Lashlee, Baker discuss thoughts from opener, UL prep

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Stefan Adams

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After Monday’s drills, Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee discussed what he saw from his unit in last week’s win against UAB, pointing out he wants to see UM connect on more big plays through the air moving forward.

“We learned a lot in Week 1 and that’ll make us better in Week 2,” Lashlee said. “There were some passes, deep balls we need to hit if we want to be explosive.”

In the passing game, TE Brevin Jordan only saw one target in the first half, but caught 3 passes for 51 yards and a TD in Miami’s 17-point third quarter.

“We weren’t able to get Brevin and a couple of other guys going as early as we want, but we got them going in the third quarter,” Lashlee said. “We’re always going to try and get our best players the ball.”

QB D’Eriq King was 16-24 (67%) passing and had no turnovers in his first career Miami start, but missed on a few throws that could have improved his final totals of 144 passing yards and 1 TD.

“He was okay, he can be better,” Lashlee said of King. “He’d like to have a couple of vertical passes back, still completed 67 percent (of his throws). He protected the ball. It just takes some time. There were times he could have hung in there, we had guys open downfield. We took two sacks that weren’t on the O-Line, to be honest. For game one, he was fine, could be better.”

The Canes were very run-heavy against UAB with 52 total rushes vs. 27 pass attempts, something that was by design in preparation for the Blazers even though Lashlee expects the offense to be more balanced moving forward.

“We want to be balanced, be explosive throwing the ball. I think we’ll get better on that each week,” Lashlee said. “That’s definitely a big point of emphasis for us right now.”

According to Lashlee, UAB mostly played a defensive formation they’ve never put on tape previously, leading the offensive staff to make a few in-game adjustments to the gameplan. After a slow start in the first half, UM’s offense came out and scored on all three of their third quarter drives, totaling 17 points.

“Give UAB a lot of credit, they ran a defense they never ran before,” Lashlee said. “They’ve been a really good defense the last few years, they threw a big curveball at us. I thought our kids adjusted on the fly really well. We had time to make adjustments at halftime, made some on the fly in the first half. That helped us get going a little bit. That third quarter is a little closer to what we want to be.”

Former walk-on redshirt junior Marshall Few earned the backup slot receiver role over freshman Xavier Restrepo despite Restrepo having a strong fall camp, and Few caught his first career pass in the win over UAB.

“With those older guys, experience is a factor - we really like those young receivers and as the year goes on, we’ll see those guys help us more and more,” Lashlee said. “Marshall is a [4th year player], very reliable, dependable. Xavier, we’re excited about his future, but there’s a consistency element there.”

Heading into UM’s next game against #18 Louisville, the Canes made a notable depth chart change during Monday’s practice in moving Jakai Clark ahead of Ousman Traore at first team left guard.

“We have a lot of confidence in both those guys,” Lashlee said. “Jakai missed a considerable amount of time in fall camp with injury, slowed his progress. We feel we have six or seven guys that can start. We feel right now it’s a good time to get Jakai that shot.”

Clark only played three snaps vs. UAB. Why was that?

“It was just going in we felt both guys were ready to play, but the bulk of fall camp, Ousman was there for all of it, we felt he deserved that opportunity,” Lashlee said. “Looking at tape the last couple of weeks of practice, we felt this was the best time to make that move. Nothing is permanent, both will be ready to play.”


**With the Canes preparing for a high-powered Louisville offense this weekend, defensive coordinator Blake Baker feels stopping the Cardinals’ run game will be the main key to success. Miami allowed only 80 yards rushing vs. UAB in week 1, but will now have to contend with last season’s 24th ranked rushing attack that averaged 212.9 rushing yards per game and brings back most of it’s key contributors in 2020.

“Last week, we played (the run) really well, this week it presents a different challenge,” Baker said. “We’ll have our hands full up front, they’re really good. Their backs can run. When you talk about team speed, their quarterback, two backs and receivers, they have really, really good team speed on the offensive side of the ball. It’ll present a challenge. We have to shore up some stuff in the run game, and I know our guys are excited about that challenge.”

