guys like Campbell and Gaynor to start earning their scholarships. Times up for them. Hillary and Herbert are useless. And last but not least..its time for Donaldson to decide if he wants to spend his career making $$ playing in the NFL (he has NFL talent) or does he want to work the door doing security at Tootsies for the rest of his life. His choice.

Jalen is a great piece but like one poster said, I'm tired of throwing TFr OL out there. Lets hope he can just be a contributing backup.
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Agree. I like the find. And I'm even more impressed by how Clark turned out. But neither should have gotten meaningful snaps on a decent OL, and will need a lot more development before they're being nominated for 3rd-string All ACC honors, which should be the minimum bar for all our starters. Gotta find a transfer who can help out here, and not a Tommy Kennedy reach.

Speaking of Reed, Feeley needs to earn his paycheck by making sure Reed and Donaldson stick to a real strength & conditioning regimen. I wanted to emphasize conditioning, especially weight loss. But they need to get stronger, too. Too many times we had our 350 pound guards being out-muscled by 280 pound defensive tackles.
 
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