Assessing where Canes stand at every offensive position and buzz heading into spring ball
When the Miami Hurricanes begin spring practice on Monday, they’ll be doing so with quarterbacks who have less than a dozen combined college snaps and just one player who has ever started more than one game at defensive end.
In the first of a two-part series, we examine the potential depth chart (my depth chart, not UM’s) for spring ball, only including the players who are available this spring:
QUARTERBACK
1. Tyler Van Dyke
2. Peyton Matocha
3. Jake Garcia
With D’Eriq King recovering from a torn ACL and N’Kosi Perry and Tate Martell no longer on the team, all the spring quarterback snaps will be shared by three inexperienced players.
One UM official made Van Dyke the favorite to win the backup job, but added that the Canes think so highly of Garcia that he has at least a chance to beat out Van Dyke.
Matocha — who was recruited by former offensive coordinator Dan Enos — likely will start spring ahead of Garcia on the depth chart because of experience.
One UM person said Van Dyke has an impressive arm, strong accuracy and a maturity and seriousness about him but needs to continue to improve in processing information quickly during plays.
That person noted Brad Kaaya — who started as a freshman — was more advanced than Van Dyke when both entered UM but believes Van Dyke has a chance to be very good, a view that players have conveyed to associates. “He’s the real deal,” one player said.
Van Dyke was 0 for 2 in limited duty as a natural freshman last season.
Matocha, entering his third year at UM, appeared in one game last season and completed two of four passes.He has athleticism and was overlooked somewhat coming out of high school, but it’s difficult to imagine him any higher than third — and possibly fourth — on the depth chart after King returns.
King remains on track to play in the opener against Alabama.
RUNNING BACK
1. Cam’Ron Harris
2. Jaylon Knighton or Don Chaney Jr.
UM has only three scholarship tailbacks this spring, because Robert Burns is transferring and incoming four-star freshmen Thad Franklin and Cody Brown haven’t enrolled.
What’s more, Knighton is coming off a shoulder injury that sidelined him the final two games. Manny Diaz said he will be fine for spring ball.
Harris started and finished last season well, but he cannot afford another midseason slump like the one in 2020, when he mustered 35 yards on 28 carries against Clemson, Pittsburgh and Virginia. If that happens, Knighton or Chaney could overtake him.
Harris ended the regular season with far more offensive snaps (396) than Knighton (164) or Chaney (157).
Harris averaged 13 touches per game, Chaney 7.2 and Knighton 7.
But the gap in both of those areas — snaps and touches — needs to close, because the two second-year backs warrant larger roles.
Harris last season averaged 5.0 per carry, Chaney 4.7 and Knighton 4.0. So Harris, at the very least, deserves to enter camp as the front-runner to start, but with no guarantees.
Knighton (12.3 yards per reception last season) is the most elusive receiver of the group, but Chaney (13 yards per catch) is close. (Both had 11 receptions.) By contrast, Harris averaged 7.3 yards per reception on 18 catches.
Fullback Mike Parrott played only one offensive snap last season but is available as a blocker.
TIGHT END
1. Will Mallory
2. Larry Hodges (more of an H-back) and Dominic Mammarelli
3. Elijah Arroyo
Arroyo, the highly-skilled four-star freshman tight end from Texas, easily could jump Hodges and Mammarelli and emerge as Mallory’s backup, at least in passing situations.
Among the three players competing to back up Mallory, Arroyo has the skill set that most resembles NFL bound-Brevin Jordan.
Arroyo had 79 receptions for 1,338 receiving yards and 18 TDs in 23 games in 2019 and 2020. In 10 games in 2020, Arroyo produced 31 receptions for 690 yards and 13 TDs. UM people believe Arroyo can make an impact as a freshman.
“We’re excited about him; he’s 6-4, athletic, plays like a receiver in a tight end’s body, in a lot of ways like Brevin Jordan does,” offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. “He’s that style of player, which is big for us.”
Hodges, who can also play H-back, had only 67 offensive snaps last season, but Lashlee said he can help if he commits himself this offseason.
As for Mallory, he can improve his draft stock from mid-to-late-round pick (according to an NFL scout) to something potentially much better with a big year.
With Jordan leaving for the NFL, Mallory’s snaps will rise considerably and so should his numbers (22 catches, in 30 targets, 329 yards, 4 TDs last season).
Mammarelli, recruited by UM largely because of his in-line blocking skills, must be dominant in that role to carve out a niche.
