Te’Cory Couch draws rave reviews. A first look at how UM defensive newcomers are faring

It’s too early for Blake Baker to really start thinking about the intricacies of his defensive substitution patterns. Three practices are in the books for the Miami Hurricanes at their fall camp ahead of the 2019 season and Miami is still working in transfers, freshmen and previously injured players in preparations for Baker’s first season as the defensive coordinator in Coral Gables.

The secondary is the one spot on defense most likely to see major contributions from freshmen. The Hurricanes are replacing three starters from the 2018 season and have three blue-chip freshman defensive backs trying to carve out roles. Baker has been impressed with all three — Keontra Smith, Te’Cory Couch and Christian Williams — but Couch, in particular, is drawing rave reviews.

On third-down situations, Baker said the early alignment is to have Al Blades Jr. and DJ Ivey as the outside cornerbacks, and fellow defensive back Trajan Bandy move inside to play the nickel. Another option, the coordinator said, could be Couch as the nickel back.

“He’s really, really twitchy, really athletic. He’s got great feet and he’s fearless,” Baker said. “He can run and guys that can run like that are confident in playing press-man, so he’s a guy that could potentially slide in there, but we haven’t gotten too far down the third-down rabbit hole, but those are two names that kind of pop into mind.”

Bandy also singled out the 5-foot-10, 165-pound cornerback from Chaminade-Madonna as the freshman corner who has impressed him most.

“He catches on to things really quick, and he goes out there and he does everything right,” said Bandy, a 5-foot-9 junior Couch tries to emulate. “He runs to the ball. He’s made a lot plays in practice. He’s been impressive, to me.”

Couch, who helped anchor the Lions’ defense on the way to a second straight state title in 2018, was an Under Armour All-American after his senior season, as was Williams, the cornerback from Daphne, Alabama, who flipped to Miami from the Alabama Crimson Tide on National Signing Day in February. Smith, a teammate of Couch’s from Chaminade-Madonna, is trying to earn playing time in the Hurricanes’ safeties rotation.

The defensive line is also likely to see playing time from newcomers, although those are in the form of transfers. Trevon Hill, who transferred in from the Virginia Tech Hokies just before fall camp began, is competing for playing time opposite star defensive end Jonathan Garvin. Chigozie Nnoruka, who transferred to Miami from the UCLA Bruins earlier this summer, is already part of the defensive tackles rotation.

Baker said he expects both to factor into the mix this season.

“I think both those guys will have an immediate impact,” Baker said. “They’ve both played a lot of football. They’re really, really good teammates. They fit in really well. They come to work every single day and haven’t said much. The most impressive thing is — what you kind of expect from guys who have played a lot of football — is their effort. They’re blending right in from an effort standpoint. I think they’re both going to have a huge impact in what we do.”

At linebacker, the only newcomer currently is Sam Brooks Jr., a freshman out of Northwestern. The Hurricanes are still awaiting the arrival St. Thomas Aquinas’ Avery Huff, who was a four-star linebacker in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2019, so an opportunity has emerged for Brooks with fellow linebackers Waynmon Steed, Bradley Jennings and Patrick Joyner Jr. all sidelined by injuries.

“I think one of the things you hear most on the field when he’s on the field, when I’m on the sideline and I’m watching him get his reps, you hear a lot of people go, Wow, instincts, instincts, instincts,” fellow linebacker Zach McCloud said. “You can call it instincts, but he knows the game. He’s a player that has a feel for the game and he’s seen a lot before. He just knows what to expect from what he sees and he’s a competitor. The coaches are telling me he’s really smart. He’s getting in the film room, doing extra stuff, so it’s fun watching him play.”

This story was originally published July 28, 2019 at 9:20 PM.