In 2019, Louisville’s offense averaged 33.1 points and 447.3 yards per game, and the Cardinals recorded 35 points and 487 yards in their season opening win over Western Kentucky over the weekend.

“Schematically, they believe in what they do,” Baker said. “You do not see them change a bunch from a week-to-week standpoint, which shows they have a lot of confidence in their scheme. They do a good job knowing if you’re man or zone, how to beat those concepts. They do a lot of good stuff, complementary plays that look exactly the same until right after the ball is snapped. More than anything, I fully believe they have 100 percent confidence in what they do and their players have that same confidence and they execute it at a really high level. For me, that says a lot about coaching.”

In terms of his own unit, Baker hinted at possible personnel changes moving forward, especially in the secondary after CB DJ Ivey got beat multiple times against UAB. Could we see Te’Cory Couch or Christian Williams pass up Ivey for the #2 corner role this week?

“I feel good about putting any of those three out there, it’s an open competition this week,” Baker said. “Couch can challenge for who trots out there first.”

Baker also mentioned that LB Sam Brooks (3 tackles) impressed him in the opener coming off the bench and played slightly less than half of the total defensive snaps.

“He is really pushing BJ Jennings, thought he came in and played really well,” Baker said of Brooks. “He almost split reps 50/50 with BJ, which I can see the same (moving forward)... For the first game, I thought everyone that went in and played linebacker did a nice job.”

Baker also praised Jared Harrison-Hunte (2 tackles) and Cameron Williams on the DL, saying they could be in line to see more snaps moving forward.

Speaking on starting defensive ends Quincy Roche and Jaelan Phillips, Baker felt they played better than the stats indicated (1.5 TFL, 1 sack between the pair).

“I thought they were outstanding. Sixteen quarterback pressures - they were disruptive,” Baker said. “Both of them had an outstanding game, versus the run as well.”

Asked about redshirt junior safety Bubba Bolden (2 tackles), who played a ton off the bench vs. UAB, Baker said he feels Bolden is essentially a third starter along with Gurvan Hall and Amari Carter at safety.

“Bubba played outstanding on Thursday, I was very impressed with how physical he was.”
 
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On offense, it is good to see that we have technicians that can adjust in-game to what is happening on the field. I remember when Manny was running the defense that his hallmark was halftime adjustments. I think our third quarter against UAB speaks for itself.

Hitting on those vertical passes early in the game will help with starting faster, as will incorporating the seams with our tight ends.
 
Bubba did seem to play much more physical than how he played last year. Hopefully that translates to sound tackling, cause we might need him to clean up on the back end more than a few times this week.
 
Baker also mentioned that LB Sam Brooks (3 tackles) impressed him in the opener coming off the bench and played slightly less than half of the total defensive snaps.

“He is really pushing BJ Jennings, thought he came in and played really well,” Baker said of Brooks. “He almost split reps 50/50 with BJ, which I can see the same (moving forward)... For the first game, I thought everyone that went in and played linebacker did a nice job.”
Why is no one pushing Mcloud??? He was by far the least productive, and consistently out of position all game. Senior favoritism...
 
I went back and watched the tape after being there live. King missed several throws. A lay up TD to Payton and 3 deep balls. Harley was wide open on one early. The pass to Brevin on 3rd and long I thought was an errant throw at the game. That was all Brevin’s fault. He’s gotta make those grabs if he wants to play on Sundays. That was one helluva throw in a tight window by King.

