Coach Manny Diaz, who will also share his thoughts at noon after practice is over, spoke bright and early pre-practice Monday on 560 AM.
“It’s spring ball, there’s always going to be schematically the building of the sausage, right?” Diaz said. “I’m more concerned today about our effort, the mentality of the guys and just the way we attack today and every other day this spring. … The connection between the players has been a big theme for the off-season program.”
Diaz added that “Every team every year is a new entity. It is a different collection of people. Our season will be determined by the collection of players we have and the behavior and choices they make. You’re always turning over your roster, we do have a different group of guys in our locker room than a year ago. Even the guys that return - our whole theme this spring is no one in our locker room has any status. We have great competition at basically every spot on the field. It ought to be a very hungry team that takes the field in a little bit.”
As CaneSport previously reported, several players will be held out due to injury this spring.
“The ones that will be out there have a great chance to improve themselves fundamentally and (put themselves in shape for) some big roles in the fall,” Diaz said. “We have a handful of guys that are out with injury, guys still finishing up in high school, so we won’t be the same team today that we are in September.”
Diaz’s take on King so far?
“D’Eriq, we had heard about who he was, what type of worker he was - D’Eriq has been a very hard worker,” Diaz said. “Our guys have gone hard and got after it as a team over the last eight weeks of our off-season program. We have some guys that are working, now we have to get on the field and get the improvements in terms of what we do between the lines.”
With the no-huddle spread offense installed, Diaz said that “will help a lot” with the UM defense.
“That is college football, and in our league we’re going to see a lot of up-tempo offense,” Diaz said. “To have that ability to practice against it - they’re trying to create chaos. It also points to the benefit of having depth. You have to be able to roll two defensive lines, a bunch of guys in the secondary because you’re going to defend more plays.”
Diaz also said UM might not be done with the transfer portal.
“Now most everybody is in spring ball, start spring ball - you may see another little blip of activity after spring ball ends,” Diaz said. “We’ll always have the ability if a guy can improve our team to hop back in there.”
* Diaz says “we have a real good sense of what wins, what gets you beat. And surrounding ourselves with the behavior and people that want to win, removing ourselves from the ones that won’t, that’s my key job.”
* Asked about Roche and Gregory Rousseau rushing off the edge, Diaz said, “The idea of that is definitely exciting. But having watched our film a year ago, we better earn the right to rush the passer, and that gets back to stopping the run. We have to be more firm overall at the point of attack against the run game.”
* With Zach McCloud redshirting to return as a senior LB, Diaz said, “It is great to have someone like Zach not just in terms of his playing ability but he’s such a leader on our team, such a hard worker.”
* Diaz said “we’re probably a little stronger in the leadership department defensively than we were a year ago.”
* Diaz’s thoughts on UM’s offensive line that had so many issues last season but returns all its starters?
“I think getting everybody back - college football is a developmental game, and at no position moreso than the offensive line,” Diaz said. “When you go through a season, have to start two true freshmen - Garin Justice getting there, will continue to develop those guys. And the spread offense, going up tempo, there’s no position that benefits more than the offensive line because you’re trying to neutralize the tempo of the defensive line.”
The coach also said he has a good feel for where players might wind up on the line “but let’s get on the grass and go 15 days and see what we’re all about.”
* Diaz continues to stress that the team has to win its home games. This year, again, the team was back at the stadium running stairs as punishment for home losses.
“It is important we win at home, there’s a great tradition at Miami (of that),” Diaz said. “When we’re running - we did a little bit extra than a year ago when we went out there. When we’re running up and down the stairs at the upper deck in Hard Rock - I want (players) to identify with that fan - if they climb up those steps to the top level they better see a team that gives everything it has every week. That’s the least we can expect.”
* The Spring Game is April 11 at Traz Powell Stadium.
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