Manny Diaz on his QB vision. And Hurricanes updates on running back, receiver, tight end
A 10-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Friday, following day 6 of spring practice:
▪ After adding another highly regarded prospect on Friday in four-star Georgia-based Jacurri Brown, UM looks to be in very good shape at quarterback in the post-D’Eriq King era.
The Tyler Van Dyke/Brown/Jake Garcia competition should be fascinating in 2022 and beyond. Though Peyton Matocha would be considered a long shot in that competition, he has flashed this spring.
While coach Manny Diaz is not permitted to discuss Brown — who excels in the run/pass option game — he spoke Friday about an overriding goal at the position when he became head coach.
“January of 2019 we made a huge priority of our program that we had to recruit quarterbacks that were capable of leading Miami wherever we think Miami needs to go.
“You have to be able to not just do it on the field but be able to handle the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s very similar to being a pro quarterback, being the starting quarterback in this city, for this program.”
Under Diaz, UM made it a priority to recruit quarterbacks who not only were talented, but were mature, serious and committed about it, even it meant sacrificing some personal “me” time as college students. That was a problem with a few of UM’s quarterbacks in recent years.
But Diaz said “the most important thing is how you develop them when they show up.”
Though early enrollee Garcia has been limited by an injury, “he takes mental reps and when you take mental reps, you’re three steps ahead of guys watching,” receiver Mike Harley said. “He’s coming along.”
▪ UM coaches are eager to see whether Mark Pope can finally and fully reach his potential as a senior, after a season in which he played well at times but also had six drops.
Harley said Friday that “it’s all mental with Mark Pope. He has the speed. He has the quickness... He’s practicing way better... He’s coming along... I’m trying to be a big brother to him.”
Harley, incidentally, said he leaves a note on wide receivers coach Rob Likens’ desk every day listing goals he has for himself and areas he wants to improve on.
▪ Lashlee addressed the receiver battle during a chat with WQAM’s Joe Rose this week.
“It’s wide open,” Lashlee said. “When you take a look at last year, I know from the previous season a massive jump was made. Every single wide receiver that played had bigger stats, moments they excelled and helped us win games. Coach Likens and myself, we want to be more consistent everywhere on offense. For us to take that next jump we have to be able to win more of those 1-on-1 battles, especially the ones vertically down the field.”
But are 12 scholarship receivers too many?
“Not at all,” Lashlee said. “When I got here we had six or seven scholarship receivers. That’s not many. Usually you have anywhere from 10 to 12 on a roster. We’ll have that kind of number but then a lot will be gone, back down to six or seven. I don’t think it’s a big number.
“This is big-time college football, the University of Miami. The best guys are going to play. We hope that more than one or two or three guys are playing every game and making plays. That allows guys to be fresh. We’re not trying to make sure everyone catches a ball, everyone has 50 catches. The best guys are going to play. We have to be able to put three or four guys out there who can compete and play to the standard we have here at Miami. I have high hopes we’ll have more than two or three or four.”
▪ Among the young receivers, Keyshawn Smith continues to impress.
“He’s 12-14 pounds heavier, a year older, gone through that freshman getting used to things,” Lashlee said. “It gives him an opportunity to make a step up. Xavier Restrepo, you can go on and on with guys down the line — we have more depth.”
Oklahoma transfer Charleston Rambo has fit in well. “We bring in a guy like Charleston Rambo for a reason,” Lashlee said.
▪ Well-regarded freshman tight end Elijah Arroyo hasn’t been a full participant in spring ball so far because of a minor injury, but UM has high hopes for him.
“When you lose Brevin Jordan, Elijah is a guy down the road we see with that skill set,” Lashlee said.
Freshman tight end Kahlil Brantley arrives in May.
With Will Mallory missing spring ball because of a shoulder procedure, there have been plenty of snaps for Dominic Mammarelli and Larry Hodges.
“I love being able to play with more than one tight end; it makes things harder on the defense,” Lashlee said. “Last year when [Will Mallory and Brevin Jordan] were healthy, we were at our best when they were on the field [in tandem]. This year, are we better off with two tight ends [paired together] or Will and three receivers? It’s too early to know for sure the identity of this year’s team.”
▪ Lashlee raised eyebrows recently when he said he prefers to have one back carry 20-plus times as opposed to sharing carries fairly equally among three.
“It’s a very intense competition,” Lashlee said. “Those three guys [Cam’Ron Harris, Don Chaney Jr., Jaylon Knighton] are all good running backs. There are a lot of [teams] that can’t say they have three. In my experience to have a consistent run game we feel like to be at the level we need we have to control the game better, run the ball better than a year ago, at least consistently.
“You have to have a guy who is your starter, a guy who will get 20-plus carries a game. … He has to get in a rhythm; the offense has to get in a rhythm. That doesn’t mean the other guys don’t play. But… we have to have a guy who comes out and `that’s our guy, and that’s the next guy, and that guy has a role doing this.’
“Last year Cam was that guy; now you have two really young guys who deserve to play. They get banged up and it just got inconsistent. One guy eight carries, [another guy] eight carries, nine carries; no one got in a rhythm.”
▪ Greg Rousseau will participate in UM’s Pro Day on Monday, which will be televised on ACC Network.
“It’ll probably be the smallest pro day we’ve ever had,” Diaz said. “You want to see them compete. Athletically they’re all off the chart.”
UM’s Jaelan Phillips and Rousseau are projected to be first-round draft picks. Tight end Brevin Jordan and defensive end Quincy Roche are projected third- or fourth-round picks.
“No Combine, no in-site visits, only three people from each franchise can attend the pro day,” Diaz said. “Everyone has to adapt, and it is what it is.”
▪ Diaz said he doesn’t want to experiment with any potential position switches until after Saturday’s scrimmage. “We’ve let everyone go play,” Diaz said. “Over the last three weeks of spring practice, we might be able to move people around.”
▪ Lashlee said DJ Scaife was moved from right guard to right tackle (where he’s competing with incumbent starter Jarrid Williams) because offensive line coach Garin Justice “feels that’s a more natural position for him, and I’d agree so far.”
▪ Jakai Clark, trying to hold off Jalen Rivers at left guard, “has really changed his body, is looking really good at guard right now,” Lashlee said. “He might be best suited at center, so that gives you competition with him and Corey Gaynor. That makes the whole team better.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 12:38 PM.