The only glaring weaknesses on defense I felt pretty much the same about at the game. Except Gil looked better on tape then live. He shot the gap well for a TFL I missed at the game. He still needs to be a lot more consistent for somebody that dances around after every tackle.
Ivey was still atrocious. The one thing he’s proven, in his time at UM, is that he has a knack for giving up big plays. He’s like a deer in headlights when the ball is thrown his way. Ivey’s name is now officially synonymous with pre-senior redshirt year Knowles. It’s time to start Couch. He should be rewarded for busting his tail and forcing the fumble. He plays with lot of heart. That wins games.
McCloud looks bad. He reminds me of Mike on a really off day but he’s like that all the time. Overrunning some plays and late to the others. There has to be a way to get Jennings and Brooks on the field together.
Nesta, Phillips, and Roche are all legit. It’s glorious to see Nesta put it all together. Now we need Ford to step up and play like the biggest man on the field.
Lastly, can someone please explain to me why Louisville is favored over UM? I seem to remember UM looking like Clemson playing them last season.
 
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Safety tackling gonna be super important this week. Carter surely is going to play a ton. Hold onto your butt's boys.
 
I just want Quincy and Roche acquire the name "Bruise Brothers" this Saturday.

I want that QB to spend half his time flat on his back thinking it's Tuesday.
 
I went back and watched the tape after being there live. King missed several throws. A lay up TD to Payton and 3 deep balls. Harley was wide open on one early. The pass to Brevin on 3rd and long I thought was an errant throw at the game. That was all Brevin’s fault. He’s gotta make those grabs if he wants to play on Sundays. That was one helluva throw in a tight window by King.

The only glaring weaknesses on defense I felt pretty much the same about at the game. Except Gil looked better on tape then live. He shot the gap well for a TFL I missed at the game. He still needs to be a lot more consistent for somebody that dances around after every tackle.
Ivey was still atrocious. The one thing he’s proven, in his time at UM, is that he has a knack for giving up big plays. He’s like a deer in headlights when the ball is thrown his way. Ivey’s name is now officially synonymous with pre-senior redshirt year Knowles. It’s time to start Couch. He should be rewarded for busting his tail and forcing the fumble. He plays with lot of heart. That wins games.
McCloud looks bad. He reminds me of Mike on a really off day but he’s like that all the time. Overrunning some plays and late to the others. There has to be a way to get Jennings and Brooks on the field together.
Nesta, Phillips, and Roche are all legit. It’s glorious to see Nesta put it all together. Now we need Ford to step up and play like the biggest man on the field.
Lastly, can someone please explain to me why Louisville is favored over UM? I seem to remember UM looking like Clemson playing them last season.
You say why mighty Louisville is favorite. Hmm. Well, my main man Yoda says this a SUCKER bet and what not. huh?

He also says there are basically three reasons why mighty Louisville is the " chalk. "

1. A night home game with ABC/ESPN CFB tandem calling the game.

2. The betting public isn't sold on Miami. duh. But the Sin City touts see something odd about Miami, because the point spread is still only... 1 1/2. Yikes. In other words, mighty Louisville should be at least a... - 3 1/2 home chalk. After all, they are ranked in the major CFB poll Top 20.

3. And finally, Louisville arguably speaking has the " seasoned " HC. Ouch.

Nevertheless, I sense the Armani suit wearing Smart Guys will lay late HEAVY cash on my Miami. huh? In other words, the Wise Guys know a good bet when they see one. Just like me!!
 
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Bubba did seem to play much more physical than how he played last year. Hopefully that translates to sound tackling, cause we might need him to clean up on the back end more than a few times this week.
Actually he played just as physical last year or even more, I like how they protect the players health but also reward guys who've worked hard in the off season, like carter and Ousman and jennings, but th guys like bolden, clark and brooks are definitely the more talented players.

And UH OH:
“Give UAB a lot of credit, they ran a defense they never ran before,” Lashlee said. “

When I hear coaches talking like this it gets comical, and is an indication they don't know WTF they're doing, who gives a damyum if a team runs something different, WTF you want them to do, give you their playbook. How bout you run something on offense they never seen before, NO EXCUSES!

