Family support key for Hurricanes’ Caprenter. And how Miami is keeping running backs fresh
One of Zach Carpenter’s biggest supporters, his mom Carrie, is almost always nearby on game day. The fifth-year center, playing in his only season with the Miami Hurricanes after transferring in from Indiana, embraces and enjoys the support.
On Saturday, in Miami’s 53-31 win against Duke, he had another key family member in the stands.
His dad, Chaz, made it down to Miami for the first time this season.
“He loved it,” said Carpenter, who hails from Cincinnati. “He liked the stadium, liked the energy. It’s definitely a culture shock. I don’t he’s ever been down here besides the last couple weeks, so he’s still trying to get used to it.”
Carpenter’s dad will be back in the stands at Hard Rock Stadium on Nov. 23 when Miami hosts Wake Forest for its regular-season home finale, which will also be Senior Day for the team.
“It’ll be nice to continue to show him around,” Carpenter said, “and showing what Miami has offered.”
It has offered Carpenter a chance to anchor the offensive line for what has become the top offense in the country. Carpenter filled the void in the middle of the Hurricanes’ offensive line left vacant after Matt Lee went to the NFL.
The group has gone through its lumps in spurts, but overall has done its job.
As a result, the Hurricanes lead the country in scoring (47.4 points per game) and total offense (556.9 yards per game) in addition to being tied with Ole Miss for the most yards per play (7.71).
Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said last week that Carpenter has been “invaluable” to the team’s success.
“That guy is tough and that guy is super intelligent,” Cristobal said, adding “he’s fun to be around now. He’s a throwback. Zach likes to mix it up. That guy would play until you turn off the lights and send him home.”
Splitting running back reps
The Hurricanes entered the season with an emphasis on dividing and conquering with their running back reps.
They have done that, and it could help the Hurricanes down the stretch.
As the Hurricanes (9-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) enter their 10th game of the season on Saturday against Georgia Tech (5-4, 3-3 ACC), Damien Martinez leads the team with 104 carries. Mark Fletcher Jr. is second at 77 carries.
By comparison, there are 10 running backs who already have 170 or more carries this season.
Miami’s hope is that by divvying up reps among a deep running back will limit the wear and tear on the group as the season progresses.
“They’re not banged up; they’re fresh,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “And I always kind of point back to they also support each other, which is huge. There would be huge issues if there was a different mentality with that group, so the fact is that both of those guys are playing well off each other. There were multiple times in the game Saturday, they both were in the game at the same time. That didn’t happen by accident. Both of those guys are playing really well, so utilizing those guys in different ways is important, but ultimately, there’s one ball, right? So every every play, that ball’s gotta go to one guy. The goal is we can just stay focused on the week and really be a great teammate and really be happy for when somebody else makes a play. I know it’s hard today because everybody wants theirs, but guys are really bought into that.”
He said it
“Being internally driven and just cutting out external factors. It’s a self-starting type of organization. The hunger grows. I think we recognize what a blessing it is to be in November and be playing very significant football. I think we’ve understood the blessing and the importance of focusing on 1-0 and nothing else matters behind this or beyond the current opportunity.” — Head coach Mario Cristobal on where he has seen the most growth in the team since the start of the season.
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