Miami receiver shuffle? Young Canes who wowed coaches in scrimmage to be ‘re-evaluated’
The Miami Hurricanes’ youngest receivers, who apparently put on an aerial show in Sunday night’s closed first fall scrimmage, will be reassessed this week and likely get added opportunities, according to University of Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.
Lashlee spoke Monday on WQAM, and when asked by host Joe Rose about the performances of true freshmen Jacolby George (seven catches for 127 yards and a touchdown), Romello Brinson (four catches for 73 yards) and Brashard Smith (two catches for 30 yards), Lashlee said “all three of those guys have shown the talent and ability we recruited them here [for] and we thought they had.
“They are who we think they’re going to be from a talent standpoint. Now it’s a matter of getting them ready to play at this level. Last night was a good step for them. We’ll probably re-evaluate this week and see, do those guys get maybe opportunities with some of the older guys here this week to see if they’re ready to contribute now?
“...What last night helped us realize is there’s some young guys that need to get a look against some of our older [defensive backs] to see how they handle that.’’
The Canes open their season Sept. 4 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium against defending champion Alabama. They are expected to have a second scrimmage this weekend.
UM coach Manny Diaz, who posted a video after the scrimmage, shared very limited statistics from the scrimmage. Lashlee gave none, but spoke a bit about starting quarterback D’Eriq King, who, according to Miami, completed 12 of his 16 passes (75 percent) for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterbacks are not allowed to be touched during fall camp.
“Most importantly, D’Eriq King took probably just under 30 plays — about four drives,’’ Lashlee said, “and looked very healthy and looked like himself.’’
Backup quarterbacks
Neither Lashlee, nor Diaz immediately after the scrimmage, disclosed the statistics for second-year freshman backup quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and true freshman Jake Garcia. The coach said Van Dyke and Garcia “will go through this week at the minimum still competing for the second spot.’’
“I don’t know yet. I think both those guys are having a solid fall camp,’’ Lashlee told Rose. “We feel great about both of those guys and their development process. ...I can tell you from experience, It sure feels a lot better having two guys competing for your second spot than trying to find out who your second guy could possibly be.”
Added Lashlee: “What I feel really good about is who those two guys are. The leadership, the competitive character. Who they are is what you want in a quarterback. They love the game, they study. They do all the things you want your quarterback to do.
“They did get a lot of reps in the spring. I thought they had great springs. Now, spring is different from fall. In the spring, it’s very basic. They’re trying, just like us, to be very basic and get a foundation. They’ve seen a little different pressures and things in fall camp. ...All that is a little different from the Sept. 4 kind of environment. Until you throw someone in that environment, they’re never totally ready for it.”
Veteran receivers
Regarding the veteran receivers, Oklahoma transfer Charleston Rambo scored a one-handed, 27-yard touchdown and had 60 yards receiving. Rambo had an excellent spring game in April, catching seven passes for 107 yards, including a 58-yard trick-play touchdown from Van Dyke.
Rambo, a redshirt junior speedster listed as 6-1 and 185 pounds and from Cedar Hill, Texas, finished his Sooners career with 76 catches for 1,180 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
“There’s no substitute for experience, and he brings that to our outside receiver position,’’ Lashlee said. “Yes, he made a really nice catch. We needed that. We need that, too. But for Charleston, and really the whole group, we’re still seeking that consistency.
“...It’s one thing to make a one-handed catch but can we make the routine catches consistently? And that’s where we’ve got to continue working. We’ve got 19 days till we play. Until we do it in games, it’s really just, ‘We’re working on it.’
“...We have some young guys on the outside that we think have the talent we need. It’s a matter of, we gotta get ‘em ready to go now.’’
Diaz said Sunday night that second-year freshman slot receiver Xavier Restrepo had a strong scrimmage with five catches.
Lashlee did not mention expected starting slot receiver Mike Harley. It was not revealed if he played Sunday, as no stats were given for him.
More from Lashlee:
▪ On second-year freshman receiver Key’Shawn Smith: “Key’Shawn is fast. He’s explosive. God’s gifted him a lot... Once the consistency comes together for him we think he has a chance to be a really good football player... You can’t discount his explosiveness when you watch him play.’’
▪ On freshman tight end Elijah Arroyo: “I’m pretty optimistic he can be a guy who can help us win this year.’’
Lashlee did not mention the running backs.
Defense at scrimmage
Diaz released just a few defensive statistics, including for third-year sophomore weak-side linebacker Keontra Smith, UM’s former striker listed as 5-11 and 205 pounds. Diaz said Smith “stood out all camp” and had four tackles, a sack and pass breakup.
“He made a big tackle where it really felt like we had a change in momentum and kind of got the defense going again and got everybody fired up on that sideline,’’ Diaz said in a video late Sunday.
Diaz also said defensive end Zach McCloud, a sixth-year senior and former linebacker, had a sack “on a long yardage type situation.’’
“It’s beautiful,’’ It’s been so quick,’’ McCloud told UM. “I had 15 practices in the spring to get a really good baseline understanding of the position. I knew the ins-and-outs and I could do everything really well.”
Kicking game
UM reported that freshman kicker Andy Borregales, the younger brother of last year’s UM star Jose, hit both of his field goals at the scrimmage — a 37-yarder and 30-yarder — and was 4 for 4 on extra points.
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 9:49 AM.