Teams are going to start trying to force this new qb we have to make throws and be a pocket passer, you're not in the American Athletic Conference anymore, and let the Truth be told, perry was the consistently better overall passer out of the 2 thru out camp, they just went with the new qb because of his resume and him being a more mature leader from the qb spot off the field, but make no mistake about it, perry in this offense will put up points.

Going to be interesting seeing blaker's defensive calls against Louisville, our guys just need to be in position to make plays.
 
McCloud is a weird one - I appreciate him redshirting last year to provide senior leadership to the LB room, but realistically he shouldn't be playing for us.

He's made a handful of positive plays in 3 years here.

Perhaps he's still rusty going AWOL last season. I hope he gets relatively better as the season progresses. Say in the next two or three games.
 
You say why mighty Louisville is favorite. Hmm. Well, my main man Yoda says this a SUCKER bet and what not. huh?

He also says there are basically three reasons why mighty Louisville is the " chalk. "

1. A night home game with ABC/ESPN CFB tandem calling the game.

2. The betting public isn't sold on Miami. duh. But the Sin City touts see something odd about Miami, because the point spread is still only... 1 1/2. Yikes. In other words, mighty Louisville should be at least a... - 3 1/2 home chalk. After all, they are ranked in the major CFB poll Top 20.

3. And finally, Louisville arguably speaking has the " seasoned " HC. Ouch.

Nevertheless, I sense the Armani suit wearing Smart Guys will lay late HEAVY cash on my Miami. huh? In other words, the Wise Guys know a good bet when they see one. Just like me!!
 
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Actually he played just as physical last year or even more, I like how they protect the players health but also reward guys who've worked hard in the off season, like carter and Ousman and jennings, but th guys like bolden, clark and brooks are definitely the more talented players.

And UH OH:
“Give UAB a lot of credit, they ran a defense they never ran before,” Lashlee said. “

When I hear coaches talking like this it gets comical, and is an indication they don't know WTF they're doing, who gives a damyum if a team runs something different, WTF you want them to do, give you their playbook. How bout you run something on offense they never seen before, NO EXCUSES!

Teams are going to start trying to force this new qb we have to make throws and be a pocket passer, you're not in the American Athletic Conference anymore, and let the Truth be told, perry was the consistently better overall passer out of the 2 thru out camp, they just went with the new qb because of his resume and him being a more mature leader from the qb spot off the field, but make no mistake about it, perry in this offense will put up points.

Going to be interesting seeing blaker's defensive calls against Louisville, our guys just need to be in position to make plays.
Lashlee was an offensive coordinator in the SEC and put up 30+ points against Nick Sabans Alabama in 2013. I am pretty sure he knows what he is doing and he knows more about his stuff than you do.

Perry was the better passer compared to King? Provide some evidence please.
 
After Monday’s drills, Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee discussed what he saw from his unit in last week’s win against UAB, pointing out he wants to see UM connect on more big plays through the air moving forward.

“We learned a lot in Week 1 and that’ll make us better in Week 2,” Lashlee said. “There were some passes, deep balls we need to hit if we want to be explosive.”

In the passing game, TE Brevin Jordan only saw one target in the first half, but caught 3 passes for 51 yards and a TD in Miami’s 17-point third quarter.

“We weren’t able to get Brevin and a couple of other guys going as early as we want, but we got them going in the third quarter,” Lashlee said. “We’re always going to try and get our best players the ball.”

QB D’Eriq King was 16-24 (67%) passing and had no turnovers in his first career Miami start, but missed on a few throws that could have improved his final totals of 144 passing yards and 1 TD.

“He was okay, he can be better,” Lashlee said of King. “He’d like to have a couple of vertical passes back, still completed 67 percent (of his throws). He protected the ball. It just takes some time. There were times he could have hung in there, we had guys open downfield. We took two sacks that weren’t on the O-Line, to be honest. For game one, he was fine, could be better.”

The Canes were very run-heavy against UAB with 52 total rushes vs. 27 pass attempts, something that was by design in preparation for the Blazers even though Lashlee expects the offense to be more balanced moving forward.

