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What's our fall depth chart look like?

ghost2

ghost2

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I'm sure I'm missing people but, in not-necessarily order:

QB: Beck, Emory, Nickel, Judd
RB: Fletcher, Lyle, Charmander, Pringle, CWH
WR: Trader, Carr, Toney, Daniels, Marion, Ray Ray, Johnson, Moore
TE/HB: Lofton, Bauman, Schott, Carver, Nickel
OT: Mauigoa, Bell, Samson, Kinsler
OG: McCoy, Rodriguez, Cooper
C: Brockermeyer
EDGE: Bain, Mesidor, Lightfoot, Blount, McConathy
DT: Blay, Morten, Scott, Jones
LB: Wes, Popo, Bonner, Wiley, Pruitt, Washington, Hayes
DB: OJ, Lucas, Brantley, O'Connor, Richard, Poyser, Day, Thomas, Brown, Ewald
 
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QB: Beck, Nickel
RB: Lyle, Brown, Fletcher
WR: Daniels, Jojo, Toney, Marion, Johnson, Ray Ray
TE: Lofton, Bauman
OT: Mauigoa, Bell, Kinsler, Samson
OG: McCoy, Cooper, Rodriguez
C: Brockermeyer, Nino

DE: Bain, Mesidor, Blount, 💡🦶
DT: Scott, Blay, Moten, Art
LB: Popo, Wes, Pruitt, Alderman
CB: OJ, O'Connor, Brantley, Ewald, Damari, Jaboree
S: Poyser, Lucas, Day, Markeith/Jadais
 
ghost2 said:
I'm sure I'm missing people but, in not-necessarily order:

QB: Beck, Emory, Nickel, Judd
RB: Fletcher, Lyle, Charmander, Pringle, CWH
WR: Trader, Carr, Toney, Daniels, Marion, Ray Ray, Johnson, Moore
TE/HB: Lofton, Bauman, Schott, Carver, Nickel
OT: Mauigoa, Bell, Samson, Kinsler
OG: McCoy, Rodriguez, Cooper
C: Brockermeyer
EDGE: Bain, Mesidor, Lightfoot, Blount, McConathy
DT: Blay, Morten, Scott, Jones
LB: Wes, Popo, Bonner, Wiley, Pruitt, Washington, Hayes
DB: OJ, Lucas, Brantley, O'Connor, Richard, Poyser, Day, Thomas, Brown, Ewald
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Carver and Washington are both likely out for the year and I wouldn't expect Jadais Richard to be back anytime soon.

At RB, I really like Lyle to emerge as RB1 with Fletcher in a utility role or RB2. It depends on him. The wildcard here is Marty Brown. I could see him either taking the next step in his development and getting RB2 carries or he may take a while to adjust to our scheme like Martinez last year. Pringle has gamebreaking ability but competition for carries will be fierce. Chris Wheatley Humphrey is a very interesting player. I agree with the Henry Parrish with speed comparison and I would love for Merritt/Dawson to get him on the field. The addition of Charmar "Marty" Brown has completely changed the dynamics of this group in a very good way.

I like what we have at WR and the two additions are solid and practical although I would have preferred a true WR#1 who could be a gamebreaker. This role could very well be filled by Jojo Trader buy who knows. I do expect Trader to have a very good season barring injury. It would be nice to know if CJ Daniel's ankle has fully healed because if it has, he could be that more experienced gamebreaking #1 we are looking for. I think both Tony Johnson and Keelan Marion will be very productive given the opportunity. Lastly I expect Toney, Moore and Upshaw to all compete for PT. How much we will have to see.

Elija Lofton should have a very good year as a do everything utility type. He will be a difficult matchup at TE and potentially a terror at RB.

I feel great about Beck assuming he makes a full recovery and has no issues throwing this summer. The thing is who will play if God forbid Beck gets hurt. Luke Nickel is the obvious choice because we all know what Emory gives us and Anderson is not ready. The issue here will be getting Nickel enough reps in a relief role in order to get him as much experience as possible for 2026.

I believe that this should be the best and deepest OL of the Cristobal/Mirabal era. Markel Bell returns at LT. I would like to see Bell continue to develop especially against speedier pass rushers. At LG Ryan Rodriguez returns after missing most of 2024 with an injury. At Center James Brockermeyer transferred over from TCU where he was All Big 12 Honorable Mention. At RG Anez Cooper will be a senior and Francis Mauigoa returns for his junior season. Depth consists of Samson Okunlola, Tommy Kinsler, Nino Francavilla, Juan Minaya and Matt McCoy. This comprises one of the best OLs in the nation imo.


At DT I feel great about the trio of Blay, Scott and Moton. After that there are question marks. True Freshman Donta Simpson flashed in spring and chances are he will be called on to provide depth. Artavious Jones will also likely be called upon. Simpson and Jones will have to step up at some point and real game reps are the best teacher. I would have liked another DT or 2 in the portal.

