What changing snap counts tell us about 2 key positions, 3 fast-rising freshmen for Miami
A bye week is always an ideal time for a college football team to reassess and the Miami Hurricanes came out of theirs Saturday with a distinctly different plan at several positions.
A new wide receiver and defensive lineman paced their position groups in total snaps. Several freshmen saw the most playing time they have all year. With seven straight conference games on seven straight Saturdays left now to end the season, Miami’s rotations are coming into focus at several key positions.
Brashard Smith paces wide receivers
Brashard Smith experienced the biggest jump in snap counts of anyone on the roster from Week 4 to last weekend.
After playing just 26 snaps in the Hurricanes’ stunning loss to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders before the bye, Smith played 74 snaps last week -- all but 10 of Miami’s total offensive snaps -- to lead all receivers.
Part of Smith’s playing time is out of necessity -- injuries to fellow wide receivers Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George leave him as the one true slot receiver -- but he also remains one of the most dangerous weapons on the roster, with 17 catches so far this year and the speed to potentially turn any one of those into a big gain. The Hurricanes (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) went back to more spread looks against the North Carolina Tar Heels, which meant plenty of opportunities for Smith.
On the outside, wide receivers Frank Ladson and Michael Redding continued to separate themselves. Ladson played 69 snaps for the second straight game -- he played only 20 in Miami’s loss to the then-No. 24 Texas A&M Aggies in Week 3 -- and Redding, with 51 snaps, cracked 50 for the fourth straight game.
Wide receiver Key’Shawn Smith played only 26 snaps, although offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said it was partly because he was dinged up from his work as a kick return. Still, he only played 30 snaps in the Middle Tennessee game, so this is a multi-game trend.
Wide receiver Colbie Young was another of the Hurricanes’ biggest risers. Excluding the season-opening blowout win against the FCS Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, Young had only played two offensive snaps in his entire career before logging 14 against the Tar Heels. The sophomore, who transferred to Miami from a junior college in June, caught his first three passes for 43 yards and a touchdown in the 27-24 loss.
Romello Brinson saw the biggest drop of the wide receivers, playing just one snap Saturday after logging 58 against the Blue Raiders.
Akheem Mesidor paces defensive linemen
There’s still a heavy rotation along the defensive line, but Akheem Mesidor, for the first time as a Hurricane, led the position group in the North Carolina game.
The defensive lineman, who transferred from the West Virginia Mountaineers in the spring, played 49 snaps, up from 34 in the prior game.
The other two big jumps from defensive linemen: Jacob Lichtenstein, up to 19 from seven in the previous game; and Nyjalik Kelly, up to 15 from four.
Defensive linemen Darrell Jackson Jr., Jahfari Harvey, Mitchell Agude, Leonard Taylor and Jared Harrison-Hunte. Those five, along with Mesidor, make up a clear top six in the defensive line rotation right now.
Defensive lineman Chantz Williams, meanwhile, entirely fell out of the rotation and didn’t play a single snap against the Tar Heels after playing 14 in the final game before the bye.
Skinner, Bissainthe and Kelly emerge
Three freshmen, apparently, took a leap during the bye week and have earned the trust of Miami’s coaches.
Tight end Jaleel Skinner, defensive lineman Nyjalik Kelly and linebacker Wesley Bissainthe all logged new career highs in snaps, which is a good sign for the future of Mario Cristobal’s program, especially because the coach recruited two of them in the short time after he got hired last year.
Skinner’s snaps were up to 23 from 15, Kelly’s were up to 15 from four and Bissainthe’s were up to 13 from five. All three were blue-chip recruits in the Class of 2022, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and ranked higher than any other commit the Hurricanes had landed at their position since the Class of 2018.
While Skinner’s increase in playing time is largely the product of tight end Elijah Arroyo’s season-ending injury, Bissainthe and Skinner are just beating out veterans.
In the North Carolina game, Kelly usurped Williams as Miami’s No. 4 defensive end, and Bissainthe passed fellow linebackers Waynmon Steed and Caleb Johnson for the No. 3 spot in the rotation.
Other changing snap count notes
▪ Keontra Smith and Corey Flagg Jr. both saw their snap counts jump by at least 17, separating themselves as the Hurricanes’ top two linebackers.
▪ Cornerback Daryl Porter Jr., another West Virginia transfer, played at least 20 snaps for the second straight game, after playing just 23 in the first three weeks. Miami tightened up its cornerbacks rotation against the Tar Heels, using only Tyrique Stevenson, DJ Ivey, Te’Cory Couch and Porter.
▪ The Hurricanes are still struggling to find a role for defensive back Gilbert Frierson. The defensive back, who played striker in former coach Manny Diaz’s defensive scheme, played only nine snaps in Week 6 and hasn’t played more than 13 since Week 1.
