What’s happening at a key UM position where growth is needed. And Canes personnel notes
An eight-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Tuesday, after the eighth practice or scrimmage of UM spring football:
▪ There’s no position on the roster that might cause greater uneasiness than linebacker, but inside linebackers coach Jonathan Patke offered several reasons for encouragement.
Among them: Corey Flagg has improved his body, Avery Huff has improved in general and early enrollee DeShawn Troutman has flashed.
Flagg, who is competing with Bradley Jennings Jr. at middle linebacker, has “changed his body,” Patke said. “He knew he got a little heavy. He came back and has lived in the weight room. He’s a great, savvy player, very instinctive. He’s constantly preparing in the film room. He’s just a ball junkie. He lives in this building. He and Avery showed up in a big way last weekend” at the first scrimmage.
Safety Gurvan Hill said of Flagg: “Between this year and last year, I believe Flagg has really stepped up, communicating, making plays on the field. He’s acting like an older guy now.”
Patke said Tirek Austin-Cave, who played less than Flagg as a freshman last season, is working at middle linebacker and “his athleticism shows up.”
▪ Huff — competing with Sam Brooks, Waymon Steed and Troutman at WILL linebacker — barely played any defensive snaps in his first two seasons at Miami but impressed in the scrimmage.
“He’s made great strides this spring,” Patke said. “He has really picked it up mentally and understanding what we want to accomplish.”
Brooks, as noted in this piece, has been limited this spring.
“He dealt with a toe injury last year, is still getting treatment on that,” Patke said. “We know Sam can play. Played at a high level at the end of his freshman year. We have to get him healthy and running at full speed again.”
Troutman — who joined defensive end Thomas Davis as the program’s front seven early enrollees — has impressed.
“One thing I saw from him in the scrimmage is he’s physical, tackles, not scared, made a lot of plays, really productive,” Patke said of Troutman, a three-star prospect out of the Orlando area. “That was really good to see out of him. The spotlight isn’t too big when he’s out there. He just runs and plays.”
▪ Coaching feedback: Gurvan Hall said UM chief of staff Ed Reed, the former Hurricanes legend, was helping the safeties last weekend, telling them “we’ve got to play low [and that we] play high too much.”...
Hal said new defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson — who was hired after safeties coach Ephraim Banda left to become defensive coordinator at Utah State — “approaches [the job] like a defensive back, thinks how we think, brings a different type of energy. We do hand placement drills. It’s very different. He gets you going.”...
Meanwhile, defensive tackle Jordan Miller said new defensive line coach Jess Simpson, who held that job at UM before spending the past two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, is “really technical. Little things really matter to him and me too.”
Miller said each defensive lineman has a video “section” created just for that player, focusing on areas to improve.
▪ I’ve been wondering how much UM shows its defensive players tape of the 62-26 loss to North Carolina on Dec. 12, a game in which the Tar Heels ran for 554 yards, six touchdowns and averaged 10.1 yards per carry. UM that day allowed the most rushing yards in its history and the most total yards (778) in its history — a performance that coach Manny Diaz called “humiliating.”
Miller said Tuesday that “we’ve looked at it a little bit to know to never go back to that. It was our worst time playing the run.”
From tape of that game, Canes players and coaches have looked specifically at “what to look” for in opposing offenses and “back set keys” and other technical issues that might have led to that debacle, beyond the greatness of UNC backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, who are both expected to be selected in the first four rounds of April’s NFL Draft.
As painful as watching that game might be, it must be used as a teaching lesson and learning experience.
“We’re focusing on improving in the future,” Miller said. “I feel we’re improving a lot.”
Miller — who’s getting lots of work this spring with Nesta Silvera sidelined after a shoulder procedure — said he has been mostly working with the starters and has dropped from 336 pounds to 316. His focus “was to be faster and quicker and having more moves.”
▪ UM tight end Brevin Jordan, a potential third-round pick, was at his bodacious best during his Zoom session with reporters after pro day this week.
“I’m a playmaker,” he said. “Michael Irvin is the original Playmaker; I’m the Playmaker Jr…. Any offensive coordinator in the NFL is going to love me. You can line me up anywhere. If a linebacker guards me in the NFL, I’m going to win 9 out of 10 times.”
Jordan said nobody should question his durability. “I’m suffering [through] some serious injuries… You call me soft, you’re stupid.”
Jordan added this: “I put my blood, sweat and tears into this university, busted my tail on the recruiting trail, love the university. I’m going to go to the grave with a University of Miami jersey on. ... Anyone who doubts my love for the university, you’re stupid.”
▪ Quick stuff: Patke confirmed, as we noted Monday, that the kicking battle between Andres Borregales and Camden Price has been “a good competition.”....
Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy tweeted that the “biggest winner at Miami pro-day was Quincy Roche. Skilled & highly disruptive (30.5 sacks, 54 TFL, 8 FF, 8 FR). Many felt he was just an overachiever but ran 4.66 today. You want this guy on your NFL team. Just a damn good football player. And José [Borregalas] will be first kicker drafted.”
▪ Quick basketball note: Center Nysier Brooks became the fourth Canes basketball player to enter the transfer portal in the past two weeks, joining Earl Timberlake, Chris Lykes and Elijah Olaniyi.
The number of scholarship players on the Canes’ roster is down to five: Isaiah Wong and Kam McGusty (neither of whom has announced their intentions), plus Anthony Walker, Harlond Beverly and Sam Waardenburg.
UM clearly needs to add a handful of players from the transfer portal.
If you missed it, here’s my 10-pack on what I’m hearing from UM spring ball.
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 1:19 PM.
