What to expect from Leonard Taylor, James Williams and all of Miami’s 22 freshmen in 2021
The Miami Hurricanes’ best recruiting class of the Manny Diaz era is about to make its debut and at least a few of the freshmen should get on the field when they open the season against the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in Atlanta.
James Williams and Kamren Kinchens are the backup safeties. Elijah Arroyo is the backup tight end. Jake Garcia is the co-backup quarterback with Tyler Van Dyke. Andres Borregales will start at kicker, just as he did in the spring game in April.
These are the five true freshmen who cracked No. 14 Miami’s initial two-deep depth chart Monday, but more will have a path to playing time in 2021.
Miami freshmen who will play
Since arriving on campus in January, no one has made big plays on defense in practice more consistently than Kinchens. He and Williams (Plantation American Heritage) form one of the most promising tandems on the roster.
Williams, who was a five-star recruit in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, and Kinchens (Miami Northwestern) have both earned the right to play.
If all goes according to plan, Garcia (Valdosta (Ga.)) will get snaps in a blowout win or two. If it doesn’t and quarterback D’Eriq King gets hurt, he might have to play more. His competition with Van Dyke will go on throughout the year.
“Those two guys,” quarterbacks coach Rhett Lashlee said Monday, “they’re really close.”
Arroyo (Independence (Frisco, Texas)) will get on the field Saturday, Lashlee said, after winning the backup job in training camp.
“He is still just a freshman — a true freshman — so, like all those guys, you may some growing pains and certain things, but we’ve got a lot of confidence in him or he wouldn’t be there,” said Lashlee, who’s also the offensive coordinator. “We’ve definitely got a lot of confidence to put two guys on the field at the same time.”
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What about Miami’s Leonard Taylor?
Leonard Taylor (Pinecrest Palmetto) was the most glaring omission from the initial depth chart Monday. The defensive lineman was one of the most celebrated recruits in program history, yet Jess Simpson isn’t counting on him to contribute Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Atlanta.
The defensive line coach said he has eight defensive linemen he feels good about using right now and Taylor isn’t one of them.
“Good football starts with knowing what’s probably about to happen. Good players don’t magically make plays. They’ve got a great idea of what’s about to happen,” Simpson said Monday. “There’s all those things, to me, that go into it. That’s why being a freshman’s hard because you can’t just say, If you do this, you’re going to be ready to play. It’s not as simple as that. There’s a ton of things you have to learn.”
This doesn’t mean he’ll be out of the mix all year. In fact, Simpson said he’d “be shocked in his role doesn’t grow.”
The Hurricanes are deep at defensive tackle with Nesta Jade Silvera, Jared Harrison-Hunte, Jordan Miller and Jon Ford all having a case to start, but Taylor is simply too talented to keep off the field for long.
Defensive end Jabari Ishmael (Miami Columbus) is the other freshman defensive lineman who could get on the field at some point this year, Simpson.
“He’s done some good things,” Simpson said. “He’s got a lot of room for growth.”
Defensive lineman Allan Haye (Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna) is simply buried by too much talent at defensive tackle and defensive end Thomas Davis (Lowndes (Valdonsta, Ga.)) is out for the season. Both are in line to redshirt.
‘The Three Amigos’
Three breakout stars from training camp were a trio of freshmen, who have alternatively been dubbed “The Three Amigos” or “The Three Hyenas,” in reference to “The Lion King.”
None of the three, however, cracked the initial two-deep depth chart.
Romello Brinson fell behind Key’Shawn Smith, Dee Wiggins, Charleston Rambo and Michael Redding III on the outside, while fellow wide receivers Brashard Smith and Jacolby George fell behind Mike Harley, and Xavier Restrepo in the slot.
“They’ve all had a really good fall camp. They’ve all flashed the ability we thought they had. We feel great about all three of those guys,” Lashlee said. “At the end of the day, they’re 15-20 practices into their college career. ... They’re competing, they’re pushing for that opportunity. That’s not going to stop now that the season’s started. As we said, this is just the Week 1 depth chart.
“The guys that are out there earned the right to be out there, but those guys — there’s no negatives.”
Brinson (Northwestern) probably has the best chance of the group to crack the rotation, as Rambo is the only outside receiver with any sort of significant track record. In the slot, Harley has the starting spot locked down, while Restrepo has been a practice superstar for the last year and wide receiver Mark Pope has moved to the slot. George (Plantation) and Smith (Palmetto) could have trouble finding regular playing time, but Smith could become a factor as a return specialist and a gadget player. Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee made him a priority in the Class of 2021 for a reason.
Malik Curtis is also worth keeping an eye on in the return game. The cornerback missed some time early in camp, but returned seven kickoffs and punts for touchdowns at Fort Myers Bishop Verot
At tight end, Arroyo will play a lot and Kahlil Brantley (Northwestern) is probably in line for a redshirt. He provides a similar skill set to tight end Larry Hodges, who’s more experienced.
The offensive linemen
Barring injury, it’s safe to assume none of the three freshmen offensive linemen are likely to see significant playing time in 2021. Miami is deep along the line, with eight healthy players with starting experience, and none of the true freshmen cracked the two-deep depth chart.
All three could benefit from a redshirt season. Laurence Seymore seems to be the third-string center, which is a new position after he mostly played tackle at Miami Central and he needs to add some size. Ryan Rodriguez (Columbus) is a third-string guard and could also stand to bulk up. Michael McLaughlin, who was with the team in the spring, has a college body already, but was always a developmental prospect at left tackle since he didn’t start playing offensive line until his junior year at Parkland Stoneman Douglas.
The running backs
It’s hard to make any clear prediction about running backs because of how often injuries become a factor. In Miami’s ideal world, running backs Thad Franklin and Cody Brown won’t play, though.
The Hurricanes have a clear top three at tailback with Donald Chaney Jr., Jaylan Knighton and Cam’Ron Harris, and Franklin or Brown will probably only play if something happens to one of them. Brown (Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)) typically was ahead of Franklin (Chaminade-Madonna) throughout training camp.
Will any freshman linebackers emerge?
Linebacker is the biggest question mark on the roster, to the point Miami will use a pair of first-time starters this weekend.
In theory, linebacker was a spot where a big-time freshman could have seized a major role — maybe even as a starter — but linebackers Tyler Johnson (Miami Killian) and Deshawn Troutman (Orlando Edgewater) are not, frankly, those type of prospects. Striker Chase Smith (Melbourne) is pretty impressive, but he’s stuck at a more established spot on the depth chart, although he does have a chance to maybe play as a third-stringer, especially since Amari Carter could still be needed at safety.
Williams is the X-factor here. Although he’s a backup safety, he’s built like a striker or linebacker at 6-foot-5 and 224 pounds. It’s easy to envision Diaz crafting some packages to get Williams on the field, near the line of scrimmage.
“He’s going to rep in some nickel- and dime-type work,” the coach said Wednesday. “James is working his way through and, like a lot of the young guys, as the season goes on his season will increase more and more.”
