Here are the young players UM wants to use in bowl game. And another Cane to skip bowl
A six-pack of Canes notes on a Thursday:
▪ UM coach Manny Diaz said we should expect to see several young players who haven’t played a lot this season get work in the Dec. 26 Independence Bowl against Louisiana Tech.
He named three in particular:
1. Defensive end Jahfari Harvey. The former Vero Beach High star was Rivals’ No. 6 weak-side defensive end and No. 188 overall prospect in the 2019 class and flashed in the spring.
Because of UM’s depth at defensive end and the preference to redshirt him, he hasn’t been used since mid-September after appearing in Miami’s first three games this season.
But he will be needed in the bowl, because senior Trevon Hill and junior Jon Garvin won’t play in the game to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft.
That leaves Greg Rousseau, Scott Patchan and Harvey as UM’s available scholarship defensive ends.
2. Defensive tackle Jason Blissett. “He should be a guy that should see some snaps,” Diaz said.
Defensive coordinator Blake Baker has said that freshmen tackles Blissett, Jalar Holley and Jared Harrison Hunte are going to be “special” players. But based on Diaz’s comment Wednesday, Blissett might be the furthest along; he was rated the No. 16 defensive tackle by Rivals in the 2019 class.
He appeared in only one game this season (against Bethune-Cookman) because Miami felt it had enough experienced depth at tackle with seniors Pat Bethel and Chigozie Nnoruka, sophomore Nesta Silvera, redshirt freshman Jordan Miller and junior Jon Ford.
3. Sam Brooks. The freshman linebacker has six tackles — including one for loss — in seven games and will be a top contender to start at linebacker next season.
“Sam Brooks will get some good action,” Diaz said.
UPDATE: Brooks might start in the wake of senior Michael Pinckney’s announcement on Thursday that he will skip the bowl game. Pinckney, on Instagram, said: “Miami family, after a great deal of thought and conversations with my family, I have decided not to participate in the Independence Bowl. I want to thank the University of Miami, my coaches, and all the Hurricanes fans for their unwavering support these last four years of my life and I’ve loved every minute. I’m looking forward to continuing to play this game I love so much. Forever the U.”
Pinckney becomes the fourth Canes player to announce he’s skipping the game - along with senior Trevon Hill and NFL-bound juniors Jeff Thomas and Jon Garvin.
As for Brooks, he was rated the No. 42 weak-side defensive end out of Miami Northwestern.
The Hurricanes likely won’t play receiver Jeremiah Payton or safety Keontra Smith because they already has appeared in four games, and Miami doesn’t want to burn their redshirts.
Besides the three freshmen defensive tackles and Harvey, another freshmen who has not played recently who could play would be tight end/H-back Larry Hodges, who has appeared in three games.
Freshmen offensive line starters Zion Nelson and Jakai Clark obviously will play, and freshman cornerbacks Te’Cory Couch and Christian Williams figure to continue to get a lot of work on special teams.
▪ Diaz calls former elite recruit Jaelan Phillips “kind of a forgotten man” because nobody mentions him much. But he’s very much in UM’s plans for 2020.
The former UCLA player’s “body was completely transformed by David Feeley,” Diaz told WQAM. “He’s gone from 220 to mid 260s in the time he’s been here.”
He was rated Rivals’ No. 2 weak-side defensive end and No. 6 overall prospects in the 2017 class out of East Valley High in Redlands, California.
“Recovery has been great,” Phillips said on Twitter. “I’m fully healthy and ready to go... I just want to play football again already.”
▪ UM offensive coordinator Dan Enos, on Miami signing the top running back in Miami-Dade County (Don Chaney) and the top running back in Broward (Jaylon Knighton):
“They’re both very talented. Both great ball skills. Both have good short-area quickness, both good power and speed. I watched those guys when I first arrived here, am very impressed with them.”
Enos said the challenge for freshmen running backs “is grasping multiplicity of defenses... between run game and protection stuff, you’re seeing 100 times more than you did on defense [in high school]. To play fast, you’ve got to know what you’re doing.
“The thing these guys are going to have an advantage of is we have good veteran running backs so they may not have to carry the load like a third-down blitz pickup early. So when you put them out there you can let them do what they do best, which is carry the ball, catch the ball. Those are natural instinctive things running backs can do. Those guys are talented enough to contribute when they get here. They’re both very bright, have an extremely bright future.”
▪ Enos, on the three receivers signed Wednesday (Daz Worsham, Xavier Restrepo and Michael Redding):
“Love them. Xavier has great short-area quickness, good lower-body power, explosive, tremendous ball skills. I like receivers that play defense and tackle and show toughness. Xavier did that.
“Redding has great physical attributes. Really good speed, long speed, very good ball skills, great size. Daz, I saw in Alabama a couple times. Very fluid, runs excellent routes, very good ball skills and can be a really explosive guy.”
Enos said UM’s receivers this season were “inconsistent. That sums up our offense. There were times we thought we were really getting better and times versus Duke we weren’t getting separation in man coverage.”
▪ Feedback on some of the new defensive backs:
Safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda said four-star Hialeah Champagnat defensive back Jalen Harrell “has length, size, the ability to play press man, range, all really good things.”
Diaz said Harrell can play cornerback, safety or striker.
With safety Brian Balom, Banda likes the “physicality. Sometimes you see kids tail off as a senior; he got better. Has a knack for the ball.”
With safety Keshawn Washington: “His growth potential and what he can turn into is maybe highest of everyone,” Banda said. “Can play three or four different positions as well.”
New cornerback Marcus Clarke “has the speed to play on the outside and the length to cover guys up,” Diaz said.
▪ Quick stuff: Diaz, looking to the offseason, said: “In my mind, I can’t think of a position on our team that is not open. I don’t know what platform anyone would have to stand on to stay they’re safe.”…. Diaz said quarterback Tate Martell “has been really good since he’s been back.”...
Diaz said here’s the rule he implemented for nonbinding commitments: “If you’re committed and take other visits, you can still consider yourself committed but we can take someone else.”… Credit to UM officials David Cooney and DeMarcus Van Dyke for keeping the recruits engaged, during the past several weeks, with a group text that featured inspirational messages.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 4:31 PM.