I love this DE room on paper but they must produce. I look for a big bounce back year from Rueben Bain and expect Akheem Mesidor to be energized after moving back to DE fulltime. What truly excites me here is the depth and young upcoming talent like Armando Blount, Marquis Lightfoot and true freshman Hayden Lowe with Booker Pickett Jr and Cole McConathy providing even more depth.

At LB, DC and LB coach Corey Hetherman will have every opportunity to show his ability as a teacher as he attempts to revitalize this as yet uninspiring group at LB. Popo Aguirre and Wes Bissainthe will likely play a lot. I'm also interested to see if true freshman Kellen Wiley can contribute as well as redshirt freshman Adarius Hayes. Portal transfer Kamal Bonner will get every opportunity to make an impact.

I'm excited to finally have a real CB group as it's been awhile. Xavier Lucas, OJ Frederique, Ethan O’Connor and Damari Brown give us an excellent 2 deep. At Safety, Zechariah Poyser and Jakobe Thomas give us solid and potentially excellent starters but depth remains a concern. Dylan Day is a young upcoming type with great potential and Markeith Williams comes off a very good spring to provide depth.
 
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FrancisSawyer said:
Carver and Washington are both likely out for the year and I wouldn't expect Jadais Richard to be back anytime soon.

At RB, I really like Lyle to emerge as RB1 with Fletcher in a utility role or RB2. It depends on him. The wildcard here is Marty Brown. I could see him either taking the next step in his development and getting RB2 carries or he may take a while to adjust to our scheme like Martinez last year. Pringle has gamebreaking ability but competition for carries will be fierce. Chris Wheatley Humphrey is a very interesting player. I agree with the Henry Parrish with speed comparison and I would love for Merritt/Dawson to get him on the field. The addition of Charmar "Marty" Brown has completely changed the dynamics of this group in a very good way.

I like what we have at WR and the two additions are solid and practical although I would have preferred a true WR#1 who could be a gamebreaker. This role could very well be filled by Jojo Trader buy who knows. I do expect Trader to have a very good season barring injury. It would be nice to know if CJ Daniel's ankle has fully healed because if it has, he could be that more experienced gamebreaking #1 we are looking for. I think both Tony Johnson and Keelan Marion will be very productive given the opportunity. Lastly I expect Toney, Moore and Upshaw to all compete for PT. How much we will have to see.

Elija Lofton should have a very good year as a do everything utility type. He will be a difficult matchup at TE and potentially a terror at RB.

I feel great about Beck assuming he makes a full recovery and has no issues throwing this summer. The thing is who will play if God forbid Beck gets hurt. Luke Nickel is the obvious choice because we all know what Emory gives us and Anderson is not ready. The issue here will be getting Nickel enough reps in a relief role in order to get him as much experience as possible for 2026.

I believe that this should be the best and deepest OL of the Cristobal/Mirabal era. Markel Bell returns at LT. I would like to see Bell continue to develop especially against speedier pass rushers. At LG Ryan Rodriguez returns after missing most of 2024 with an injury. At Center James Brockermeyer transferred over from TCU where he was All Big 12 Honorable Mention. At RG Anez Cooper will be a senior and Francis Mauigoa returns for his junior season. Depth consists of Samson Okunlola, Tommy Kinsler, Nino Francavilla, Juan Minaya and Matt McCoy. This comprises one of the best OLs in the nation imo.


At DT I feel great about the trio of Blay, Scott and Moton. After that there are question marks. True Freshman Donta Simpson flashed in spring and chances are he will be called on to provide depth. Artavious Jones will also likely be called upon. Simpson and Jones will have to step up at some point and real game reps are the best teacher. I would have liked another DT or 2 in the portal.

I love this DE room on paper but they must produce. I look for a big bounce back year from Rueben Bain and expect Akheem Mesidor to be energized after moving back to DE fulltime. What truly excites me here is the depth and young upcoming talent like Armando Blount, Marquis Lightfoot and true freshman Hayden Lowe with Booker Pickett Jr and Cole McConathy providing even more depth.

At LB, DC and LB coach Corey Hetherman will have every opportunity to show his ability as a teacher as he attempts to revitalize this as yet uninspiring group at LB. Popo Aguirre and Wes Bissainthe will likely play a lot. I'm also interested to see if true freshman Kellen Wiley can contribute as well as redshirt freshman Adarius Hayes. Portal transfer Kamal Bonner will get every opportunity to make an impact.

