This Miami Hurricanes assistant coach dishes on a position with a lot of young talent
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Wednesday:
▪ The Hurricanes were at their best when they had dominant defensive tackle play.
They hope to recapture that with a group featuring one talented senior (Jon Ford), two skilled third-year players (Nesta Silvera and Jordan Miller) and three redshirt freshmen that defensive coordinator Blake Baker has repeatedly said can be special (Jalar Holley, Jared Harrison-Hunte and Jason Blissett).
UM defensive line coach Todd Stroud is expecting a strong senior season from Ford, who had 18 tackles (including 3.5 for loss) and three sacks in 13 starts last season.
“He has an incredible body — 6-5, 312 and very good foot speed and good feet,” Stroud said in a phone conversation last week. “He needs to clean himself up fundamentally and keep progressing the way he did last season. Toward the end of last season he was playing very good football. We expect him to pick up where he left off. The last couple days of spring ball, he was dominant.”
UM had four spring practices before coronavirus halted all college competition.
▪ Stroud likes what he has seen from Silvera and Miller.
Silvera, who will be a junior, missed the first four games after foot surgery last season but then had 19 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery in nine games.
247 Sports rated Silvera the No. 2 defensive tackle and 54th best overall prospect in the 2018 class.
“Nesta can be as good as he wants to be,” Stroud said. “He is not a very vertical guy. Six-footish, six-oneish but as explosive as they come. Very hard to move off the point. He has learned how to use his hands better. Nesta, through four days of spring practice, came along farther” than any other defensive tackle.
Miller, who will be a redshirt sophomore, had 12 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, in 13 games. UM signed him in 2018 after he sent the Hurricanes — and other schools — his highlight tape.
“Jordan last year had a phenomenal year as a redshirt freshman, gave us 12 to 15 snaps a game, more in some,” Stroud said. “He has done a really good job managing his body weight. He got a little too heavy [previously]. I can’t say enough good things about what our strength staff has done.
“The light has come on for Jordan. His practice habits have improved. His fundamentals have improved. He’s the strongest individual on our team factoring in all the lifts we have done, and he has improved his ability to run.”
▪ While Blissett will split his time between defensive end and defensive tackle, Holley and Harrison-Hunte will stay at defensive tackle, and Stroud sees a bright future for both.
Former UM defensive line coach and current Atlanta Falcons assistant coach Jess Simpson “was Jalar’s high school coach, and Jess is a fabulous motivator,” Stroud of his predecessor at UM. “Jalar has a definite advantage because he got coached like a college player.
“Fundamentally he’s a very sound kid, plays hard, twitches very fast. He’s relentless in the weight room. We have to get him reps. He can challenge for a spot.”
Meanwhile, Stroud said Harrison-Hunte is “as good an athlete as I’ve had for a young tackle. Incredible athleticism and footspeed. The kid is 290 and runs a 4.8. He doesn’t have the football background Jalar had. He’s learning a lot.”
▪ We discussed the Canes’ defensive ends in this piece, and we wanted to mentioned another of those ends who shouldn’t be forgotten — Cameron Williams, who redshirted as a freshman last season.
Stroud said he has gained 26 pounds since arriving — he’s now at 231 — and will factor in for playing time as Miami’s fifth end, behind Greg Rousseau, Quincy Roche, Jaelan Phillips and Jahfari Harvey.
“Getting much stronger and also shows a lot of promise rushing the passer,” Stroud said of Cameron Williams, who joins freshmen Chantz Williams and Quentin Williams as three defensive ends named Williams on the roster.
Stroud said Cameron Williams is “very coachable and doing well academically.”
▪ The Hurricanes, in some ways, are serving as something akin to an Uber eats for players (only without the meals). UM staffers have gone to players’ homes to drop off hand sanitizers, protein shakes and other permitted necessities for college athletes, according to one parent.
Through Zoom, coach Manny Diaz also has conducted regular meetings with players, discussing football and safety. He told the players last week not to get discouraged and don’t think that there won’t be a season, according to a parent who heard the audio of the call.
▪ Tidbits: As we’ve written, the UM basketball team is expected to be much improved next season. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi predicts Miami will be a 10th seed in the NCAA Tournament next year and one of six Atlantic Coast Conference teams invited to the tournament... The top transfer that UM had been pursuing - Illinois wing Alan Griffin - announced he’s enrolling at Syracuse... Three Hurricanes were named members of the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade team: Frank Gore at running back, Calais Campbell at defensive end and Devin Hester as a returner. The NFL and Pro Football Hall of Fame put together the team.
Here’s what Stroud had to say about three incoming freshmen, plus his veteran defensive ends.
