Podcast: Run it back and better than ever? Miami’s roster looks better almost everywhere
The Miami Hurricanes’ offseason is now almost a month old and there’s finally a clear picture of what the 2021 roster is going to look like.
It’s going to look a whole lot like the 2020 roster, with a handful of key losses and a few key additions.
It has been an offseason of “run it back” posts on social media for Miami and the result is a team with real Atlantic Coast Conference championship aspirations. 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, break down the latest batch of players announcing their intentions to return and one more major transfer addition.
Saturday effectively marked the end of roster-reconstruction season as three players announced they would be at Miami for the 2021 season. Linebacker Zach McCloud is coming back for a sixth season, offensive lineman Jarrid Williams is coming back for his seventh season of college football — and a second with the Hurricanes — and defensive back Tyrique Stevenson is transferring from the Georgia Bulldogs to Miami.
The two returning players — both taking advantage of an NCAA rule allowing players an extra season of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic — should boost the Hurricanes along the lines, as McCloud toys with a move to defensive end to bolster an inexperienced group and Williams solidifies a suddenly good-looking offensive line.
In 2019, Miami had one of the worst offensive lines in the country. With Williams returning, the Hurricanes will bring back all five starters and seven who started at least one game last year, plus veteran offensive lineman Navaughn Donaldson and several highly touted freshmen, who redshirted in 2020.
We also talk through the latest developments in the N’Kosi Perry saga. The quarterback is out of the transfer porta and coming back to Miami for the spring to get his degree. Although he’s still looking to transfer for a shot to be a starter somewhere next season, his decision gives everyone some extra flexibility as quarterback D’Eriq King covers from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Finally, the addition of Stevenson effectively puts a cap on the Hurricanes’ Class of 2021. With three transfers and 21 incoming high school players, Miami’s recruiting class is arguably one of the 10 best in the country and Stevenson, who started four games at Georgia last season, fills a major need. It’s coach Manny Diaz’s biggest portal splash of the offseason and one worth getting excited about because of how good he was at Miami Southridge and how much potential he flashed for the Bulldogs.