“We want to be balanced, be explosive throwing the ball. I think we’ll get better on that each week,” Lashlee said. “That’s definitely a big point of emphasis for us right now.”

According to Lashlee, UAB mostly played a defensive formation they’ve never put on tape previously, leading the offensive staff to make a few in-game adjustments to the gameplan. After a slow start in the first half, UM’s offense came out and scored on all three of their third quarter drives, totaling 17 points.

“Give UAB a lot of credit, they ran a defense they never ran before,” Lashlee said. “They’ve been a really good defense the last few years, they threw a big curveball at us. I thought our kids adjusted on the fly really well. We had time to make adjustments at halftime, made some on the fly in the first half. That helped us get going a little bit. That third quarter is a little closer to what we want to be.”

Former walk-on redshirt junior Marshall Few earned the backup slot receiver role over freshman Xavier Restrepo despite Restrepo having a strong fall camp, and Few caught his first career pass in the win over UAB.

“With those older guys, experience is a factor - we really like those young receivers and as the year goes on, we’ll see those guys help us more and more,” Lashlee said. “Marshall is a [4th year player], very reliable, dependable. Xavier, we’re excited about his future, but there’s a consistency element there.”

Heading into UM’s next game against #18 Louisville, the Canes made a notable depth chart change during Monday’s practice in moving Jakai Clark ahead of Ousman Traore at first team left guard.

“We have a lot of confidence in both those guys,” Lashlee said. “Jakai missed a considerable amount of time in fall camp with injury, slowed his progress. We feel we have six or seven guys that can start. We feel right now it’s a good time to get Jakai that shot.”

Clark only played three snaps vs. UAB. Why was that?

“It was just going in we felt both guys were ready to play, but the bulk of fall camp, Ousman was there for all of it, we felt he deserved that opportunity,” Lashlee said. “Looking at tape the last couple of weeks of practice, we felt this was the best time to make that move. Nothing is permanent, both will be ready to play.”


**With the Canes preparing for a high-powered Louisville offense this weekend, defensive coordinator Blake Baker feels stopping the Cardinals’ run game will be the main key to success. Miami allowed only 80 yards rushing vs. UAB in week 1, but will now have to contend with last season’s 24th ranked rushing attack that averaged 212.9 rushing yards per game and brings back most of it’s key contributors in 2020.

“Last week, we played (the run) really well, this week it presents a different challenge,” Baker said. “We’ll have our hands full up front, they’re really good. Their backs can run. When you talk about team speed, their quarterback, two backs and receivers, they have really, really good team speed on the offensive side of the ball. It’ll present a challenge. We have to shore up some stuff in the run game, and I know our guys are excited about that challenge.”

In 2019, Louisville’s offense averaged 33.1 points and 447.3 yards per game, and the Cardinals recorded 35 points and 487 yards in their season opening win over Western Kentucky over the weekend.

“Schematically, they believe in what they do,” Baker said. “You do not see them change a bunch from a week-to-week standpoint, which shows they have a lot of confidence in their scheme. They do a good job knowing if you’re man or zone, how to beat those concepts. They do a lot of good stuff, complementary plays that look exactly the same until right after the ball is snapped. More than anything, I fully believe they have 100 percent confidence in what they do and their players have that same confidence and they execute it at a really high level. For me, that says a lot about coaching.”

In terms of his own unit, Baker hinted at possible personnel changes moving forward, especially in the secondary after CB DJ Ivey got beat multiple times against UAB. Could we see Te’Cory Couch or Christian Williams pass up Ivey for the #2 corner role this week?

“I feel good about putting any of those three out there, it’s an open competition this week,” Baker said. “Couch can challenge for who trots out there first.”

Baker also mentioned that LB Sam Brooks (3 tackles) impressed him in the opener coming off the bench and played slightly less than half of the total defensive snaps.

