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Spring game thoughts

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WestEndZone said:
Random thoughts, opinions and observations below:

Hot take: Nickel will be the backup QB if he keeps progressing at this rate.

2nd on the Pringle observations. He is a running back who is also a sprinter, not the opposite. I am excited about him.

Defense, from what I saw, sat in Palms (Quarters, Read-2, Cov. 4, etc.) all day and it looked functional. For the love of god I hope we get good at this base coverage. We need to develop some IQ in coverage. Last year was an abortion in any pattern match zones and we weren't good in Man-Free. Man-Free was the lesser of two evils and we also got schemed up because of it. We saw the result.

People got ****ed at Emory for checking down to the flat all day--it was the correct safe read in the coverage we were in. I would have liked to see him find some soft spots in the middle or down the field. He is too mechanical--but we all know that. Nickel had the balls to go down field. I'm a fan.

We aren't very good right now--but that isn't unexpected at this point. We get the QB back and we get the defense organized, and we have the personnel to put together a strong season. People don't want to hear this, but we will win a lot of games on ball control and depth. WE WILL RUN THE BALL.

We need another outside receiver.

Earlier in the spring I thought we needed another LB. I don't think that anymore.

Add some depth in the portal and let's roll.
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TriStarCane said:
A few questions

- what is the biggest portal need in spring in your opinion? Even if it drives off younger guys

- is there any chance we go after a portal QB as insurance? Would one even come?

- names to watch for transfer outs?

-What is the plan for interior depth at the guard spots? We had injuries last year

-Who is our swing tackle? Do we have one?

- I have to ask again: what is our FG kicker situation? We’ve had guaranteed points from the 40 yard line in for 5 years. It matters a lot

Thanks, D
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I think a lot of this depends on what happens with the Portal. It’s a two-way street.

Going into it, I think we need a speedy proven WR (outside guy) and a smart, physical safety. Depth at DT and RB (not premium guys like last year) is also a need.
 
Gables Cane said:
Bringing in a new, talented RB from the portal is easier said than done. Portal players are looking for either more playing time than they are receiving for their current team, or the ability to showcase their skills for the NFL draft.

We offer neither at this point. What’s our selling point? “Hey kid…come play behind this amazing OL where at best you will be RB #3 and get some garbage time carries unless of course there is an injury to one of the backs ahead of you on the depth chart.”

I’m not saying we cannot grab another back but it will be somebody who is content with being a depth piece, not a proven player from a quality team.

Just my opinion but it will be a difficult pull.
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It can be done, it’s just going to cost us a lot of money. See Martinez. Worth every penny.

This season, this staff isn’t investing a great deal into that room. Fletcher and Lyle will carry the load but in my opinion I don’t like the depth after those guys. In year 4, I was expecting a deeper room. Explains why we may take 3 RB’s in 26’ class.
 
It was the most boring spring game I have ever been to in my 40 years of following the Canes. If Mario is going to make them top secret, highly classified type events to where you can’t stream it online or broadcast it on TV then don’t have them at all because it’s too boring to drive out there and watch it live. You aren’t doing us any favors honestly. It was a beautiful day though. Perfect weather. Other than that, not sure what you could analyze based off that game. Not trying to be a mope but it’s true. I don’t know if we are going to be really good or really bad and you can’t make any predictions for the season based off what you saw yesterday and anyone who does is just trolling.
 
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DMoney said:
It was a boring spring game, but the weather was good and nobody got hurt. At least they played. The best part was seeing members of the CanesInSight community. This isn't the most in-depth breakdown (even the replay screen was blacked out to avoid recording) but these things stood out to me:

- Malachi Toney put on a show. He's been consistent all spring, but this was a statement performance in front of the crowd. Toney shares a lot of qualities with Xavier Restrepo. Extremely smart, great instincts, works hard, aggressive, adjusts to the ball and is very QB-friendly. He's lighter than Restrepo but shiftier with more speed. Today, he made plays at all three levels and flashed nice chemistry with Luke Nickel.

You don't want to rely on a smaller true freshman, but Toney's mental game gives me confidence he can perform this season.

- The good news is he doesn't have to do it alone. Ray-Ray Joseph is competing the right way and seems to have more burst than last year. He's a hard worker entering Year 3 and I think he can help us. Between Toney and Joseph, we have some homegrown options in the slot.

- There was a lot of talent on the sideline. Carson Beck was throwing lefthanded to Elijah Lofton. Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor had light days of work. JoJo Trader, OJ Frederique and Josh Moore didn't play. The 2025 Miami Hurricanes are going to look a lot different than what we saw today.