Tight end Khalil Brantley, the three-star recruit from Miami Northwestern, will join the competition this summer.
WIDE RECEIVER
Boundary position — Likely two starters to emerge from the group of Charleston Rambo, Dee Wiggins and Mark Pope, with Keyshawn Smith and Michael Redding challenging and Jeremiah Payton a wild card.
Slot - 1. Mike Harley; 2. Xavier Restrepo. And keep in mind that Rambo played about a quarter of his snaps in the slot for Oklahoma last season.
Receivers coach Rob Likens said he would like to use at least six receivers in games; he will have 12 from which to choose after freshmen Romello Brinson, Brashard Smith and Jacolby George arrive in the coming months.
Payton, who has only six career receptions for 58 yards, has the skill to earn playing time but must put it together by Year 3. Daz Worsham has much to prove; he was deemed mostly unplayable by UM as a freshman last season because he needed to bulk up and get stronger.
Diaz insisted this offseason that a genuine 12-man receiver battle is doable, with enough snaps for everybody in practice.
Spring could offer a bit of clarity on Smith (who needs to play because of his speed), Redding (has the size at 6-2 and ball skills to become a dynamic player), Restrepo (freshman season didn’t live up to expectations; just 29 offensive snaps), Worsham (can he take a giant leap?) and Payton, who has teased in practice but hasn’t put it all together in games.
Nobody obviously will publicly name Rambo as a likely starter, but that’s the expectation for the speedy Oklahoma transfer who arrives at UM with 76 catches for 1,180 yards (15.5 average) and nine touchdowns. Of the 27 passes thrown to him that traveled at least 20 yards in the air during the past two seasons, Rambo caught 11 of them, with three drops.
Harley assuredly will start in the slot after a terrific 2020; he’s King’s go-to receiver and the leader of the group.
Wiggins had six drops and caught only five of 17 passes that were thrown at least 20 yards in the air in 2020. Pope also had six drops and caught only four of 17 passes thrown at least 20 yards.
“Both of them have good enough hands to be playing Power 5 football,” Likens told WQAM last week.
And this will be one of the most interesting story lines of the spring continuing into August: Will Smith and Redding show the consistency to wrest playing time away from Pope and Wiggins? Of last year’s four freshmen, we hear the most positive internal feedback on Smith and Redding.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Left tackle: 1. Zion Nelson; 2. John Campbell; 3. Issiah Walker; 4. Freshman early arrival Michael McLaughlin.
Left guard: 1. DJ Scaife or Jakai Clark; 3. Jalen Rivers or Chris Washington or Ousman Traore or Cleveland Reed.
Center: 1. Corey Gaynor; 2. Clark.
Right guard: 1. Navaughn Donaldson; 2. Clark or Scaife (loser of left guard battle); 3. Rivers or Washington or Traore or Reed.
Right tackle: 1. Jarrid Williams; 2. Campbell; 3. Walker or Kai-Leon Herbert; 4. McLaughlin. Donaldson could shift to right tackle if Williams is injured or Campbell is injured or ineffective. So could Scaife, though that wouldn’t be ideal.
*** Role to be determined: Zalon’tae Hillery, who — like Herbert — opted out of last season. Both are back on the team.
Also worth noting; Though we list a few young players — such as four-star Gators transfer Walker — on both the left and right sides, Lashlee said he prefers if the young linemen focus on one side.
Donaldson’s return from a 2019 knee injury should stabilize the line and provide a boost to the running game. With Williams returning for a bonus season, Donaldson figures to stay at guard.
UM has a solid tackle tandem in the much-improved Nelson and Williams, but the Canes still lack the elite tackle talent that it once had with Bryant McKinnie, Vernon Carey and Ereck Flowers.
Perhaps Walker or Rivers or McLaughlin can develop into that. And there’s still room for growth with Nelson, who deserves credit for significant improvement.
Scaife might have a slight edge for the left guard job, but had too many lapses last season, including three sacks allowed. Clark, who permitted no sacks, could overtake Scaife.
Rivers also could become a factor at left guard. The four-star Class of 2020 lineman is “long enough to play tackle, big enough and strong enough to play guard,” Lashlee said. “I don’t know where Jalen will end up.”
While freshman tackle McLaughlin is already enrolled, two more interior players arrive this summer: 2021 signees Ryan Rodriguez and Laurence Seymore.
Next up: How UM’s depth chart looks on defense.
This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 2:34 PM.
