With camp opening, chatter on UM’s biggest offensive competitions, with analyst input
With Miami Hurricanes full football practices set to begin Friday, examining the five most compelling position competitions on offense, with input from longtime UM radio analyst Don Bailey Jr., who watches most of the practices:
▪ Who’s the No. 2 running back behind Cam’Ron Harris?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the most carries (after Harris) go to Jaylon Knighton, who was arguably the most impressive of UM’s early arrivals this spring.
Knighton, rated by Rivals as the sixth best back and 143rd best prospect in the 2020 class, looks like a natural on third downs, besides warranting carries on first and second down.
Knighton was Broward County’s all-time leading rusher with 5,150 career yards, including 1,414 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior Deerfield Beach High. Players raved about his speed, shiftiness and acceleration in four practices this spring.
“Jaylon Knighton was as good as advertised in four practices I saw,” Bailey said.
“One of the top running backs in the state and you saw that.”
But freshman Don Chaney also will be difficult to keep off the field; he ran for 4,511 yards and 60 touchdowns in his high school career at Miami Belen Jesuit. He missed spring practices with a shoulder injury but should be fine for camp.
His former coach, Rich Stuart, has told me that the comparisons to NFL running back Todd Gurley are warranted.
Expect Robert Burns will have a role; he’s best equipped to be UM’s short-yardage and goal-line back. UM coaches appreciate his diligence in the weight room and believe his bruising style gives UM a skill it needs. He had 29 carries for 116 yards last season.
“Burns is a guy that does everything you ask him to do,” Bailey said. “Unfortunately he has been injured in high school through college. But he is going to help this year.”
Fullback Michael Parrott, now on scholarship, should get a few snaps, particularly in short yardage.
The big issue is whether Harris can take the step from good to exceptional.
“There is not a talent or experience issue with Cam’Ron,” Bailey said. “What you want out of that guy, no matter if it’s Clinton Portis or Edgerrin James is this: There was no question Edgerrin James was the man. It’s important Cam’Ron comes in and establishes he is the guy.”
▪ With Navaughn Donaldson redshirting after knee surgery, who’s the starting left guard?
The top candidates are former junior college player Ousman Traore, who took first-team snaps this spring, and Jakai Clark, who started 12 games at right guard last season.
Traore played in only two games last season, but new offensive line coach Garin Justice sees something he likes. And it’s notable that LSU offered Traore a scholarship when he was at Hutchinson Junior College.
Clark played decently as a freshman but might be better suited for center - a position held by junior Corey Gaynor.
Well-regarded freshman Jalen Rivers, who can play tackle but has begun his UM career as a guard, could become a factor in the left guard competition.
Likely starter D.J. Scaife — who has played both guard and tackle at UM — appears the best fit at right guard.
Clark and Scaife each allowed three sacks in the regular season last year, per Herald correspondent Daniel Gould.
Bailey cautions not to assume it’s a Traore/Clark battle at left guard or assume much of anything on the line because “the best five or six are going to play. The one guy I feel secure in is Gaynor at center. Scaife can play any position on the line. He could play center too.
“This was one of the youngest offensive lines in the country. The guys were well coached last year [by dismissed Butch Barry], contrary to what some people may have said. Garin Justice is the perfect fit for Miami with this offense. He has experience in it, has played in it and teaches it extremely well.”
▪ Will anyone press John Campbell for the starting left tackle job?
Campbell struggled as Miami’s starting right tackle against UF, sustained a hand injury and played in just three more games the remainder of the season.
But Justice likes the skill set, and Campbell was UM’s first-team left tackle in all four spring practices.
And remember, Campbell was a very good prospect two years ago, with offers from Alabama, UF, Auburn and FSU. The physical tools are there.
“Campbell has got the size and is athletic enough to accomplish anything they need to be accomplished,” Bailey said. “You can win football games with Campbell’s” skill set.
His competition: Kai-Leon Herbert, who has underachieved during his UM career but drew praise from Justice earlier this offseason; and Zion Nelson, who started as a freshman and led the nation is sacks allowed (11). Nelson played right tackle this spring. With more strength and confidence, he could emerge as a starting option again.
Herbert, the former coveted four-star recruit, got first team work at right tackle in the spring, and the light might finally be going on in his third season at UM.
Four-star freshman Issiah Walker, who enrolled at UF in January and transferred to UM four months later, would join this competition if the NCAA grants his request to play this season.
Jarrid Williams, the senior grad transfer from Houston, has said UM plans to use him at right tackle, though he has some left tackle experience as well. He’s the likely starter at that right tackle spot.
▪ At wide receiver, Mark Pope, Dee Wiggins and Mike Harley Jr. are likely to play. But who else will get regular snaps?
I would make Jeremiah Payton and freshman Xavier Restrepo the favorites for the fourth and fifth spots for a couple of reasons.
Among them: Teammates raved about how Payton looked in practice last season. Bailey echoes that sentiment.
“Get used to saying his name and writing it,” Bailey said of Payton. “I was very impressed with him in training camp last year. He impressed me a ton. One of most impressive things Manny Diaz has been able to do last year which has gotten no traction was his ability to redshirt guys.
“You take Payton and [fellow redshirt freshman defensive end Jahfari] Harvey and realize they could have both helped in some way or another last year but Manny brilliantly decided to redshirt them.”
Meanwhile, Restrepo appears the most polished and advanced of the four freshmen receivers.
In the slot, the shifty Restrepo is a worthy challenger for Harley, who came on last season with 38 catches, 485 yards and three touchdowns. Diaz said Restrepo is “probably the most competitive guy” in this recruiting class.
“I know there are Braxton Berrios comparisons, but he makes Berrios look like a fifth-grader [physically] and his hands are better than Berrios’,” said one official who attended UM’s practices in the spring.
Pope continued to have issues with route running last season, but the new staff believes he’s the quintessential receiver for a spread offense - because of his speed and burst and ability to make short throws into long gains. Pope last season was targeted only 23 times, with 15 completions for 243 yards and two touchdowns (with three drops)
Wiggins had only one drop last season — after five as a freshman — and caught 20 of 37 targets for 335 yards and four touchdowns, per Gould. To his credit, his hands improved.
Talented freshmen Michael Redding (dealt with wrist injury this spring), Daz Worsham (maybe the most physically gifted of the freshmen receivers) and Keyshawn Smith (very good speed) all will get a chance to crack the top five. Marshall Few, also now on scholarship, falls under the break-glass-in-event-of-emergency category.
▪ Who will win the backup quarterback job?
N’Kosi Perry is the favorite to back up D’Eriq King. But two UM players have conveyed to associates how impressive freshman Tyler Van Dyke has been.
“Backup quarterback has to be a competition,” Bailey said, noting he was “elated and relieved” that UM decided to name King the starter before camp.
Van Dyke has a very good arm, strong presence, maturity and accuracy. Two players called him “the real deal.”
From watching his spring, Bailey said: “You can see why there’s no question Van Dyke was the top quarterback in the state [of Connecticut] and one of the top in the country. He’s accurate.”
He can play up to four games without burning a redshirt, so he would be a possibility as a short term fill-in if coaches believe he’s better than Perry or Tate Martell.
But Perry has impressed coaches with how he has handled King’s transfer, and the likelihood is he would get first crack if King is injured.
Martell and Peyton Matocha face longer odds.
We’ll go through this exercise on defense on Tuesday.
This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 2:20 PM.
