UM coach puts two veteran players on notice. And Hurricanes personnel notes
A 10-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Tuesday:
▪ In a refreshingly candid press availability, UM offensive line coach Garin Justice on Tuesday very publicly put on notice the player expected to be one of the Canes’ top linemen this season and the program’s most recent veteran addition.
Justice made clear that right guard Navaughn Donaldson and right tackle Justice Oluwaseun weren’t good enough against Appalachian State and that they’re now battling for one starting job: right guard.
Meanwhile, Justice announced that D.J. Scaife and Jarrid Williams are battling to start at right tackle in Saturday’s game against Michigan State (noon, ABC). Oluwaseun, after playing the past six quarters at right tackle, is no longer under consideration at right tackle -- at least this week.
“I feel we still have to figure out the right side,” Justice said. “The right side is not playing good ball … Neither Vaughn nor Justice played winning football Saturday night by any means, so we have to keep exploring our options.”
And what about right tackle now?
“We’re still trying to tinker with that, see what happens,” Justice said. “The first week of August camp I thought DJ had as good an August as anyone had. He was our best tackle, and that was partly considering Zion Nelson was out. But DJ earned that right [to start Game 1 against Alabama, before being replaced by Oluwaseun]. He got taken advantage of early in the Alabama game. We can’t get our quarterback hurt, hit, and that’s why we pulled him.
“Love Jarrid, just felt DJ outperformed him at the time. And Justice was a guy we had brought in [as a transfer from UNLV] to be a guard. When Zion was out August camp we had to put him at tackle just to get guys at the tackle position. He played really, really well in August. At the time we felt Justice was playing better than Jarrid, and that’s why we made that switch. We liked the way Justice came in the Alabama game and competed, and that’s why we gave him the nod against Appalachian State.”
Overall, Justice said of the offensive line: “I thought the last week was a really, really poor performance on our part.”
During training camp, UM people were impressed with Donaldson, who missed more than a year with a serious knee injury. But he hasn’t played to the Canes’ standards through two games.
“He just plays out of his pads, too high right now, has some mental breakdowns that are inexcusable,” Justice said. “We love Navaughn; he’s been a big part of this program for a long time. But he has to play better and I have to coach him better.”
College Football Focus graded Donaldson as UM’s worst starting offensive lineman against Appalachian State.
▪ Justice said left guard Jalen Rivers has “played the best of anyone the first two weeks” and said center Corey Gaynor “has been solid.”
And what about left tackle Nelson, whom some draft analysts rate as a potential first-round pick?
“You can see he missed the two weeks of camp and it’s showing in his game right now,” Justice said.
Overall, “We have to get it right,” Justice said. “We have to do better. … As an offensive line we have to do everything we can to develop trust so [offensive coordinator Rhett] Lashlee can feel like he calls what he needs to call. You call an outside run, hit for a loss, as a play caller it’s like touching a hot stove: ‘Maybe I don’t want to call that again.’ He’s been burnt.
“We still are going to be a good offensive line. Have we played it yet? No, we haven’t by any means.”
▪ Justice says that Jakai Clark “is the center of the future,” and that the coaching staff prefers he redshirt this season, which would leave him with three more years of eligibility.
“That’s something Jakai and his family want as well,” Justice said.
That plan would change if Gaynor is injured.
▪ Diaz, on his weekly segment with WQAM’s Joe Rose, was still bemoaning scoring only two touchdowns (and 20 total points) in five red zone trips against Appalachian State.
“It should result in a blowout or comfortable win,” Diaz said. “A disappointing part that we have to get corrected.
“Offensively maybe we’re pressing a little bit, didn’t have the same mojo I saw out of us last year. Dependable guys making errors; we have to get back to getting out there and having fun, trusting ourselves.”
Even though drop-prone receivers Mark Pope and Dee Wiggins aren’t playing much, drops have continued. Mike Harley Jr. and tight end Will Mallory had drops on Saturday.
“Will is uniquely talented, a guy I know D’Eriq [King] trusts to get the ball to,” Diaz said. “Will and Mike don’t drop passes, not very often.”
▪ UM has only two sacks in two games, but Diaz didn’t sound displeased.
“It’s about pressures, and the App State game, first time they drop back to throw the guy’s on the ground,” Diaz said. “After that they were throwing quick hitches, the ball out really quick. Quick outs. You’re not going to sack the quarterback when they get the ball out fast. Alabama, we pressured the quarterback umpteen times. Pressure, that’s when the turnover comes. Not concerned, want more, that’ll be a big key to the game this weekend.
“What I was pleased about, we are creating negative plays, getting them in third-and-longs. What we did Saturday was dominate third-and-long, four three-and-outs. … The turnovers, sacks, will continue to come. But the main thing is to get the run defense fully operational; we’ve taken great strides in that, and everything else will follow.”
▪ Diaz told Joe Zagacki and Don Bailey Jr. on WQAM’s Hurricane Hotline “you feel Tyrique Stevenson’s presence on the field [at cornerback]. As a punt catcher, he was excellent and then went north.”... Diaz said with defensive end Chantz Williams, “you can see he can make a play that impacts winning.”... Diaz bemoaned that there have been “a couple miscommunications per game” in the defensive backfield that haven been very costly.
▪ With running back Don Chaney Jr. out for the year (knee) and Jaylan Knighton suspended for two more games, Diaz said “this is [Cam’Ron Harris’] time; he’s got to embrace being the man, which I think he wants to.”... Diaz said Ke’Shawn Smith and Charleston Rambo have given the Canes a downfield passing threat they want to maximize.
▪ Diaz likes what he’s getting from the four veteran defensive tackles (Nesta Silvera, Jon Ford, Jared Harrison-Hunte, Jordan Miller). That’s why five-star freshman Leonard Taylor isn’t playing.
“A big point of emphasis was to improve our defensive tackle play,” Diaz said, noting Silvera played one of his best games as a Cane on Saturday.
▪ If you haven’t heard, Michigan State has scored on 75 yard plays to open wins of 38-21 against Northwestern and 42-14 against Youngstown State.
“This is not a plodding Big 10 team,” Diaz said. “This is a team that can run and make plays.”
▪ ABC assigned Joe Tessitore and Greg McElroy to Saturday’s UM-Michigan State game at noon. It’s a full national telecast.
This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 6:39 PM.