I'm excited to finally have a real CB group as it's been awhile. Xavier Lucas, OJ Frederique, Ethan O’Connor and Damari Brown give us an excellent 2 deep. At Safety, Zechariah Poyser and Jakobe Thomas give us solid and potentially excellent starters but depth remains a concern. Dylan Day is a young upcoming type with great potential and Markeith Williams comes off a very good spring to provide depth.
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Well done. Maybe not as concerned about DT being a portal addition short as DE group is loaded and can see Hetherman mixing and matching.
 
QB: Beck/Nickel/Anderson/Williams
RB: Lyle/Fletcher/Brown/CWH/Pringle
WR1: Daniels/Moore/Robinson
WR2: Trader/Marion/Carr or Upshaw
WR3: Toney/Joseph/Johnson
TE: Lofton (flex)/Bauman/Gilbert/Schott
OT: Mauigoa/Kinsler/Plazz
OG: Cooper/McCoy/Minaya
C: Brockenmeyer/Francavilla/Alofaituli
OG: McCoy or Rodriguez/Minaya/Buchanon
OT: Bell/Okunlola/Wilkerson

DE: Mesidor/Blount/Lowe/McConathy
DT: Moten/Blount/Jones
DT: Scott/Blay/Simpson
DE: Bain/Lightfoot/Bryant/Pickett
LB: Bissainthe/Bonner/Alderman/Pruitt
LB: Toure/Smith/Aguirre/Wiley/Hayes
CB: Lucas/O’Connor/Antoine
CB: Frédérique/Brantley/Mack
CB: Brown/Scott/Ewald
FS: Poyser/Williams/Fitzgerald
SS: Thomas/Day/Wallace

Surprised Williams stayed, think he’s done here
Brown could take snaps from Fletcher if fumbling continues
WR is up in the air, need 3-4 to take spots
Lofton will line up all over the place, Bauman will be the more traditional TE
Starting OL outside of LG is set, light needs to come on for Samson
Put Blount twice but I could see Bain, Blount, and Mesidor having very versatile roles (especially on obvious passing downs). Think Bryant will make an impact this year.
LB is up in the air like WR, need 3-4 to take spots. Think the Rutgers kid starts if he chooses Miami and is medically clear.
Regardless of depth chart I see Lucas/OJ/O’Connor/Brantley/Brown/Scott/ Poyser/Thomas/Day and maybe Williams playing a lot throughout the season.
 
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My best guess (two deep only):

Beck, Nickel
Fletcher OR Lyle, Brown
Daniels, Moore
Trader, Carr
Marion, Toney OR Johnson (Slot)
Lofton, Bauman
Bell, Samson
Rodriguez, McCoy
Brockermeyer, SJ
Cooper, McCoy
Francis, Kinsler

Bain, Blount
Blay, Jones OR Simpson
Moten, Scott
Mesidor, Lightfoot
Aguirre, Hayes
Bissainthe, Bonner OR Pruitt
Brown, Brantley (Nickel)
Lucas, Brantley
OJ, O’Connor
Poyser, Williams
Thomas, Day
 
ben said:
I want our offensive line in even tighter splits this season. Like a human centipede. With SJ at fullback and lofton gingerly taking handoffs from Carson beck so as to not re-tear his elbow.
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Looking at these depth charts, I'm really excited about the potential of the defense, especially if Heatherman is good+/elite DC.

I expect us to be very aggressive with our outside corners (Lucas, O'Connor, OJ). Assuming we get Scott at Nickelback. Scott/Brantley at Nickel (Brantley on obvious passing downs). Single high with Poyser and Jakobe in the box on early downs, sliding Scott to safety on passing downs.

If Bain & Mesisor are our ends on early downs we should be elite at setting the edge. Bain/Mesisor/Scott/Blay is a really good sized college DL. While I'd love to have a big fat guy NT to stuff the run, those 4 have good size and none of them are plodding. They can all rush the passer. We can rotate freely on the edges, especially on passing downs with: Blount, Lightfoot, Lowe, Cole, Pickett, Bryant. Hopefully Blount/Lowe/Cole/Bryant can also provide some edge setting and stout run defense on early downs.

MLBer obviously the biggest question mark, but if we're able to put our corners on islands outside we can bring another body from the secondary into the box.

Second biggest question mark is whether Scott can make leap to DT1, and whether late transfer/Jones/Simpson/Russell can give us 15-20 quality snaps a game on early downs as DT4.

If we can be even average against the run between the tackles, I really like our chances to have a good defense. Our pass rush should be hellacious, and that should delay backs and tight ends from the opposition from going out into patterns. Get to obvious passing downs and distances consistently, and I expect us to create a lot of havoc and turnovers.
 
