forums

The X Factors for 2026 Offense and Defense

LuCane said:
scrantoncane said:
Our resident defensive backfield expert just casually dropped this line and no one commented?!

**** Lu. Even with losing Thomas and Scott? Feel like we maxed those 2 out last year in what we could’ve realistically expected from them. Those are gonna be big shoes to fill.
Click to expand...
Ha, first of all, i'm no expert. I've just watched too much football for like 40 years.

And, yeah, I'll stand by that line (and the qualifier) because of the outrageous depth at Corner. It's not something I think I ever remember here. Our 4th CB is a...starter. Our Safeties aren't as deep, but the strength of the CB room is just seemingly so strong it sets a high floor for the entire season.

Now, the qualifier in there. I haven't seen any of our players fill an alley well enough in a Canes uniform. Thornton did so at BC. I don't think Fitz does it well enough yet.

Scott was my favorite player on the team last year and I said that early. He is not replaceable. But, when you return 4-5 starting level corners, you can play around with a lot of coverages even with inevitable injuries.
Click to expand...
The CB depth is outstanding. And I’ve always felt that was a position that really benefits from age and reps. You and I have discussed that all the way back to Malik young’s freshman season. It is a high floor and high ceiling for the CB room.

Safety, we’ll see. I think we are all excited about what fitz can become. ****, there’s an argument to be made that he is the X-factor guy on the defensive side.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention Poyser as the guy that can potentially fill the alley. I thought he started to show a lot more physicality towards the end of last season. He was often overshadowed by the DEs and Scott/Thomas. But I thought he improved all season and really started to lay some wood towards the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.

I haven’t watched any film on the transfers or freshman yet so I won’t offer any opinions there.

Nickel is the real question. We got so much out of that position last year. Scott was so versatile. There is nowhere to go but down there, imo.
 
LuCane said:
Ha, first of all, i'm no expert. I've just watched too much football for like 40 years.

And, yeah, I'll stand by that line (and the qualifier) because of the outrageous depth at Corner. It's not something I think I ever remember here. Our 4th CB is a...starter. Our Safeties aren't as deep, but the strength of the CB room is just seemingly so strong it sets a high floor for the entire season.

Now, the qualifier in there. I haven't seen any of our players fill an alley well enough in a Canes uniform. Thornton did so at BC. I don't think Fitz does it well enough yet.

Scott was my favorite player on the team last year and I said that early. He is not replaceable. But, when you return 4-5 starting level corners, you can play around with a lot of coverages even with inevitable injuries.
Click to expand...
This is why Thornton is X factor to me. Poyser came on at end of the year in that regard too. **** near killed Pitt qb. But missed THE hit in the natty
 
LuCane said:
Offense

I think we have the most talent on offense we've seen in perhaps 25 years. I judge offenses and its players by the amount of stress or conflict they create on defensive coordinators or defenders. If we see more 10 personnel and run more plays, I think we'll see defenses stressed beyond cohesion in both the running and passing games.

I believe the biggest factor in how much of that stress remains consistent is the Right Tackle position.

Perhaps that's Mccoy. Maybe it's Samson. Maybe something else happens. I don't know because I haven't watched practice in many years.

Defense

I think we have the best defensive backfield we've seen in three decades, maybe ever, though I need to see a player who can reliably fill the alley. Ideally, that's an evolved Fitz or Thornton. I think we have the deepest DL in two decades. While I think our LB position is a relative weakness in space and will be challenged if we cannot properly set the edge like we did last season, I think the biggest X factor is the one that impacts that potential domino effect most.

I believe that player is Justin Scott.

Not because he's better or more impactful than Moten, necessarily, but because the change/elevation in Scott's play is more variable. That change could send a ripple effect down the DL to how our DL groupings (the Edge players we choose) set the EDGE, which then impact our LBs.

Scott hitting the next level while Moten maintains the end of last year's level makes this a defense that is infinitely more difficult to threaten/stress. Again, I measure almost everything by risk and threat.

