Miami’s youth movement: Five true freshmen who have made the case for more playing time
Jake Garcia will play in a college game for the first time Saturday at 12:30 p.m. when the Miami Hurricanes face the FCS Central Connecticut State Blue Devils at Hard Rock Stadium. Tyler Van Dyke, a second-year freshman, very well may make his first career start.
They’re the two freshmen in the spotlight this weekend, filling in for D’Eriq King, who’s “extremely doubtful” after injuring his shoulder Saturday, coach Manny Diaz said. They’re not the only ones in line for more playing time, though.
In the secondary, two freshmen are pushing a veteran for a starting safety job. On the defensive line, another underclassman has spent three weeks making the case to play more, too. Even on offense, a freshman wide receiver and running back both saw their most significant roles last weekend against the Michigan State Spartans are in line for even more in the coming week.
Across the board, freshmen — both first- and second-year players — are making the case to play more and be part of the solution for Miami.
Offense: Brinson, Smith and Brown
Wide receiver Romello Brinson got his first significant playing time Saturday and was one of the offensive bright spots for the Hurricanes.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound freshman got on the field for the Hurricanes’ second drive and pulled in a 9-yard curl on first-and-12 while they were backed up at their own 1-yard line. In the second half, Brinson added two more catches for 9 and 15 yards to finish the game with three catches for 33 yards on four targets.
Most importantly, he didn’t drop any passes in a 38-17 loss filled with them.
“Obviously, we’re really proud about Romello,” offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said Monday. “He had a really nice game, did some nice stuff.”
Brinson didn’t play a single snap against the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 4, then played only 10 against the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Sept. 11. On Saturday, he was on the field for 29 of 90 plays and looked comfortable against a top-25 team.
Brinson’s opportunity came because of an injury to Michael Redding III, he said, and he became the choice to replace the second-year freshman on the two-deep depth chart. Brinson, who didn’t arrive on campus until June, impressed throughout training camp and spent the preseason competing with Redding and fellow wide receiver Dee Wiggins for the backup spots on the outside, and he even surpassed Wiggins on Saturday to play the fourth-most snaps among wideouts.
“First, I had to get better in the weight room and just put on some pounds, and get strong and faster so I could compete on the field, just give all my best,” Brinson said Wednesday. “Everything just comes. I just work hard day in and day out to get better. Everything just comes naturally to me.”
Brinson’s path into the starting lineup, however, is a little tricky because Lashlee has mostly been pleased with the play of outside wide receivers Charleston Rambo and Key’Shawn Smith. Slot receivers Mike Harley and Xavier Restrepo has been more inconsistent, which could potentially create an opportunity for Brashard Smith to expand his role.
The 5-10, 194-pound freshman unofficially got his first touch Saturday when a 9-yard reverse got called back for an illegal blindside block. He’s clearly making progress and, with Harley and Restrepo both with multiple drops already this season, he’s another underclassman with a chance to capitalize if Diaz does actually bench some veterans.
Cody Brown is in a similar position at running back. The 5-11, 212-pound freshman played for the first time Saturday and only was on the field for three snaps, but fellow running back Cam’Ron Harris is averaging a career-worst 4.2 yards per carry.
Defense: James Williams, Kamren Kinchens
The most obvious change is in the secondary, where James Williams and Kamren Kinchens are going to get their shot to usurp fellow safety Gurvan Hall in the starting lineup.
Miami (1-2) is poised to start one of the freshmen over Hall on Saturday, 247Sports.com reported, and Kinchens, who has played more than Williams, is the logical choice to get the start. The 5-11, 200-pound safety was on campus for spring practice and has already been productive in a reserve role, logging nine tackles and a forced fumble, and even playing the majority of the Alabama game when star safety Bubba Bolden was ejected for targeting.
Williams, though, is too tantalizing to ignore and one play Saturday summed up why: When Hall went viral for running right past the ballcarrier and engaging a blocker on a screen pass, Williams saved the touchdown Hall nearly allowed when he chased down Michigan State wide receiver Tre Mosley and dragged him down after a 51-yard gain. The 6-5, 224-pound safety committed a 15-yard penalty on the play with a horse-collar tackle, but he still saved a touchdown and the Spartans wound up missing a field goal.
Bonus: Chantz Williams, Elijah Roberts
Chantz Williams has played the fourth most of the four rotational defensive ends and still been the most productive. The second-year freshman had a strip sack in Week 1, a pass deflection leading to an interception in Week 2 and another sack in Week 3. The 6-4, 255-pound defensive lineman leads the team with two sacks, is tied for fourth with two tackles for loss, ranks second among ends with five tackles and helped create the Hurricanes’ only two takeaways so far this year.
Elijah Roberts, another second-year freshman, also got his most playing time yet Saturday and said he expects even more this weekend.
“The young guys have to be more locked in this week because we understand we’ll be getting more playing time and there will be more snaps,” the 6-4, 270-pound defensive lineman said Tuesday. “This is an opportunity to showcase your skills and show what you got.”
Jeremiah Payton enters transfer portal
After taking a leave of absence for personal reasons in the preseason, wide receiver Jeremiah Payton entered his name into the transfer portal Friday.
The sophomore announced his decision to place his name into the portal on Twitter.
Payton was Miami’s top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2019, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, but never became a consistent contributor. The Hurricanes removed him from their roster ahead of training camp when Payton left the team.