- With that said, the team still needs to perform. I thought we tackled well and played physical. Last year was a million times more entertaining, but the defense played better this year. Of course, they didn't need to go against Cam Ward, but it was still a good day. Damari Brown, Zechariah Poyser, Bobby Pruitt and Markeith Williams made strong tackles in space. The best moment was a goalline stand where Popo Aguirre stuffed our first-team offense on 4th down.

- Emory Williams found completions (including a TD over the middle to Toney) and protected the ball, just didn't make many explosive plays. Judd Anderson had an uneven day, missed some throws high. I'm in on Luke Nickel. Even if the conditions around him aren't perfect, he always looks to make plays. He has a feel for the rush and keeps his eyes downfield. He connected on several chunk plays to Toney and the walk-ons. The challenge with him will be limiting the mistakes, but he is not afraid to throw.

- The overall talent on the front has increased significantly. Four elite DL recruits (Justin Scott, Marquise Lightfoot, Armondo Blount and Hayden Lowe) are poised to be significant parts of the defense. Donta Simpson isn't rated as high, but he fits right in with his size and quickness. He sacked Nickel to wipe out a big pass to Toney (which Nickel might've completed if it was live).

- This was a huge day for Girard Pringle and he delivered. After missing parts of spring, Pringle looked explosive against live tackling. He had a big run down the sideline and made several players miss in traffic. This offense could use some speed and Pringle has that.

- TE Owen Ruskavich is a real player. Miami's walk-on program is limited by the cost of tuition, so it's been a while since we got rotational player from there. Big #44 caught a couple passes and didn't look out of place with the top groups. He won't make anyone forget about Elijah Arroyo, but he's a functional receiver and a big body as a blocker.

- Freshman TE Brock Schott showed some speed to beat the defense to the corner on a short catch-and-run. Him and Luka Gilbert both made real strides during spring.

- Amari Wallace and Dylan Day both grabbed interceptions on overthrows, and Isaiah Taylor made a play sinking in zone coverage. Wallace in particular took it to another level in live action. He's physical.

Overall, I'd say the spring was a success. Hetherman installed a new defense, we stayed relatively healthy, and we're seeing the byproduct of sustained recruiting. There are a lot of blue-chip body types. Now it's time to get Beck in the fold and add a couple impact players to get us over the top. See you at the Portal.

​

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Can you share your observations of how Heatherman's defense is different from last year?

Or was it just a collection of situational plays and not a cohesive defensive gameday plan [not a criticism obviously]?
 
Jassid82 said:
It was the most boring spring game I have ever been to in my 40 years of following the Canes. If Mario is going to make them top secret, highly classified type events to where you can’t stream it online or broadcast it on TV then don’t have them at all because it’s too boring to drive out there and watch it live. You aren’t doing us any favors honestly. It was a beautiful day though. Perfect weather. Other than that, not sure what you could analyze based off that game. Not trying to be a mope but it’s true. I don’t know if we are going to be really good or really bad and you can’t make any predictions for the season based off what you saw yesterday and anyone who does is just trolling.
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Beyond boring, some of my friends left at half time because it was so bad

And the fact they plastered signs to the fans to not take photos or video but the media was allowed to is hilarious
 
Jassid82 said:
It was the most boring spring game I have ever been to in my 40 years of following the Canes. If Mario is going to make them top secret, highly classified type events to where you can’t stream it online or broadcast it on TV then don’t have them at all because it’s too boring to drive out there and watch it live. You aren’t doing us any favors honestly. It was a beautiful day though. Perfect weather. Other than that, not sure what you could analyze based off that game. Not trying to be a mope but it’s true. I don’t know if we are going to be really good or really bad and you can’t make any predictions for the season based off what you saw yesterday and anyone who does is just trolling.
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Grampa Simpson Grandpa GIF by MOODMAN
 
Empirical Cane said:
Can you share your observations of how Heatherman's defense is different from last year?

Or was it just a collection of situational plays and not a cohesive defensive gameday plan [not a criticism obviously]?
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The biggest difference you will see is less movement on the defensive line. Guys generally line up the same place every time and are expected to beat the man in front of them. The emphasis is much more on technique and physicality than confusing the OL.
 
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Here are my thoughts. I only stayed for the 1H.

For me, Toney and Pringle were the standouts.

But, first, QBs. I arrived while the QBs were all lofting passes down the sidelines to WRs. In that setting, Judd looks good. He's big and tall and throws a nice ball. Compared to Judd and Emory, Nickel looked like a walk-on. But I was chatting with @DMoney and he noted that Judd and Emory are big dudes. When he was in, Nickel didn't look as undersized as he did in warmups.

