Hurricanes veteran praises newcomer: ‘I tell him every day he’s a freshman All-American’
The Miami Hurricanes are restocking in the secondary after losing three players to the NFL (Kamren Kinchens, James Williams and Jaden Davis) and a fourth to the transfer portal (Davonte Brown, who is now at FSU).
It will be a new-look group for sure, with a mix of veteran additions from the transfer portal and younger players needing to step up.
Mishael Powell, one of those veteran additions, already has high expectations for one of the newcomers in true freshman defensive back Zaquan Patterson.
Patterson, who starred at Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, was a four-star prospect in Miami’s 2024 recruiting class that ranked sixth in the country. He was the No. 6 safety in the country and No. 93 overall prospect regardless of position, according the the 247Sports composite ranking. He has a chance to be part of Miami’s rotation at safety this season along with Powell and redshirt sophomores Jaden Harris and Markeith Williams.
“I tell him every day he’s a freshman All-American,” Powell said of Patterson. “I tell him he’s going to be one of the greatest DBs to come out of Miami. He’s going to have his name up here. He’s super talented, super smart. He’s a great tackler, and that’s something we need at safety, and then he can cover. And just being so intelligent on the field and he’s only 17, 18 years old. That’s something that I wish I had. I just make sure that I hammer it home and make sure he knows that he can be really good.”
While defensive coordinator Lance Guidry would go as far as to label Patterson an All-American just yet — “That’s big words,” he said — Guidry did say Patterson “can be a really good football player” and is going to be on the field.
“He’s gonna play every game on special teams,” Guidry said. “How many snaps [will] he get on defense? I don’t know. But he’ll play. We’re not going to spare him. He’s got a chance to be a really good one. I do believe that. We’ll just see how it progresses. I don’t think you can really predict like that. It all depends on how the game slows down to him when we get into the season.”
Powell’s title game experience
Powell knows what it takes to make it to the College Football Playoff title game. He made it there last season with the Washington Huskies, who ultimately fell to the Michigan Wolverines 34-13 on Jan. 8, before transferring to the Hurricanes for his final season of eligibility.
Now that he’s been around the Hurricanes since spring camp and has seen the full roster through a week of fall camp, what similarities does Powell see between this Miami team and the Washington team he played on last season?
“It feels like looking into a mirror honestly,” said Powell, who started 14 of 15 games and had three interceptions for Washington last season. “We’re really deep. I think that’s one of the first things you’ve got to have. ... Our discipline is the biggest thing that will get guys to that stage. That and also being healthy. But overall, this team is going to be great. I think it’s going to be elite. I wouldn’t come here and be with this staff and this team if I didn’t think we had a shot to win.”
Hurricanes open season ranked in coaches poll
Despite finishing last season 7-6, the Hurricanes will open the season as the No. 19 team in the country in the preseason coaches poll, which was released on Monday.
Miami is one of four Atlantic Coast Conference teams ranked in the top 25, joining Florida State (No. 10), Clemson (No. 14) and N.C. State (No. 22).
The Associated Press’ preseason top-25 poll is scheduled to be unveiled on Monday.
Another preseason honor for Damien Martinez
Junior running back Damien Martinez, who transferred to UM from Oregon State, is one of 87 players named to the watch list for the 2024 Doak Walker Award, given annually to the top running back in the country.
In his two seasons at Oregon State, Martinez ran for 2,167 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry. His 1,185 rushing yards last season ranked 24th in the country.
Martinez last week was also named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award along with teammates quarterback Cam Ward and wide receiver Xavier Restrepo.
This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 3:27 PM.
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