forums

THE DOWNLO w/MIDLO. Canes & college football stuff. 11/12/23

Advertisement

The Miami Hurricanes might need to replace top players. Where things stand with team​

A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Monday:

▪ UM is braced for the potential loss of perhaps its three best players after this season.

Though senior quarterback D’Eriq King has said publicly that he doesn’t know if he will accept the NCAA’s offer for another year of college eligibility, Canesport.com reported Monday that King “has recently spoken to former Central Florida quarterback McKenzie Milton and told him that he will be turning pro after this season.

“The Hurricanes are thus believed to be on the radar to possibly land Milton out of the transfer portal regardless of Jake Garcia’s sudden availability after his decommitment from USC.”

The report of King’s conversation with Milton has not been independently confirmed by the Miami Herald.

Meanwhile, people inside the UM program are braced for the rising possibility that defensive end Jaelan Phillips and tight end Brevin Jordan could turn pro after this season, according to source. (One person inside the football program considered it more likely than not that both will turn pro but cautioned he hasn’t been informed of a decision by either.) It’s unclear if either junior has made a final decision and neither has publicly addressed the issue.


Phillips has skyrocketed as an NFL prospect, a longtime scout told me. That scout said he would draft him in the second round at the latest.

How good has Phillips been the past two months?

In the six games since the start of the loss to Clemson, Phillips has ranked No. 2 among all FBS edge defenders (according to Pro Football Focus), with 33 quarterback pressures (third) and 6.5 sacks.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranks Jordan the No. 4 tight end in this draft class.

The good news is we’re hearing junior tight end Will Mallory — at this point — is considered more likely to return than turn pro.

“Will has done a really good job, exceeded expectations,” offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said Monday. “You are going to see a lot more out of him before it’s said and done. Will is a really good player.”

Lashlee said the Duke game was the “first time since the beginning of the Louisville game where Brevin and Will were close to 100 percent at the same time. To have those two guys as healthy as they’ve been [was exciting]. Will had been playing beat up, playing really well. I know he only had the one catch but it was a big one. He does a lot of things that aren’t seen in the stat sheet.”

▪ As for the future at QB if King leaves after this season:

Lashlee said freshman quarterback Tyler Van Dyke — who was unavailable for the Duke game — “has been great, handled it all not like a true freshman. Great attitude, great mindset. He’s been involved when he can’t be in here. We’re excited about Tyler not only the rest of this year but the future.”

Unless Milton or another transfer is added, Van Dyke would compete with N’Kosi Perry for the starting job next season — presuming King moves on to the NFL, which — again — he hasn’t clarified.

“I thought N’Kosi made a nice throw to Don [Chaney],” Lashlee said of Saturday’s game. “Good to see him in a real game situation.”

▪ Guard Navaughn Donaldson had a strong 2020 debut, playing 26 snaps against Duke after replacing Jakai Clark, who was injured and whose status for Saturday’s North Carolina game is undetermined.

Donaldson’s run blocking grade was best among UM’s linemen and he didn’t allow a quarterback pressure or sack, per PFF.

Manny Diaz said Ousman Traore also played some because coaches didn’t want to overwork Donaldson in his first game in a year.

▪ Quick stuff: UM was without 15 players mostly because of COVID-19 on Saturday, but Diaz said on Monday that “we’re hoping the list will be much shorter this week. We have more tests to go. If everything goes good with the testing it’ll be much smaller than last weekend.”

Five Hurricanes were named semifinalists for national awards: safety Bubba Bolden (Paycom Jim Thorpe Award), kicker Jose Borregales (Lou Groza Award), punter Lou Hedley (Ray Guy Award), quarterback King (Davey O’Brien Award, Maxwell Award) and defensive end Phillips (Bednarik Award) were among those recognized Monday....

ESPN assigned Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit to ABC’s broadcast of the UM-North Carolina game at 3:30 p.m. instead of the USC-UCLA 7:30 p.m. ABC game, which gets the Dave Pasch/Greg McElroy team.

▪ UM got a lot of work for its young players who were available against Duke. Offensive snap counts for Class of 2020 freshmen: running backs Don Chaney (25) and Jaylon Knighton (6 before leaving with an injury); receivers Xavier Restrepo (14), Keyshawn Smith (13) and Michael Redding (7); tight end Dominic Mammarelli (12); offensive linemen Jalen Rivers (19) and Chris Washington (4).

Knighton started over Cam’Ron Harris because “he earned that opportunity [in practice],” Lashlee said. “After three carries, he was dinged up.”

Diaz said Knighton is still being evaluated and did not clarify his status for Saturday’s North Carolina game.

Defensive snaps counts for Class of 2020 freshmen: defensive lineman Elijah Roberts (9) and Chantz Williams (5); linebacker Corey Flagg (38; played just 85 all season before that) and Tirek Austin Cave (14, after playing 8 until that point all season) and cornerbacks Isaiah Dunson (28) and Marcus Clarke (9) and safety Keshawn Washington (9).

Diaz said Dunson “did a nice job in the reps he got.” Diaz praised Clarke and his tackling.

Among non-freshmen, linebacker Waymon Steed played the most snaps of his career (34), while defensive linemen Jordan Miller (34), Jahfari Harvey (30) and Jalar Holley (26) also played more than usual. And quarterback Peyton Matocha played four snaps.
 
1607468111766.png
 
Advertisement
Let the season play out. I think, if we win the next two, there’s a chance the departures will be minimal. I think King returns and his leadership/maturity will be a cultural shift in regards to the draft. Phillips is the only one, I believe, is going. I’m still not convinced he’s leaving. As it stands now, shared goals might supersede personal ones. Beat UNC 🙌
 
So the one player with nfl family ties is probably staying and perhaps the rest leave. Maybe he knows something about not leaving early when you aren’t a high pick
 
Advertisement
Who could have imagined winning a shoot out last year yet alone scoring points.
 
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Back
Top