In terms of live reps, it was Emory, Nickel, Judd. I'd say 45%, 35%, 20% if I had to guess more or less.

Nickel was by far the most impressive of the 3.

Emory is Emory. His athleticism is very limited. Nickel and Judd can scoot and scramble. Unfortunately for Emory, when he feels pressure, rather than move around he checks down to the flats. By and large, it felt like nearly every pass he completed was to RB. It was boring. He had one nice pass to the middle of the field to Ray Ray (nice toss and catch). But it seems that he looks downfield at the snap and if nothing is there immediately, his head darts to the sideline to get rid of it because he doesn't have the athletic ability or confidence to hang in and wait to see if someone comes open.

Judd. Eh. Like I said, I think the physical tools are there but it doesn't seem to click once bullets are live. He needs a lot of reps to develop. I don't like playing the portal speculation game, but IMO, he ought to transfer to a smaller school, get some reps, and then maybe move up if he can develop.

Nickel is fearless. He should be finishing his last semester of HS. But the moment did not seem too big for him. And it would be easy for a true frosh to look like a deer in headlights after probably just a handful of practices. As @DMoney said, he keeps his eyes downfield. Very reminiscent of Cam in that regard. He's always looking to make plays. And he seemed very comfortable in the pocket, which is a big plus since that is something that isn't easily taught. Either you are natural in that regard or not. He seems natural. That said, QBs weren't getting hit so we'll see once things are truly live. His pass to Toney was the play of the game.

WR play is a big question mark. Hard to judge without Beck. Like, for example, 19 (Carr) blew by some DBs but Emory checked it down.

Toney was the star. That catch from Nickel was sick. Go on the 305sports insta. They got a ridiculous angle of the catch. He had another catch over the middle for a catch and run TD. @DMoney gets some flak here for hyping up freshmen who then don't get a lot of run but I don't see how Toney doesn't get a lot of reps this year. Not sure how you keep him off the field. Kid seems natural and has that So Fla athletic arrogance.

CJ Daniels definitely fits the prototype big body WR.

TEs . . . I was getting mixed up with Schott, Bauman, Ruskavich. Hard to follow with all these new numbers. Gilbert stands out physically. He's listed at 6'7" and I don't think that's a typo. He looks like Mike Gesiki. I doubt he'll ever be an in-line blocker because he's pretty lean but interesting potential.

RBs . . . color me an optimist. I see some discussion here about portal. IMO, I don't think we need it. Lyle, Fletch, Pringle and Lofton seem like a good 4. Now, I have no clue about what CWH and Pringle provide in pass pro and we know that if coaches think they'll get QB killed they won't play so maybe portal is an option for an experienced backup but IDK, I think we have enough. I'd allot that money elsewhere.

Pringle looked **** good. He had one play and I forget if it was a catch or a run but he was in the open field and just planted and cut and dusted some dude. It was nasty and explosive. That plant and go was impressive and athletically powerful. Not sure I've seen that from anyone on the roster. Very small sample size though. But he looks like a natural that can play. That said, I'm not expecting much from him. Sounds like he's behind Lyle, Fletch and maybe Lofton too so not sure we see too much of him but I'm intrigued. He's the kid you stay to see in the 4th Qtr against the Bethunes of the world.

In terms of venue, ugh. I guess its cool to host it on campus for those who don't make it out there often but for viewing purposes, it's bad. It was hard to see. No replays. And angles were bad. We had a tent right in front of us that blocked about 10 yards of the field. I'm not sure I'd go out again if its held on campus.

BTW, whatever happened to hosting spring game for community purposes? We need to generate enthusiasm and interest from the community and young kids. That venue does not permit for that. Nor does how tickets are obtained. It's too **** hard. Some guy and his family were looking for tickets and I doubt they got in. I don't think you can just show up and watch, which kinda sucks.

Defensively, hard to keep up with new numbers and bad viewing angles. Donta Simpson looks like he's spent several years in a college weight room. Impressive dude. Markeith made a great backfield tackle in a goalline situation. Popo also had a nice play in goal line stand.

Elijah Arroyo, Quad Hill, Rohan Marley and Bernie Kosar were all out there. I also swear I saw noted Canes fan and [c]orn star Cory Chase. If that wasn't her, the dude with her is likely answering questions all the time.

BTW, hanging out with Pete and @DMoney you'd think they were Hurricane All-Americans. Everyone knows who they are! Good dudes.
 
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