Who do you think are the "X factors" on each side of the ball and why?
Click to expand...
O: How Mali + Barkate mesh w/ receptions/routes

D: How DL works w/ LBs
 
OrangeBowlMagic said:
I've said it a few times but I'm definitely nervous about the center position as well.

2022 was an abomination, just forget about it.

But 2023, 2024, and 2025, we had one of the ~10 best offensive lines in the country every single year. A big part of that? A veteran center, with proven experience at a high level.

Matt Lee -- Three year starter at UCF
Zach Carpenter -- Starter at Indiana for 20+ games
James Brockermeyer -- Started every game the previous year for TCU

Every single season, we've plugged in a grown *** man to be the anchor of the line, who had proven previously he could handle the job. Now, it seems that role will be first offered up to Ryan Rodriguez, who has started one (1) game in the past 2 seasons, and it was at Guard. He is a 6th year senior, so perhaps he has the grown *** man part down. What he doesn't have, at all, is the prior history proving he can handle the job part.

So, until proven otherwise, my breath is held at Center. Of course, I trust Mario and Mirabal to put a competent line out there. But I'd feel WAY better about this line overall if we had a kid playing center who I knew, without a doubt, would be *at worst* decent, which is how I've felt going into each of the last 3 seasons. I don't know that I feel that way now. He's a major, major piece of this puzzle.
Click to expand...
AUcane said:
Yeah, everyone is nervous about RRod. He has experience, great, but he's never really started here at arguably the most important position on the OL. From the limited snaps I saw from the spring, even the snaps need to be improved. I know he's improved but next 2 months of continued growth needs to happen. OL should give folks pause because we don't have anyone returning with full time starter snaps.
Click to expand...
JHallCanes said:
My biggest concern is health. The last few years you can count on one hand how many games our starting OL missed due to injury

Samson, McCoy, RR these guys are the ones that have had trouble staying healthy

No one has a good backup OL

I’m not overly worried about it but just something with a little asterisk next to it for me
Click to expand...
@LuCane

Excellent topic and thread! I'm sorry to be so late to the party but allow me to put in my 2 cents.

Offensively I've got to go with the OL. Specifically C plus RT with Ryan Rodriguez and Matt McCoy respectively. For the past 3 seasons, Mario and Alex Mirabal have opted to go with veteran transfer Centers to anchor the OL. Mirabal has stated repeatedly who the Center in his system has a ton of responsibility on his shoulders. That player must be very intelligent, posses leadership qualities and have the requisite physicality needed to anchor a UM OL. This time they opted to stay within the team and go with Rodriguez a 6th year Senior who has a lot of experience being one of 2 remaining holdovers from the Diaz regime(Chase Smith is the other). I've always been a fan of Rodriguez and I admired the way he fought for his spot on this team when Mario and Mirabal took over. My worry with him is not his ability as the staff went with him for a reason and they see him everyday. No, my concern is his injury history and the very high likelihood of this team making a deep playoff run again this year. I just don't see Rodriguez lasting 14-16 games as a starter. It's imperative that we have someone in the bullpen that we can depend on if he goes down.

At RT, I'm just not sold on McCoy being able to consistently give us the level of play necessary for us to compete at the level we expect and to be clear, I don't expect to see Cici Mauigoa level play. I see a few potential developments here. One is that Samson Okunlola gets his shot to win the RT job. Two is that someone like Jaden Wilkerson or Ben Congdon beat out McCoy at RT leaving Pancake at LG. Three is that McCoy exceeds all of my expectations and runs away with the job in fall practice. Whatever happens in fall camp, we still need these 2 positions on the OL to produce for this line and this offense to reach their respective ceilings.

On Defense I'm going with the trenches as well and like on offense I have 2 X factors. My first is Armando Blount. Blount will likely be a utility player on the DL moving from 5tech to 4itech to 3tech wherever he is most needed. I'm expecting Blount to have a breakout type year. The more dominant he is the more effective this defense will be.

