New Miami Hurricanes coach explains his plan. And UM hires a respected defensive mind
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Friday, with Manny Diaz now looking for fill a new opening on his defensive staff:
▪ New defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson told Josh Darrow on UM’s official new podcast that he took less money to join the Hurricanes instead of competing offers. The Gators wanted him to join their staff.
“Manny did such a great job of showing me who he really was and telling me about the staff and the plans and expectations,” Robinson said. “I want to win and win immediately and use my help in developing a secondary.”
Robinson, who was most recently defensive coordinator at South Carolina, said UM’s defense will be more aggressive with Diaz calling plays.
“We are going to pressure you, we are going to be aggressive, we are going to play some bump-and-run and win at the top of our routes,” Robinson said. “Coach Diaz is a little different style of playcaller than I was when I was calling plays. He is a little more aggressive. And he is going to be aggressive and we are going to pressure and create negative plays; that is what we are going to hang our hat on here at Miami.”
Diaz prefers man coverage — which UM used just 35.7 percent of the time last year but 55.7 percent when Diaz called plays in 2018. Miami blitzed 43.5 percent of the time in 2018 with Diaz calling plays compared with 35.5 percent last season under Blake Baker’s watch.
Playing man defense “forces the quarterback to have to make some bad throws,” Robinson said. “It makes them chuck the deep balls downfield, and the percentage of completing those balls isn’t very good when you have defensive backs with length and ball skills… We can recruit players that can play that technique. That is an ability thing. We can get the talented type of fellow that can get his hands on guys a little bit and run down the field” with that receiver.
UM’s veteran cornerbacks — Tyrique Stevenson, Al Blades, Te’Cory Couch and DJ Ivey — seem well suited for that approach. But they will need to be at their best if the Canes don’t get enough pressure from a four-man pass rush and need to blitz a lot.
▪ Longtime coach Bob Shoop is joining UM as an off-field analyst, an industry source said Friday morning.
Shoop, 56, has served as defensive coordinator at alma mater Yale, Villanova, William & Mary, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Tennessee and Mississippi State. He was 7-23 as head coach at Columbia from 2003 to 2005.
Twice in his career, Shoop has been one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach.
He worked with Michigan’s safeties last season before he and coach Jim Harbaugh parted ways during the season.
▪ An industry source close to UM said former Auburn linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Travis Williams — who recently left Auburn as part of a head coaching change — would make a lot of sense to replace Baker, who left to become LSU’s linebackers coach after being stripped of playcalling duties at Miami.
Williams, if pursued, could fit neatly into the role that Diaz had carved out for Baker: working on the defensive game plan (but not calling the defense on game days) and coaching inside linebackers.
Williams, considered a strong recruiter, was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference linebacker at Auburn in 2004 and played six NFL games for the Atlanta Falcons.
Regardless of who Diaz hires to fill the one open spot on his defensive staff, I would be surprised if Diaz relinquishes playcalling duties on game days just two weeks after announcing he would handle that responsibility. So that would suggest UM wouldn’t hire a big-time coordinator who would insist on that playcalling role.
▪ Robinson — who has coached Vernon Hargreaves III, Teez Tabor and other NFL players — gave Darrow his recruiting pitch to lure players:
“When I was out recruiting [against] Miami, I used to talk about how The U used to be good and used to be DB-U, but when is the last time a first round defensive back came from The U? It is going to change and the way it is going to change is you look at the track record of the guys I’ve had.
“The thing that we need to do is keep the guys from this state and this area here. The thing I will say to the guys is this: ‘Until you come here, you don’t really know what this campus is like. You think you know because it is close to home, but [you do not] until you walk around and see the lake in the middle of the campus. And the facilities will compare with anybody in the country.’”
Robinson — combined with new cornerbacks coach DeMarcus Van Dyke, who’s also well-regarded as a recruiter — should help in the pursuit of three Class of 2022 gems: four-star Plantation American Heritage cornerback Earl Little Jr. (he likes Robinson and UM will be in his final five), four-star Coconut Creek cornerback Trevell Mullen (Van Dyke has taken the lead recruiting him) and four-star Hallandale High cornerback Alfonzo Allen.
Robinson also has taken the lead in the pursuit in Miami Pace High four-star defensive end Shemar Stewart, a top Class of 2022 prospect.
▪ Quick stuff: Add safety Kamren Kinchens to the list of UM freshmen who have enrolled early. “He is like a taller sophomore already,” Van Dyke told WQAM’s Joe Rose. Here are Manny Diaz’s in-depth thoughts on all of the early enrollees....
Per multiple recruiting web sites, UM has offered Sanford-based cornerback Ja’Cari Henderson but as of midweek had not made offers to his twin brother Demari Henderson or Kamaron Moore, and Ja’Cari Henderson told Rivals he’s a package deal with the other two. All three are defensive backs. Penn State, FSU and West Virginia reportedly have offered both Henderson brothers, who also play basketball. Henderson’s cousin is former UM standout safety Ray-Ray Armstrong….
Knoxville-based Class of 2022 four-star quarterback Kaden Martin has UM in his top six with Kentucky, Arizona State, Oregon, Georgia Tech and Tennessee. Martin, son of longtime coach and former QB Tee Martin, wants to play football and baseball.
▪ According to a source, it was Jim Larranaga’s decision Thursday to drop four-star freshman Matt Cross from the basketball program, which was a surprise because UM at one point thought he could develop into a quality long-term starter.
Before the season, Larranaga compared him to the Heat’s Duncan Robinson from a three-point shooting standpoint.
We’re told Larranaga had trouble getting through to Cross, who had confidence issues and became detached when he wasn’t playing well, according to a source.
Cross did not violate any UM rules or have any disciplinary issues, according to the source.
Cross told colleague Michelle Kaufman on Friday that “unfortunately it did not work out,” among other things you can read here.
Cross averaged 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14 games, including nine starts. He shot 45.5 percent and 40 percent on threes (20 for 50).
But Cross went scoreless in his past two games, shooting 0 for 3 against Syracuse and 0 for 5 against Notre Dame.
Miami’s 81-59 loss to FSU dropped the Canes to 6-9 and 2-8 in the ACC. UM plays at Wake Forest at 2 p.m. on Saturday before hosting Duke at 7 p.m. on Monday.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 12:02 PM.
