Miami's second scrimmage of fall camp went down on Greentree, and it basically signals the end of fall camp.
As we start shifting into Stanford mode, here's what stood out from the scrimmage and overall from recent practices.
- Darian Mensah is Mensah. I don't lose a second of sleep about him. He's going to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country, easy.
- Dereon Coleman is a name pushing up. He's not the starter, not the number two, but he's stringing together good showings and earning more work. His arm is as live as it's been — quick release, no windup.
- Luke Nickel continues to find his way. His internal clock is speeding up — he's playing faster, going through reads quicker, and he's got legs on him. He's similar to a Gunnar Stockton where he rises when the pads come on with his ability to take hits and extend plays.
- CharMar Brown had a great day. People look at his yards-per-carry and think it's low, but part of that is his role being short yardage. Add back that long touchdown against Florida that got called back and his numbers look a lot cleaner.
He's not going down on one tackle. Never too high, never too low — you know exactly what you're getting.
- Javian Mallory keeps giving us a reason to talk about him. Consistency is the number-one sign of a freshman who's actually ready to play, and he's got it — he can catch, block, and run. Nothing catches your eye specifically, but he turns into a different player with the helmet and pads on.
- Our deep-ball game is going to be significantly better this year. Not just because Mensah throws a great deep ball — it's the number of receivers who are actually good at going deep. Josh Moore, Malachi Toney, Cooper Barkate, Vance Spafford, Dre Jacobs with a handful of others can all take the top off a defense.
- Cooper Barkate is going to draw a lot of one-on-one matchups teams create by bracketing Toney, and when he's isolated, he's smooth, agile, has great hands, and wins contested catches. He came to Miami from Duke already a thousand-yard receiver saying he wanted to get better, not cash out — and it's shown up every day since spring.
- Elija Lofton is a consistent riser. He was explosive again today.
I think there's still another level in him — the one where he's breaking tackles and scoring in real games — but the trajectory is right.
- Left tackle, right tackle, and center feel settled: Samson Okunlola at left tackle, Matthew McCoy at right tackle, Ryan Rodriguez at center. I don't see any of those three spots changing hands.
- The o-line in general is facing two of the best defensive tackles in college football every day in practice. That's going to prepare them for anything the regular season throws at them.
- We lost one of the best defensive end pairings Miami's had in Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, and I still leave this camp feeling really good about this group. Disruptive is the word.
Doesn't matter what front they're in the result is the same: pressure, and they're getting to the quarterback.
- It starts in the middle. Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott are collapsing the pocket into the quarterback's lap play after play. That's the kind of interior push SEC teams used to be known for.
- Keona Davis, Booker Pickett, and Asharri Charles all jumped out today — getting into the backfield, getting after it.
- Like Mallory, JJ Dunnigan keeps giving us reasons to talk about him.
If this secondary were thin anywhere, he'd be the easiest freshman All-American call — that's how good the room is that he's not a lock to start. He covers outside guys, tight ends, slot receivers and can blitz and clean things up in the run game. I don't see how he's not heavily in the rotation, similar to what Bryce Fitzgerald did last season.
- Camdin Portis — son of former UM and NFL back Clinton Portis — is progressing well from spring to fall. He's understanding the playbook and playing in the right spot more consistently.
- Jaelen Waters and Dylan Day both continue to look like playable options on the back end.
- Jake Weinberg was the best touchback guy in the country last year by a wide margin, and over the last two weeks his field-goal consistency has caught up to that leg. Kicker is a volatile position by nature, but I'm feeling good about where he's trending heading into Stanford.
One other thing
- People have been asking about the ruling on fifth-year eligibility and what it means for Miami.
I don't sense us being active in that market. It's not off the table, but nothing I'm hearing suggests we're diving into it with the season so close.
Big picture
- This offense runs the ball, has since Mario got here, and it's not changing. The size and physicality up front, the depth in the running back room — that's the nature of this team, and it showed up again today with the young offensive linemen doing what they do best: bulldozing people. There will still be plenty of explosive pass plays.
- Corey Hetherman's design, the talent from the back end to the D-line, and a group that's now in year two of the system — I think we've got a shot at a top-five defense.
Camp was a success. Guys stayed healthy, guys competed at a high level in brutal heat, and the strength staff deserves a standing ovation for how these guys held up. I feel great about this team health-wise and talent-wise.
The quarterback's a veteran, the skill positions are loaded, the offensive line has what it needs and just needs reps, and the defense — that's the story. I didn't expect this defensive line to rebuild this fast, and the DBs might be the best group in the country.
We've got two weeks before Stanford. I'm excited for it.