My second X on defense is a player who is naturally getting overlooked going into the 2026 season and that is Hayden Lowe. After missing spring due to a personal issue, Lowe is back with the team and working hard to get into football shape. I believe Lowe is key for this defenses ability to consistently set the edge. At 6'5" 265 Lowe has the body type to set the edge and anchor vs the run while also having the explosion and bend to beat Offensive Tackles to the QB.
 
@LuCane
You mentioned needing to find a player who can consistently fill the alley. You mentioned a more advanced Fitzgerald or Omar Thornton as possibilities. While I loved what I saw from Fitz last season in terms of his physicality and willingness to hit, I would say that Thornton is much better suited to that role right now. My only question with Thornton is his ability in coverage. However I brought this up because there is a name that you didn't mention and that's Zechariah Poyser. What is your opinion of him in terms of his ability to fill the alley?

PS. I really think that JJ Dunnigan is going to be a real wildcard and I literally cannot wait to see him play.
 
Dre on O — I believe having him blow the top off the safety coverage opens up the whole field for Mensah.

Fitz on D — his penchant for interceptions will limit a big chunk of the field, making opponents more predictable everywhere else and vulnerable to pressure
 
FrancisSawyer said:
@LuCane
You mentioned needing to find a player who can consistently fill the alley. You mentioned a more advanced Fitzgerald or Omar Thornton as possibilities. While I loved what I saw from Fitz last season in terms of his physicality and willingness to hit, I would say that Thornton is much better suited to that role right now. My only question with Thornton is his ability in coverage. However I brought this up because there is a name that you didn't mention and that's Zechariah Poyser. What is your opinion of him in terms of his ability to fill the alley?

PS. I really think that JJ Dunnigan is going to be a real wildcard and I literally cannot wait to see him play.
Click to expand...
To be clear, I think I mentioned that I hadnt seen Fitz do it well enough yet. I don't know how to project it because I don't watch them practice nor have info on his physical growth. So, I'm reluctant to guess until I just watch him this upcoming season.

As for Poyser, I guess that's an option, but also haven't seen him flash the skills necessary to play the Nickel spot the way we'd love.

Like I said, I just don't think that player exists on the roster in August. I love JJ Dunnigan, and maybe he's a different player (mentally) by the time December rolls around.

We have a lot of options. None of them are KScott. We'll have to figure something else out.
 
scrantoncane said:
The CB depth is outstanding. And I’ve always felt that was a position that really benefits from age and reps. You and I have discussed that all the way back to Malik young’s freshman season. It is a high floor and high ceiling for the CB room.

Safety, we’ll see. I think we are all excited about what fitz can become. ****, there’s an argument to be made that he is the X-factor guy on the defensive side.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention Poyser as the guy that can potentially fill the alley. I thought he started to show a lot more physicality towards the end of last season. He was often overshadowed by the DEs and Scott/Thomas. But I thought he improved all season and really started to lay some wood towards the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Click to expand...
scrantoncane said:
I haven’t watched any film on the transfers or freshman yet so I won’t offer any opinions there.

Nickel is the real question. We got so much out of that position last year. Scott was so versatile. There is nowhere to go but down there, imo.
Click to expand...
I agree about Poyser, as the season went on and he got more comfortable at the level of competition he started making plays. I think he is going to be a difference maker this season.
 
Hstokes1447 said:
I agree about Poyser, as the season went on and he got more comfortable at the level of competition he started making plays. I think he is going to be a difference maker this season.
Click to expand...

Just saw his video "miami was my dream school" on YT by ibis media. At the 2:22 mark cant help but get excited about the upcoming yr. That shared mindset they have is great. Its alot of violence thats talked bout with the identity true , but its alot of peace and brotherhood and when its go time those other teams will find out how miami is really cut.
 
Back
Top