Here’s what gives Miami Hurricanes hope that those sack attacks diminish soon enough
When an offensive tackle chooses to play at your school over Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Clemson, Florida State, Texas, Michigan and Penn State, to name only some of the hungry suitors, you know you did something right.
Miami Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz and offensive line coach Butch Barry had to let out a collective yelp when they learned that 6-5, 329-pound Jalen Rivers, a consensus four-star All-American rated as high as the nation’s fifth best tackle, had signed his letter of intent on Wednesday.
Considering the Hurricanes (6-6), who leave Saturday for Shreveport, Louisiana, to prepare for Louisiana Tech (9-3) in the Dec. 26 Independence Bowl, are third worst of 130 FBS teams in allowing sacks (47 overall in 12 regular-season games, including nine in their latest loss at Duke), good chance Diaz and Barry let out a series of those yelps.
Rivers joins an even taller, though for now, trimmer, offensive tackle among Wednesday’s signing loot: 6-7, 273-pound consensus three-star lineman Chris Washington of Nashville Overton.
“He’s only a couple meals away from being 290 pounds,’’ Barry said of Washington on Wednesday, the first day of the three-day early signing period. “He’s a big-bodied kid that has great length and great range. He can bend really well and move his feet.”
Washington was discovered by UM and several other programs when he was seen on national TV last April during the NFL Draft. Each Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools football program sent up one player to accompany the NFL’s Tennessee Titans for their first- and third-round picks. Overton High sent up Washington, and he made everyone else on stage seem very small.
“Right around then, Virginia Tech came in, Miami came in, Missouri came in, Auburn came in, Virginia came in,’’ Overton coach Cole Peeples told the Miami Herald around the time Washington came to UM’s Paradise Camp in June and committed to the Canes. “I said, ‘Chris, here’s the thing about Miami, man. It’s an up-and-coming program. They used to be great. They’ve gone through some rough patches here in the last couple years, but it’s coming back around.’’
And while Washington will likely be bulking up and growing into his body as he learns to master the college game, Under Armour All-American Rivers, about to graduate from Jacksonville Oakleaf, will be vying to win a starting job for 2020.
“He’s got great size — he’s massive,’’ Barry said of Rivers in a one-on-one with the Miami Herald. “He can displace people. And oh, by the way, he’s 325 to 330 pounds, and he may be at the point where he doesn’t need to get any bigger.”
Rivers is rated the No. 5 tackle and No. 4 player in Florida, regardless of position, by ESPN. The 247Sports composite had him as the 15th best tackle in the country. Rivals had him as No. 19.
Rivers also played basketball and won a state championship in the shot put. Both he and Washington will enroll at UM in January so they can participate in spring practice. If Rivers is as good as expected, he will be competing for at least significant playing time.
UM’s starting five for the Duke game were freshman left tackle Zion Nelson, junior left guard Navaughn Donaldson, redshirt sophomore center Corey Gaynor, freshman right guard Jakai Clark and sophomore right tackle Scaife.
Adding to the young Canes’ woes that game and no doubt contributing to the loss were the injuries they sustained on the line. Donaldson hurt his right knee in the first quarter and is out for the bowl game. He was replaced by John Campbell, who later got injured in the second quarter. Campbell was replaced by Jakai Clark, who moved from right guard. And Kai-Leon Herbert came in to right tackle while DJ Scaife slid over from right tackle to right guard.
Quarterback Jarren Williams had been sacked six times by the third quarter.
Coach Manny Diaz said Campbell will be back for the bowl. He also said Miami is in the market for more offensive linemen, be they plucked through the transfer portal or during National Signing Day on Feb. 5 to round out UM’s #Category20 signing class.
Barry, 41, spent the past four seasons as the assistant offensive line coach for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He previously coached five seasons at Central Michigan under UM offensive coordinator Dan Enos.
When asked about the Duke game and the line’s late-season disappointing play, Barry pointed to “variables.’’
“There are always more situations than just one example,’’ he said, noting that the Canes will “look at all avenues’’ to add more offensive linemen in the offseason. “Obviously we had injuries, that’s one factor. They had a really good defensive player and moved him around and tried to find the best matchups for him. At the end of the day we’ve got to do a better job of staying in front of the guy and moving our feet.’’
How tough has this season been for Barry?
“It is what it is,’’ he said. “Every season there are ups and downs.”
Anything different about this program in particular?
“Very high expectations,’’ Barry said, “as you’d expect.’’
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 2:36 PM.
