Could the secondary be better than we expect?
We know how good the front 7 is, but news on the new players coming in have me excited to see their impact.
Barry Jackson has a good article on it - with info on Dean, Delaney and Bandy.
UM injects high-end talent at cornerback | Miami Herald
I think the secondary will be significantly better than many think. What I'm about to say, I have said countless times but it bears repeating. Let me break down the reasons I have for my very positive outlook on this years secondary.
1. The front seven. I don't need to list all the starters and their key backups here. This front 4 will be one of the best in the nation hands down and they have 3 future All American linebackers right behind then all of whom started as true freshmen last year. Everyone knows that a good front seven makes the job of the secondary much easier. Our front seven is most certainly not good. It is elite and dominant.
2. Infusion of CB talent. After the 2016 season and before NSD there was a huge concern about the 2017 secondary with the loss of Jenkins, Carter, Colbert and most notably Elder. Now that we know who our defensive backfield will consist of I am not only less concerned but actually confident. The signing of Jhavonte Dean and Trajan Bandy to go along with grad transfer Dee Delaney has literally turned this unit from a potential concern to a potential strength. True sophomore to be Malek Young is a budding superstar and should be 1st team All ACC this year. Now add Dean 6'2" 190 4.3 who was considered the no1 Juco CB in the country and Dee Delaney 6'1" 195 4.4 a grad transfer out of Citadel who was expected to go in the middle rounds of the draft had he declared and what happens is you change the entire complexion of the secondary. Even this is before you add Trajan Bandy who I thought was the best pure cover corner in Florida to the mix. So now we go from having Malek Young being pushed by the likes of Ryan Mayes, Henley, Redwine and Jackson to having to compete with the 3 newcomers listed above. We go from having Michael Jackson as the
#2 CB to MJ competing like crazy just to hang onto the
#4 CB position. Night and day.
3. Shuffling the deck at Safety. The arrival of EE safety Amari Carter turned out to be huge. During Spring drills, Carter showed the staff that not only does he belong but that they will find it impossible to keep this true freshmen off the field. Mature beyond his years, Carter could very well be to strong safety this year what Shaquille Quarterman was to MLB last year. Pair him with Sheldrick Redwine who moves over from CB to what very much seems to be his natural position at safety and Junior Jaquan Johnson an instinctive playmaker and natural leader who is poised for a breakout year and you have the makings of a very solid core group at safety. A very improved Robert Knowles, Romeo Finley and criminally underrated true freshman Derrick Smith will have every opportunity to earn playing time this fall as well.
4. Two cupcakes to develop chemistry. This is self explanatory as we open the season with 2 patsies who we will easily destroy. This gives our secondary 2 full games worth of extremely valuable live reps in order to work through the kinks and develop some chemistry before things get serious in week 3 when we travel to Tallahassee to face the Seminoles.