Straight talk from Canes coaches on what positions need to play better. And WR dilemma
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Monday:
▪ When Manny Diaz sees that his team isn’t at Clemson’s level, is he tempted to replace under-performing players with talented freshmen, particularly at receiver?
Diaz made clear he will always play who the staff believes gives the Hurricanes the best chance to win regardless of experience level.
The big question is whether Miami should take snaps from Dee Wiggins and Mark Pope — who continue to play the most among receivers along with Mike Harley Jr. — and give more work to five talented younger players. To this point, UM believes the three veterans are better equipped to help than the five younger guys.
But offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee suggested the veteran receivers are on notice. “We’ve got to win one-on-one battles. This is big-time college football,” Lashlee said. “We haven’t done a very good job of competing for contested catches down the field.”
Unlike Lashlee (who also blamed himself), Diaz wasn’t openly critical of the receivers. Asked if he’s tempted to give more playing time to the young receivers, Diaz said:
“We are always inclined to play whoever we feel gives us the best chance to win. There is simply no seniority. That’s not how we make any decision on anyone on the depth chart. That’s how we started two true freshmen on the offensive line last year. That’s how we got here defensively in 2016; we started three true freshmen at linebacker. [Cornerback] Malek Young, [defensive end] Joe Jackson, all these guys started as true freshmen.
“We love our jobs and we love the University of Miami too much to not play the players we feel give us the best chance to win. The second part of that is we’re also in the player development business and all of these guys continue to be developed. Everyone sort of develops at a different level. And as time goes on and guys get more experienced, you’ll see more and more of our young class that we think is very special.”
On Saturday, Wiggins played 43 of Miami’s 59 offensive snaps, Harley Jr. 42, Pope 29, compared with 18 for Jeremiah Payton, 11 for freshman Keyshawn Smith, two for freshman Xavier Restrepo and none for freshmen Michael Redding and Daz Worsham.
How underwhelming has the receiver play been?
Per Pro Football Focus, only five of the 16 passes thrown to receivers against Clemson were caught — for 83 yards, with 42 of those coming on Keyshawn Smith’s play long catch in the fourth quarter.
And this is pretty sobering: UM receivers this season have six dropped passes and a dismal 68.3 passer rating in their coverage area, with 41 receptions on 85 targets for 471 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback D’Eriq King obviously shares part of the blame, but UM’s receivers need to be better.
▪ Because of UM’s deplorable guard play against Clemson, the need for Navaughn Donaldson to return this season has risen dramatically.
Per Pro Football Focus, guard Jakai Clark allowed three quarterback pressures against the Tigers. Clark also had a dismal 44.4 run blocking grade.
Guard DJ Scaife also allowed three pressures and a sack and had a mediocre 66.2 run blocking grade.
UM radio analyst Don Bailey Jr. said on WQAM that Donaldson has looked impressive in working his way back from last year’s knee injury. Diaz has said he expects him to play at some point this season but hasn’t given a timetable.
Center Corey Gaynor graded out well but the tackle play (John Campbell, Jarrid Williams) was substandard, though Williams received good marks in pass protection.
I’m not sure how high the ceiling is with these five, but they must show more than they did against Clemson, because Saturday’s opponent, Pittsburgh, ranks fourth in the country in tackles for loss at 10.4 per game and third in the country in sacks at 4.8 per game.
In their defense, the five starting offensive linemen weren’t responsible for a sack in any of Miami’s first three games. So perhaps they’ll be good enough this season against non-Top 15 caliber competition.
▪ Diaz needs to start lifting players from games (at least for a series) as punishment for pre-snap penalties — discipline that he seems resistant to administer.
Four of Miami’s 15 penalties on Saturday were for false starts - two by Clark, one by Williams and one by receiver Mike Harley. Jalen Harrell lined up offsides on a punt.
Quincy Roche, Bubba Bolden and Larry Hodges were called for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which should never happen. Amari Carter and Keontra Smith were ejected for targeting, a persistent problem in the program and one that’s puzzling because Diaz and his coaches spend a lot of time coaching tackling and are sticklers about it.
Cornerback Al Blades Jr. was called for holding.
▪ The Hurricanes missed 14 tackles and 273 of Clemson’s 302 receiving yards came after the catch while 190 of their 262 rushing yards came after contact.
Pro Football Focus gave UM’s three-worst defensive grades to linebackers Bradley Jennings Jr. (47 snaps), Waymon Steed (13 snaps) and Zach McCloud (63 snaps).
Defensive coordinator Blake Baker conceded that linebacker play Saturday was “a mixed back. Zach and BJ [Jennings] were up and down. We need more consistency at that position.”
Though Baker didn’t specifically say this, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see increased snaps for Sam Brooks (36 snaps on Saturday) and Corey Flagg Jr. (30). Brooks would be playing more if not for a foot injury, Diaz said.
Diaz said Flagg is “so instinctive, has a great feel” for the game. Baker said Flagg was “outstanding” against Clemson.
While Flagg is getting defensive snaps, fellow freshman linebacker Tirek Austin-Cave played only on special teams against Clemson and has done “an outstanding job” in that area, Baker said.
Incidentally, defensive end Roche and striker Gilbert Frierson received PFF’s highest UM defensive grades for Saturday’s game.
▪ The running back snaps were allocated this way: 44 to Cam’Ron Harris, 10 to Don Chaney Jr. and 8 to Jaylon Knighton.
Aside from King’s 84 yards rushing on 18 carries and N’Kosi Perry losing six yards on one carry, the Canes rushed for 11 yards on 10 other runs.
Harris had 8 carries for 3 yards, Chaney 1 for 8 and Knighton 1 for zero yards.
Lashlee said Harris “could have banged in there and got a few extra yards” — and his two best runs were called back due to penalty — but said generally “they whipped us” and Harris nearly maximized what was available with the lack of running lanes.
Lashlee said he’s comfortable with the snap allocation with his top three backs. He said the goal “was to get all three guys more carries” Saturday, but UM’s inability to sustain drives prevented that from happening.
▪ Other notable snap count decisions from Saturday: Jahfari Harvey (23 snaps) and Cameron Williams (22) are virtually co-No. 3 defensive ends behind Roche and Jaelen Phillips. Patrick Joyner Jr. didn’t get a snap on defense. “I really think he should get in there a little bit more,” Baker said...UM played only three cornerbacks: Blades (86), Ivey (72) and T’Cory Couch (40)... Safety Bubba Bolden logged a mind-boggling 88 snaps.
This story was originally published October 12, 2020 at 2:02 PM.
