Podcast: No. 18 Miami’s bowl stakes, NFL Draft decisions and what’s next at defensive end
The future — at least at one important position for the Miami Hurricanes — will arrive Tuesday.
There’s a chance it might not be pretty.
Either way, No. 18 Miami will get to learn a little more about its future next week when it faces the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2020 Cheez-It Bowl.
Star defensive ends Jaelan Phillips and Quincy Roche are both entering the 2021 NFL Draft, and sitting out the Hurricanes’ postseason trip up to Orlando. It complicates a little bit what is at stake for Miami (8-2, 7-2 Atlantic Coast) when it faces Oklahoma State at Camping World Stadium.
On a new episode of the Eye on the U podcast, David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Hurricanes beat writer for the Miami Herald, take a look at the Hurricanes’ upcoming bowl game from all different angles. Opt outs should play a huge role in this top-25 matchup — star running back Chuba Hubbard is sitting out for the Cowboys — and Manny Diaz has plenty to prove as Miami searches for its first bowl victory since 2016.
What’s at stake? Maybe a chance for Diaz to get his best win as coach of the Hurricanes and definitely a chance to prove he can keep Miami focused down the stretch. After an embarrassing 62-26 loss to the then-No. 20 North Carolina Tar Heels, the Hurricanes need to at least play well to instill confidence the first part of the season wasn’t just a mirage.
The absences of Phillips and Roche will hurt, but it also gives Miami a chance to start thinking about 2021. The big question the Hurricanes will start to answer in Central Florida: What do they have in defensive linemen Jahfari Harvey, Cameron Williams, Chantz Williams and Quentin Williams, and will they have to jump into the transfer portal to find a new defensive end?
It seems like the rest of Miami’s NFL Draft decisions will have to wait until after the bowl. We wrap things up by trying to handicap those and give some reasons why it’s starting to feel more like quarterback D’Eriq King could return to Coral Gables for one more season.
