A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Wednesday:
▪ Among the many things that have caused problems for the Hurricanes in recent years: Responding after a demoralizing loss and playing against a team with more experience and older players. Both come into play Saturday against Pittsburgh, and it will be interesting to see how Miami responds.
In recent years the Hurricanes have had a history of unraveling after several particularly frustrating losses. Last year’s embarrassing loss to FIU was followed by uninspired defeats to Duke and Louisiana Tech, with Miami looking like a team that lost interest after the humiliation of losing to a non-Power 5 South Florida school.
The 2018 loss at Virginia was followed by three more defeats.
The first loss of the season in 2017 — in the regular-season finale at Pitt — was followed by losses to Clemson (understandable) and Wisconsin to close the season. So will this Hurricanes team (3-1) also collapse after being drubbed by Clemson on national TV?
“Last year’s team was a different team than this team,” coach Manny Diaz said immediately after Saturday’s game. “The guys in the locker room want to be together. There was no negativity during the game, at halftime. We wear the same uniform [as last year’s team] but we’re not those guys.”
But Diaz was more circumspect about the issue on Joe Rose’s WQAM show on Monday, saying this: “Well we feel we’re more mature, but ultimately we have to go prove it, right? Whatever we say doesn’t really matter. The issue will be what happens next Saturday.”
On this topic of the team rebounding from losses, cornerback Al Blades Jr. told WQAM’s Joe Zagacki and Don Bailey Jr.: “We’re the 2020 Miami Hurricanes. We can appreciate and respect the past. The feel for this team is different. We know who we are.”
Though any discussion of this “age” issue angers some fans who believe it’s an excuse, UM officials genuinely believe that the age and experience disparity between players contributed to several exasperating losses in recent years, including games against Wisconsin, Virginia, Boston College and Duke.
The Hurricanes have not had as old or experienced a roster as the aforementioned teams — and some others — because too many of their players transfer or turn pro early, even though the early entrants often end up on NFL practice squads or buried on an NFL bench as rookies or unemployed (in the case of Trajan Bandy and Jeff Thomas this year).
Why does UM believe this age dynamic has been an issue? Some of these teams have more physically mature, bigger offensive and defensive linemen that wear down Canes’ linemen. They also have knowledge gleaned from experience, which is difficult to measure tangibly but certainly helps. UM people believe this contributed to some of these losses, whether fans scoff at that notion or not.
The age/experience factor is such an issue to UM that Diaz raised it on Hurricane Hotline and in discussions with his players.
“They’re old,” Diaz said of Pittsburgh. “They have a very old team. The quarterback [Kenny Pickett] is a fourth-year junior. Pat Narduzzi’s team this year is filled with fourth- and fifth-year seniors. They’ve got a very experienced offensive line. Any time you’ve got a fourth-year quarterback [it helps]. Their defensive ends and safeties are better than Clemson’s ends and safeties. They’re going to dare you to throw it. It’s going to be an immense challenge.”
The age and experience issue carries such weight with Diaz that Blades volunteered this stat on Hurricane Hotline this week:
“Pitt has 30 guys on the team [that have been on their team] for four years; they’re a mature team that has been in college a long time. We have 11 guys on the team for four years.”
You can bet that coaches told Blades that statistic, as opposed to Blades spending hours on a google search researching such matters. UM, incidentally, beat Pittsburgh 24-3 in 2018 and 16-12 last season.
▪ Defensive end Patrick Joyner Jr isn’t the only returning UM defender who didn’t get any defensive snaps against Clemson.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Avery Huff — considered talented but raw — also didn’t get any defensive snaps against the Tigers, though special teams coach Jon Patke praised his work on special teams.
I asked Diaz what Huff can do to earn defensive snaps. “Avery has to continue to learn the ins and outs of the defense,” Diaz said. “Not having those reps [in spring ball and during a shortened training camp], those are reps Avery Huff needed, understanding all the run fits and all the assignments. He’s learning that and gaining more confidence.”
At linebacker, Zach McCloud, Bradley Jennings Jr., Sam Brooks, Corey Flagg Jr. and Ryan Ragone are all getting defensive snaps ahead of Huff and freshman Tirek Austin-Cave.
And for now, Jahfari Harvey and Cameron Williams are ahead of Joyner as the top backup defensive ends.
▪ Because COVID-19 wiped out most of spring practice, Diaz said on Hurricane Hotline that it “really hurt the development” of some freshmen.
“Guys like [linebacker] Corey Flagg and [safety] Brian Balom — guys who are very instinctive, very mature and have an ability to learn things quickly — are the ones that get on the field,” Diaz said.
During his 43 defensive snaps Saturday, Balom “on some coverages had his eyes in the wrong place. But in terms of running around and tackling, he didn’t look out of place,” Diaz said.
▪ Couple notable things from the Miami Herald’s UM metrics correspondent, Daniel Gould:
He said that D’Eriq King has completed only 44.3 percent of passes to wide receivers on balls thrown beyond the line of scrimmage. By comparison, tight end Brevin Jordan (who is questionable for the Pittsburgh game) has caught 9 of 10 such throws (for 150 yards) out of the slot. That reinforces the notion that the wide receiver play has been substandard, though King’s downfield accuracy certainly could improve....
Beyond their difficulties in run defense, linebackers McCloud and Jennings Jr. struggled in pass coverage. Clemson completed three of four passes for 34 yards and two touchdowns with McCloud in coverage. Against Jennings, the Tigers completed both passes thrown for 32 yards…
Cornerback DJ Ivey has rebounded well after a tough start. All four of Trevor Lawrence’s passes in Ivey’s coverage area were incomplete on Saturday, with Ivey breaking up two of them.
▪ Diaz said the team watched all 15 of its penalties against Clemson on video as a group in the past few days. “Our guys know how much they hurt us,” he said.
Blades put it this way with Zagacki and Bailey: “We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and know this is unacceptable. We’ve got to become disciplined. We can’t blame anyone for our own mistakes.” As discipline, players were forced to run after practice on Wednesday.
▪ Kudos to UM coaches and players for keeping COVID-19 under control; they have had only a handful of cases on the football team during the past four months, from my understanding. (UM doesn’t announce positive cases.)
Diaz said he has not ordered his players to stay out of restaurants or sports bars but has implored them to do everything needed to protect themselves, starting with wearing masks.
“We have not given strict parameters [such as] don’t go to a restaurant,” Diaz said. What he has told them is: “Anybody you are in close contact with, you are bringing into our bubble and our team.”
Diaz said: “We’ve heard players talk about [staying more] in dorms and ‘I’m trying to keep my bubble small.’ They’re not locking themselves in their room [but] they’re finding a way to manage. There’s a way to manage without being in a lockdown. I don’t want to ever talk like we got it sorted out, because the second we do, [something bad could happen]. We don’t ever think we’ve got it solved.”