MiamiBusiness said:
My best guess (two deep only):

Beck, Nickel
Fletcher OR Lyle, Brown
Daniels, Moore
Trader, Carr
Marion, Toney OR Johnson (Slot)
Lofton, Bauman
Bell, Samson
Rodriguez, McCoy
Brockermeyer, SJ
Cooper, McCoy
Francis, Kinsler

Bain, Blount
Blay, Jones OR Simpson
Moten, Scott
Mesidor, Lightfoot
Aguirre, Hayes
Bissainthe, Bonner OR Pruitt
Brown, Brantley (Nickel)
Lucas, Brantley
OJ, O’Connor
Poyser, Williams
Thomas, Day
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You think Rodriguez starts over McCoy? I thought McCoy was solid last year. Rodriguez looked good too against Florida then unfortunately got hurt.
 
Shooter McGavin said:
You think Rodriguez starts over McCoy? I thought McCoy was solid last year. Rodriguez looked good too against Florida then unfortunately got hurt.
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Not sure, probably should have put an OR there to be fair. I think they will battle it out like they did last fall. I expect that whoever loses that battle will be the backup at both guard spots.
 
If Emery is the backup going into season then just nuke the entire quarterback evaluation and development process
 
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MiamiBusiness said:
Not sure, probably should have put an OR there to be fair. I think they will battle it out like they did last fall. I expect that whoever loses that battle will be the backup at both guard spots.
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I think McCoy would have won the job outright in fall but got hurt. But either way I liked how both looked.
 
QB: Lose Cam, add Beck
Verdict: Clear downgrade, and the entire state of the program rests on one ligament that resides in Beck's right elbow. If fully healthy, we can get ~90% of Cam's production, which is still elite. If not, everything burns like the Chicago Fire of 1871. No pressure, kid.

RB: Lose Martinez, Allen, Johnson. Add Pringle, Brown.
Verdict: Probably a toss-up. I think Pringle actually adds value, where we got very little from Johnson and not much from Allen. Losing Martinez hurts, for sure. But a clear off-season for Fletcher and a Year 2 jump for Lyle could make this essentially a wash.

WR: Lose Restrepo, George, Brown, Horton. Add Daniels, Marion, Upshaw, Moore, Toney, the Cincy kid.
Verdict: We've beaten this one to death and I'm sure will continue to up to and into the ND game. We all know the story. We didn't get "WR1"...whatever that is. We're gonna fall off a cliff even though none of these kids were drafted. Blah blah. We'll see. It's definitely a downgrade on paper right now. But kids like Trader and Carr have major opportunities to crush that narrative.

TE: Lose Arroyo, Williams, McCormick. Add Buaman, Gilbert, Schott.
Verdict: This is the position I'm actually more worried about than almost any other. Arroyo was a Top 50 pick and that was with injury concerns. He's a legit first-round talent IMO. McCormick blocked his *** off. I know Lofton is Gronk reincarnated, but can he block? Will they ask him to? The only thing that makes me feel a little better is Arroyo was frankly underused. So we're not replacing massive production. But this room scares me....it was a major strength for us last year. I'm not sure I can say the same here.

OL: Lose Rivers, Carpenter. Add Brockermeyer
Verdict: I think the OL will be even better this year. The right side will be as good as any RG/RT combo in America. Brockermeyer is an athletic upgrade to Carpenter. LG should be fine. And we'll miss Rivers, for sure, but everyone sure seems to be super high on Bell. At worst, this should be a wash and we will again have one of the 10 best OLs in America.

So the offense will be worse. I think we all understand and expect that. But look big picture. 2024 was literally the best offense ever fielded here. Ever. Even with the laundry list of Hall of Famers we've had on that side of the ball at every position. It was one of the best offenses in the last decade. Only 11 teams in the past 10 years averaged more yards per play against FBS teams than Miami did last year. We had a better than 1% offense. So yes, it'll be a downgrade. How much, is the $1M question. Can we still be in the Top 20? Top 30? If we can hover around Top 20, and the defense improves, there's no reason the team can't be as good/better than it was last year. But we all just saw what happens when you pair a 1% offense with a "**** thru a tin horn" defense. So this season will be predicated on what Heatherman and the ingredients he has on that side can do.
 
ghost2 said:
I'm sure I'm missing people but, in not-necessarily order:

QB: Beck, Emory, Nickel, Judd
RB: Fletcher, Lyle, Charmander, Pringle, CWH
WR: Trader, Carr, Toney, Daniels, Marion, Ray Ray, Johnson, Moore
TE/HB: Lofton, Bauman, Schott, Carver, Nickel
OT: Mauigoa, Bell, Samson, Kinsler
OG: McCoy, Rodriguez, Cooper
C: Brockermeyer
EDGE: Bain, Mesidor, Lightfoot, Blount, McConathy
DT: Blay, Morten, Scott, Jones
LB: Wes, Popo, Bonner, Wiley, Pruitt, Washington, Hayes
DB: OJ, Lucas, Brantley, O'Connor, Richard, Poyser, Day, Thomas, Brown, Ewald
Click to expand...
hey arnold nickelodeon GIF
 
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