Diaz focuses on another area that needs work. And he expects ‘lifestyle’ change at UM.
A six-pack of Hurricanes notes on a Monday:
▪ If you ask football coach Manny Diaz what needs to be fixed on this team, two words will quickly be mentioned: third down.
It’s not only on offense, where the Canes ranked 129th of 130 FBS schools in third-down conversions at 27.2 percent, ahead of only Akron. Diaz also sees a problem on defense.
The Hurricanes allowed teams to convert on 37.2 percent of third-down chances last season, which was 42nd in the country, much worse than their rankings in most other key defensive categories. Miami had ranked higher in previous years.
“We are digging deep into some of our failures on third down,” Diaz told WQAM’s Joe Zagacki on Hurricane Hotline. “All of our [other] numbers are where we want it — top 15, top 12, top 10. Third down is an outlier — middle of the country — where it shouldn’t be.
“Not just third down, but third-and-longs we surrendered. We are looking into it. It’s never just one thing, but you see some recurring themes. [We need to determine] why some players didn’t play in a position as well as we thought they would. That will be a major emphasis for us all offseason. To lead the nation in third -down defense and have it drop so sharply, that’s what you are looking [for answers] for. The scheme is sound.”
Offensively, third-down performance “was completely unacceptable and never got better,” Diaz said. “You should never finish last in anything at the University of Miami. What does that go back to? We couldn’t run the football. If you can’t run, you have to throw it, and if you have to throw, odds are you are going to have some incompletes. We have to be a much better team running the ball than a year ago.”
▪ Diaz, with Zagacki, offered more insight on the move to a spread offense:
“There are a lot of people running a tempo, spread offense that are doing a terrible job doing it. [Offensive coordinator] Rhett Lashlee is one of the best doing it anywhere in the country. All you have to do is spend five minutes with him [and you know]. It’s not just putting a bunch of plays on the board and saying “do this.” You got to have the connection. If players feel that connection for you, they will give you a little bit extra.”
Diaz expects the new offense “will probably be a little more simple and a little less learning than in the past. What I would equate it to is what we did defensively in 2016.”
Diaz has finally come to the conclusion that the speed and athleticism of the quintessential South Florida athlete must be accentuated in UM’s program on offense as much as it is on defense.
“The worst thing we can do is get really athletic guys and really fast guys and slow them down with a bunch of rules,” Diaz said. “That’s the biggest crime a coach can commit. We’re trying to get guys to play faster, and sometimes lessening the thinking is a good way to do that.”
▪ Diaz said “one of the great things about coach Lashlee is he has done it with different styles of quarterbacks. At SMU, incorporating the Air Raid concepts into this offense is what in my mind has taken it to the next level.
“That is very difficult to stop when you have a quarterback that can run. You are seeing it at all levels, with how Lamar Jackson burned down the NFL this year. That puts so much stress on the defense. When you have a guy who can do both [throw and run], that’s a real problem.”
UM has that now at quarterback with grad transfer D’Eriq King.
▪ Diaz believes the move to a spread offense will have intrinsic benefits beyond the obvious of it leading to more points.
“This is not just a scheme change,” he said. “It’s a lifestyle change. Going fast, it will affect the defense being lined up. It will be good for us. It will take everyone out of their comfort zone, which I love about it. That’s what we need.
“Guys are really excited to see it go. All it is right now is a daydream. We have to put in work as coaches and our guys need to put in work of not only learning it for themselves but how to do it for the guy next to you.”
▪ UM had eight players invited to this month’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis: running back DeeJay Dallas, receivers Jeff Thomas and K.J. Osborn, defensive ends Trevon Hill and Jon Garvin, linebackers Shaquille Quarterman and Mike Pinckney and cornerback Trajan Bandy. NFL.com ranks Garvin highest of the eight Miami participants.
▪ Quick stuff: New UM grad transfer kicker Jose Borregalas’ decision to transfer to UM was about more than football. “Just having a degree from the University of Miami is a big deal,” he said, as he works toward a master’s degree in liberal studies. “Outside of football, you can get any job that you want in your field with a degree from here.” He was 50 of 65 on field goals in his career at FIU; UM was 12 for 20 on field goals last season....
Former UM receiver Evidence Njoku transferred to UCLA… Among schools that have reached out to defensive end Scott Patchan, who’s in the transfer portal: UF, North Carolina and Toledo (where former defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski is employed).
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 4:38 PM.
