Two Miami Hurricanes defensive backs named semifinalists for Jim Thorpe Award

They both returned to earn their degrees and finish their college football careers with their brothers.

University of Miami safety Jaquan Johnson and cornerback Michael Jackson have made their final season count.

Johnson and Jackson, who are each expected to do well in the NFL Draft, were named two of 14 Thorpe Award semifinalists on Monday.

The Hurricanes (5-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who are preparing to play Friday night at Boston College (5-2, 2-1), were one of only three teams nationally to have two players selected as semifinalists for the award that goes to the country’s top defensive back at the end of the season.

Jackson, 6-1 and 205 pounds, is a physically imposing cornerback who has started all seven games this season. He has 22 tackles, four pass breakups, a tackle for loss and quarterback hurry. Last season Jackson tied for the team lead with four interceptions. He also had 43 tackles, five pass breakups, three tackles for loss, a sack and fumble recovery and was named a second-team All-ACC player.

Johnson, a 5-11 and 195-pound preseason AP All-American, missed two-and-a-half games this season because of a hamstring injury, but still leads the Hurricanes with 44 tackles. He also has blocked a field goal. Last year, Johnson, a second-team All-ACC player and Walter Camp Player of the Year semifinalist, was named a second-team All-American by Sports Illustrated and the American Football Coaches Association after leading UM with 96 tackles. He also had three tackles for loss and a sack, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a team lead-tying four interceptions.

“Jaquan’s our guy,’’ UM defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said earlier this month. “I mean, everybody just seeing him... When he takes the field he has a presence about him that makes everybody else in the secondary, everybody on defense, feel more reassured. He’s our big eraser back there.

“Emotionally, he is the heartbeat of our defense. Everybody knows that. The guys performed admirably in his absence, but we’re a lot better with Jaquan.’’

The Hurricanes are now ranked second nationally in passing yards allowed (130.9-yard average), second in total defense (237 yards allowed per game), first in third-down conversion percentage (20.8 percent allowed), first in tackles for loss (11.6 average) and eighth in passes intercepted (11).

Former Miami star safety Bennie Blades, the uncle of UM freshman cornerback Al Blades, won the Thorpe Award in 1987.

This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 8:54 AM.