The positions where Hurricanes’ questions have been eased. And a Carson Beck update
The Miami Hurricanes entered spring practice last month not entirely convinced they had enough at multiple positions. So at which of those positions have their questions been allayed?
Coach Mario Cristobal mentioned four on Tuesday: the defensive backfield, center, tight end and depth behind Carson Beck, where “the development of the young quarterbacks really stands out.”
The coach said Beck “won’t throw [in the final week] of spring” ball and won’t participate in UM’s spring game, as he recovers from elbow surgery. Beck is expected back long before UM’s Aug. 31 opener against Notre Dame at Hard Rock Stadium.
“It’s right there; we feel great about it,” Cristobal said regarding Beck’s recovery. “He’s taking part in walk-throughs, team setting drills, that allow him to hand the ball off. He relentlessly watches film.”
Emory Williams, Luke Nickel and Judd Anderson will split snaps in the spring game, with Williams the front-runner to back up Beck.
While Beck’s backups have had some good moments, the defensive backfield is the biggest area that has transformed from a worry to a potential strength.
“The one position we really had to answer questions on was the secondary,” Cristobal said. “Through some talent acquisition, we look a whole lot better and it’s much more competitive. That being said, we still have a ways to go.”
UM cornerbacks coach Zach Etheridge mentioned recently that Xavier Lucas, the Wisconsin transfer, has been the most consistent of the four transfer corners competing for playing time, though Emmanuel Karnley, Ethan O’Connor and Charles Brantley also have had some good moments.
Zechariah Poyser, the former Jacksonville State safety and UM’s first of five transfer portal additions in the secondary, looks like he will be a solid starter. “We’re moving him around, strong safety and free safety,” new safeties coach Will Harris said. “He’s a very smart young man. He’s doing a great job.”
Meanwhile, Cristobal feels good about center: “Between James Brockermeyer and Ryan Rodriguez and [freshman] Seuseu Alofaituli, those guys are doing a really good job. We feel a lot better; we feel really good about that position.”
Cristobal suggested UM has adequately replaced tight ends Elijah Arroyo and Cam McCormick: “You see the talent in a guy like Elija Lofton and you also see the ability and the willingness of a guy to get pushed.”
Cristobal said new backup tight end Alex Bauman, the Tulane transfer, has been “under the weather” but “has shown some great stuff.”
And freshmen tight ends Brock Schott and Luka Gilbert have “done a really good job,” the coach said.
Cristobal said Schott “looks like something out of the Predator movies,” while Gilbert, who missed “a big chunk” of the offseason with a “minor foot injury,” is now practicing. “We expect both those guys to be significant contributors for us this year,” Cristobal said. “The sky is the limit for both those guys.”
This and that
UM said tickets are sold out for UM’s 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday spring game on campus. It will not be televised.
▪ Beck took the offensive line, tight ends and running backs to Prime 112 in recent days. Receiver Malachi Toney was there too, Brockermeyer said.
“We got three huge tomahawk steaks for the table; we were all sharing,” Brockermeyer said. “It was a lot of fun. We appreciate Carson doing that for us.”
▪ Cristobal said freshmen edge player Hayden Lowe is “a special talent who has to learn the ins and outs of the system.”
▪ Though the second portal window officially opens next week, Cristobal minced no words about the constant availability of players.
“The portal is always open, regardless of the days that are prescribed,” he said. “And everybody is in the portal. That’s where it’s like. That’s the reality of where we are in college football. You are not going to find any complaining [from Miami about that].. You adapt or you die. But that’s the reality.”
▪ Defensive end Reuben Bain Jr. has had a good spring and hopes further refinement of his body will help him get back to his dominant level as a freshman after an underwhelming-by-his-standards second season that was sidetracked by an early injury.
“I’m changing my body in the offseason, changing how my body looks,” he said. “It’s a nice transformation. That’s the goal. Been working hard to lose weight, cut body fat down. Eating pretty healthy. Props to the guys that came, [the chefs]. Eating steak, mashed potatoes, veggies. Upping the protein, trying to slim down but not lose too much weight. Changing when I eat, being more cautious when it comes to food.”
Defensive line coach Jason Taylor attributed Bain’s diminished production last season to a lower extremity soft tissue injury that was sustained in the opener at the Gators and sidelined him four additional games. Bain had 44 tackles (13 for loss) and 7.5 sacks as a freshman in 2023, then produced 23 tackles (six for loss) and 3.5 sacks in nine games last season.
“Last year, he had an injury on the second play of the [UF] game, so that’s what held him back,” Taylor said. “Bain works at it. Every day, I can’t get him off the field; he’s always the last one out of there because he likes to work.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 2:04 PM.
