Podcast: Midseason awards and second half predictions after a much-needed Miami win
The halfway point of the college football season is here, which means it’s time to hand out some midseason awards to the Miami Hurricanes on the Eye on the U podcast.
An up-and-down start for Tyler Van Dyke, a wildly inconsistent defense, and a host of exciting freshmen give David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Miami Herald’s Hurricanes beat writer, plenty to talk about as they check in on Miami at the midway point of the year.
Their awards picks start with the most valuable player on both sides of the ball and Van Dyke, despite getting benched against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders last month, is still the engine for everything, as evidenced by his back-to-back big performances to start Atlantic Coast Conference play. He looks like the old Van Dyke again.
On defense, there’s a little bit more of a debate with safety Kamren Kinchens and defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor both making a case, but ultimately Mesidor gets the nod because of how badly the Hurricanes missed a dominant edge rusher like him last year.
From there, Wilson and Degnan move on to picking a freshman of the year — with quarterback Jacurri Brown, tight end Jaleel Skinner, defensive lineman Nyjalik Kelly and linebacker Wesley Bissainthe all getting mentions — and highlighting some of the biggest surprises, both good and bad, of the first half of coach Mario Cristobal’s first season in Coral Gables.
Finally, they wrap up with some predictions on what the second half might hold, including the continued emergence of wide receiver Colbie Young, a potential breakout for Bissainthe and what sort of chances Miami (3-3, 1-1) might have to get back in the ACC race.
As always, thanks for listening and please continue to rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