“He is really pushing BJ Jennings, thought he came in and played really well,” Baker said of Brooks. “He almost split reps 50/50 with BJ, which I can see the same (moving forward)... For the first game, I thought everyone that went in and played linebacker did a nice job.”

Baker also praised Jared Harrison-Hunte (2 tackles) and Cameron Williams on the DL, saying they could be in line to see more snaps moving forward.

Speaking on starting defensive ends Quincy Roche and Jaelan Phillips, Baker felt they played better than the stats indicated (1.5 TFL, 1 sack between the pair).

“I thought they were outstanding. Sixteen quarterback pressures - they were disruptive,” Baker said. “Both of them had an outstanding game, versus the run as well.”

Asked about redshirt junior safety Bubba Bolden (2 tackles), who played a ton off the bench vs. UAB, Baker said he feels Bolden is essentially a third starter along with Gurvan Hall and Amari Carter at safety.

“Bubba played outstanding on Thursday, I was very impressed with how physical he was.”
Thanks Stefan. So glad Enos is the F out of here.
 
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My man Calvin! It's good to read from U, again. Stay awake, stay alert and stay safe.
What up Brotha, always Great to see Da mack make a cameo, and we got to keep toothpicks in the eyes, cause those other flies keep trying to close in, but those has beens, don't know they half end, as some inching closer to the Beam, hovering why in real time, witness it's crumbling at the seams.
 
Actually he played just as physical last year or even more, I like how they protect the players health but also reward guys who've worked hard in the off season, like carter and Ousman and jennings, but th guys like bolden, clark and brooks are definitely the more talented players.

And UH OH:
“Give UAB a lot of credit, they ran a defense they never ran before,” Lashlee said. “

When I hear coaches talking like this it gets comical, and is an indication they don't know WTF they're doing, who gives a damyum if a team runs something different, WTF you want them to do, give you their playbook. How bout you run something on offense they never seen before, NO EXCUSES!

Teams are going to start trying to force this new qb we have to make throws and be a pocket passer, you're not in the American Athletic Conference anymore, and let the Truth be told, perry was the consistently better overall passer out of the 2 thru out camp, they just went with the new qb because of his resume and him being a more mature leader from the qb spot off the field, but make no mistake about it, perry in this offense will put up points.

Going to be interesting seeing blaker's defensive calls against Louisville, our guys just need to be in position to make plays.
And King is consistently a better decision maker. He processing things better. I take that (with a 65% completion rate) over the alternative, every day of the week.

I'm always reminded that Howard (someone who should know) said that arm strength is not even in the top 10 of things he looked for in a QB.
 
Lashlee was an offensive coordinator in the SEC and put up 30+ points against Nick Sabans Alabama in 2013. I am pretty sure he knows what he is doing and he knows more about his stuff than you do.

Perry was the better passer compared to King? Provide some evidence please.
When you guys keep trying to raise up saban as if he's the standard of football, you lose credibility, you do realize saban has been running the same defensive philosophy that all the old 3-4 guys have run, only difference is he started getting more skiled db's and playing more man concepts but at the end of the day those defenses are primarily built to stop the run and when you spread those overweight blown up guys out, they get torched which is why oscar cryer started owning saban because he runs a zone offense, almost the same now with yabba neck dabo. Same reason jimmy johnson ran althose old relic 3-4 minded headcoaches out the NFC east.

So rhett putting up 30 is not some aberration or something to be admired, his offensive concepts by principle is a 3-4 buster.

As far as perry vs the transfer qb, the transfer qb is more accurate, perry by nature pushes the ball down field alot better over the course of the game.
 
And King is consistently a better decision maker. He processing things better. I take that (with a 65% completion rate) over the alternative, every day of the week.

I'm always reminded that Howard (someone who should know) said that arm strength is not even in the top 10 of things he looked for in a QB.
It's not about arm strength with perry, it's about the throws he can actually make which gives him more courage in the passing game, when the new transfer qb looks like this, let me know:



or this:

 
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