What stood out to a Miami Hurricanes coach about first four practices, Ed Reed’s comment
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Monday:
▪ It took only four spring practices to get UM people very excited about the potential of this offense.
Cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph, from his defensive perspective, was thoroughly impressed with quarterback D’Eriq King and new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s up-tempo system.
With King, what stood out to Rumph was “his leadership, one,” Rumph said. “Every time he would come off the field, he was coaching someone. The running backs, o-line, he was always explaining. That was my first impression.
“What stands out even more is ball placement. He knows how to place the ball away from corners. I haven’t seen that type of [touch and accuracy] in a minute.”
Meanwhile, Rumph said, “I love what Lashlee is doing. We had to step our game up on defense. Rhett puts pressure on us every day. When he’s going fast and you don’t know one little aspect on defense, he is going to expose us.”
The up-tempo, attacking style “makes players play hard and us coach harder,” Rumph said.
▪ A couple of other observations Rumph made from the offense during the four spring practices:
Freshman running back Jaylon Knighton “didn’t look like a freshman. He ran with a nice lean, keeps his feet moving forward.” He also said Cam’Ron Harris remains impressive.
Among the freshmen receivers, “Xavier Restrepo did a really good job” establishing position and making “good catches,” and Keyshawn Smith “caught a deep ball or two. The kid can flat-out run.”
Among the older receivers, “Mark Pope was really consistent the first two days. Dee Wiggins is always a threat. Jeremiah Payton struggled a little bit, but going against scout team last year he gave us fits.”
▪ Rumph is excited about his two freshman cornerbacks who will enroll in the coming months: Marcus Clarke and Isaiah Dunson.
With Clarke, what stands out is “speed,” Rumph said. “The kid can roll. He really wants to learn and asked a million questions at camp [for high school prospects last year].”
Rumph said before last season, “I went to watch another player — I won’t say his name, but I didn’t go to see Marcus — and I was like, ‘who is number 8?’ He was just making plays.”
It was Clarke, of course, excelling for Winter Park High School.
“He’s a throwback player, waiting for the offense to come on the field when he’s on defense [and vice versa],” Rumph said. “I call him a hash player, because he waits for the new team to come on the field. A lot of coaches don’t take that into account; to see him playing offense and defense and returning and to see him running hard [continuously] says a lot about the kid.”
As for the Georgia-based Dunson, Rumph said he has “tremendous length and a really good knack for the game. He has speed, plays physical. And in his area, they play very competitive [high school] football. There’s lot of tradition there. He’s a worker.”
▪ Rumph, on his two most experienced cornerbacks, DJ Ivey and Al Blades Jr.:
“With DJ, I’ve seen him step it up in the film room as far as paying attention. He takes detailed notes in the meeting room. He’s more focused now.
“When we saw every single snap from last season, he had a few plays where he was out of place, but for the most part, he looked very comfortable and we saw bright things with his tackling. We know he can cover and run. We wanted him to be more physical and he’s done that. The sky is the limit for him. He’s got an inch of height on Al. They both can run fast.”
With Blades, “he leads by example,” Rumph said. “He is going to show you with his work ethic and understands what the defense is trying to do.
“When a lot of people look at Al as a corner, he’s not a blazer, he’s not the strongest, he’s not the biggest, but he consistently works in the film room and works after practice each day. We had a scrimmage last year and the game was over and the lights were off and we were on the field and he stopped me and started going over all the details of what he did in scrimmage, and what he could do better. That’s what sets guys apart. He’s done a good job. He can be really good because he’s a person that works for everything.”
▪ Rumph said Hall of Famer Ed Reed, the UM football program’s new chief of staff, already has addressed the players once in a group “and said a cool thing: ‘You can achieve your individual goals through team goals — it’s as simple as that.’”
Rumph said “one day Ed Reed was out there talking to our players as we finished practice and I made a couple corners come back out there and I told them to ask him a question every time they see him. When you have greatness around you, it’s your job to learn as many things as you can when he’s there.
“The thing that sets him apart is he can change the culture on a whole program. He’s that guy — when he speaks — everybody listens. I can compare that with Bill Walsh when I was with the 49ers. We would do that when he talked. Ed Reed can be that guy within our program.”
▪ Rumph, Reed and assistant director of recruiting DeMarcus Van Dyke are the three former Canes players with jobs in the football program, and Rumph doesn’t take that distinction lightly.
“It’s a huge responsibility,” Rumph said. “I put my trust in the Canes in 1998 and it changed my whole life. I feel it’s on me and DVD and Ed to bring a championship here. I have seen the Hurricanes as a player, a fan sitting in the 400 [section at the Orange Bowl]. I’ve seen them as a high school coach and as a Hurricane coach.”
He’s encouraged after the additions made by UM during this abbreviated offseason.
“When I saw the moves [coach] Manny [Diaz] was making, I was going, ‘That’s a guy who wants to win,’” Rumph said. “Those moves had perfect timing. Now we have to put it all together.”
Here’s what Rumph had to say about his two sophomore cornerbacks, how UM football is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and other notes.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 2:56 PM.
