Te’Cory Couch and the nickel blitz is become the Hurricanes’ secret weapon on defense
Saturday began with Te’Cory Couch making his first career start. It ended with him making a handful of the biggest plays in the final minutes to help the Miami Hurricanes complete a second straight fourth-quarter comeback on the road.
Couch logged one tackle, a quarterback hurry and a critical interception in the fourth quarter Saturday to help Miami rally past — and hang on to beat — the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg, Virginia. For the second straight game, the sophomore made the plays on defense to help the No. 9 Hurricanes pull out the 25-24 win.
“He’s playing as good as anybody we have in the back end right now,” coach Manny Diaz said.
It was the signature performance of Couch’s young career and it came a week after the previous best performance of his time at Miami. On Nov. 6, Couch recorded a sack and a quarterback hurry in the fourth quarter of the Hurricanes’ come-from-behind win against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The nickel blitz, with Couch crashing into the backfield from the secondary, has become a staple of Miami’s defense this month and helped the Hurricanes (7-1, 6-1 Atlantic Coast) win back-to-back one-possession games.
He finished the game with five total tackles. He recorded half a sack and half a tackle for loss, plus another quarterback hit. Right after star quarterback D’Eriq King found wide receiver Mark Pope for the game-winning touchdown, Couch picked off Virginia Tech quarterback Hendon Hooker on the first play of the Hokies’ next drive with 5:52 remaining, tracking the ball in 1-on-1 coverage and diving to grab a key interception.
“So many guys almost make that play. They lay out and they almost have it, and the ball kind of squirts out and hits the ground,” Diaz said. “To make that play at that moment of the game — that’s competitive greatness.”
The foundation of his success has been his ability to play in the box.
In the second quarter, Baker finally sent Couch on a blitz on third-and-6 and the corner combined with linebacker Sam Brooks Jr. for a sack to force a punt. Like last week, he got even better as the game went on.
Last week, the Hurricanes held North Carolina State to 6 yards in the fourth quarter and erased a 10-point lead to win in regulation. The Wolfpack’s first full drive of the fourth ended was a three-and-out, ended when Couch came on the blitz to hit North Carolina State quarterback Bailey Hockman as he threw incomplete. The Wolfpack’s second drive was a three-and-out, too, and Couch ended it with another nickel blitz, dragging down Hockman for his lone sack of the game.
“I wasn’t too fond of doing that in high school,” Couch said of the blitzes. “I just go in there with high effort, being fearless.”
On Saturday, Miami held the Hokies (4-4, 4-3) to 61 yards in the fourth quarter to erase a five-point lead.
The Hurricanes began the quarter by forcing Virginia Tech to punt and Couch again came on a blitz on third down. He shot around the left edge, and caused Hooker to stumble and cut a run back inside, where defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera finished off the tackle for loss.
After Miami went three-and-out, the defense needed to make another stop and Couch again blitzed on third down. This time, Virginia Tech’s offensive line bottled him up, so he retreated to spy on Hooker. Eventually, he saw another opening as the redshirt junior started to scramble and Couch hit him as he threw, forcing another incomplete pass and three-and-out.
The Hurricanes answered with the go-ahead touchdown and Couch followed it with an interception to help Miami hold off the Hokies’ final push at Lane Stadium.
“I feel like it’s always been there,” Couch said. “I’m just getting opportunities right now and I’m making the most of it.”