Full breakdown and reaction in the video — check it out below.
As we start shifting into Stanford mode, here's what stood out from the scrimmage and overall from recent practices.
- Darian Mensah is Mensah. I don't lose a second of sleep about him. He's going to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country, easy.
- Dereon Coleman is a name pushing up. He's not the starter, not the number two, but he's stringing together good showings and earning more work. His arm is as live as it's been — quick release, no windup.
- Luke Nickel continues to find his way. His internal clock is speeding up — he's playing faster, going through reads quicker, and he's got legs on him. He's similar to a Gunnar Stockton where he rises when the pads come on with his ability to take hits and extend plays.
- CharMar Brown had a great day. People look at his yards-per-carry and think it's low, but part of that is his role being short yardage. Add back that long touchdown against Florida that got called back and his numbers look a lot cleaner.
He's not going down on one tackle. Never too high, never too low — you know exactly what you're getting.
- Javian Mallory keeps giving us a reason to talk about him. Consistency is the number-one sign of a freshman who's actually ready to play, and he's got it — he can catch, block, and run. Nothing catches your eye specifically, but he turns into a different player with the helmet and pads on.
- Our deep-ball game is going to be significantly better this year. Not just because Mensah throws a great deep ball — it's the number of receivers who are actually good at going deep. Josh Moore, Malachi Toney, Cooper Barkate, Vance Spafford, Dre Jacobs with a handful of others can all take the top off a defense.
- Cooper Barkate is going to draw a lot of one-on-one matchups teams create by bracketing Toney, and when he's isolated, he's smooth, agile, has great hands, and wins contested catches. He came to Miami from Duke already a thousand-yard receiver saying he wanted to get better, not cash out — and it's shown up every day since spring.
- Elija Lofton is a consistent riser. He was explosive again today.
I think there's still another level in him — the one where he's breaking tackles and scoring in real games — but the trajectory is right.
- Left tackle, right tackle, and center feel settled: Samson Okunlola at left tackle, Matthew McCoy at right tackle, Ryan Rodriguez at center. I don't see any of those three spots changing hands.
- The o-line in general is facing two of the best defensive tackles in college football every day in practice. That's going to prepare them for anything the regular season throws at them.
- We lost one of the best defensive end pairings Miami's had in Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, and I still leave this camp feeling really good about this group. Disruptive is the word.
Doesn't matter what front they're in the result is the same: pressure, and they're getting to the quarterback.
- It starts in the middle. Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott are collapsing the pocket into the quarterback's lap play after play. That's the kind of interior push SEC teams used to be known for.
- Keona Davis, Booker Pickett, and Asharri Charles all jumped out today — getting into the backfield, getting after it.
- Like Mallory, JJ Dunnigan keeps giving us reasons to talk about him.
If this secondary were thin anywhere, he'd be the easiest freshman All-American call — that's how good the room is that he's not a lock to start. He covers outside guys, tight ends, slot receivers and can blitz and clean things up in the run game. I don't see how he's not heavily in the rotation, similar to what Bryce Fitzgerald did last season.
- Camdin Portis — son of former UM and NFL back Clinton Portis — is progressing well from spring to fall. He's understanding the playbook and playing in the right spot more consistently.
- Jaelen Waters and Dylan Day both continue to look like playable options on the back end.
- Jake Weinberg was the best touchback guy in the country last year by a wide margin, and over the last two weeks his field-goal consistency has caught up to that leg. Kicker is a volatile position by nature, but I'm feeling good about where he's trending heading into Stanford.
One other thing
- People have been asking about the ruling on fifth-year eligibility and what it means for Miami.
I don't sense us being active in that market. It's not off the table, but nothing I'm hearing suggests we're diving into it with the season so close.
Big picture
- This offense runs the ball, has since Mario got here, and it's not changing. The size and physicality up front, the depth in the running back room — that's the nature of this team, and it showed up again today with the young offensive linemen doing what they do best: bulldozing people. There will still be plenty of explosive pass plays.
- Corey Hetherman's design, the talent from the back end to the D-line, and a group that's now in year two of the system — I think we've got a shot at a top-five defense.
Camp was a success. Guys stayed healthy, guys competed at a high level in brutal heat, and the strength staff deserves a standing ovation for how these guys held up. I feel great about this team health-wise and talent-wise.
The quarterback's a veteran, the skill positions are loaded, the offensive line has what it needs and just needs reps, and the defense — that's the story. I didn't expect this defensive line to rebuild this fast, and the DBs might be the best group in the country.
We've got two weeks before Stanford. I'm excited for it.
Full breakdown and reaction in the video — check it out below.
