Canes All-American granted meeting with Julio Frenk and Blake James. Here’s the topic
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Friday, in the wake of a 30-28 loss to Virginia that dropped the Canes to 2-3:
▪ Prominent former players are getting restless with the program’s lack of success.
One of them, former standout linebacker Colin McCarthy, tweeted during Thursday’s game: “Seen enough… Fire Manny [Diaz].”
Another prominent former Hurricanes player has encouraged other former Canes players to go to campus and protest the state of the program with picket signs.
Another, Joaquin Gonzalez, mused after the game: “Bad things happen to bad teams!”
Meanwhile, former All-American safety Bennie Blades has been granted a meeting with the school administration.
“Yesterday’s loss to Virginia is of course disappointing,” Blades tweeted on Friday morning. “Regardless, I’m here to encourage and support the players, coaches and staff.
“I’ve been granted the meeting that I requested with the President and AD for which I’m grateful. We’ll see what happens. It’s All about the U!”
Asked by text if he’s going to request a role with the football program, Blades said “no role,” and his reason for the meeting is “just to talk about OUR school and where we are heading.”
He said the date of the meeting has not been determined.
On Sept. 25, Blades tweeted: “For me personally it’s unacceptable that #CanesFootball is not a national powerhouse. I’ve recently requested a meeting with [school president] Julio Frenk and [athletic director Blake James] together. Productive change is needed for @CanesFootball and I want to be well involved.”
After the Michigan State loss, Blades tweeted: “Home loss to unranked MI State who appears to be more talent rich and who outplayed @CanesFootball in most every aspect of the game. No criticisms, just REALITY... Not much changes until we win at local recruiting, period. I’d love to help.”
Blades’ nephew, UM cornerback Al Blades Jr., missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury.
▪ The offensive line played much better during the final 20 minutes of the game, but there’s no excuse for the first 40 minutes against a poor Virginia defense that had allowed 96 points in its previous two games.
Zion Nelson and DJ Scaife each allowed sacks. Jakai Clark was beaten on the play which resulted in a safety. Navaughn Donaldson’s night was uneven.
Clark was filling in for injured Corey Gaynor. With Gaynor out for now and Jalen Rivers out for the season, UM used a five — from left to right — of Nelson, Donaldson, Clark, Scaife and Jarrid Williams.
Nelson, projected by some as a potential first-round pick, is playing like a late-round pick. UM expects Clark to be its center for the next few years, but Ryan Rodriguez ultimately could challenge him. Clark was rated by 247 Sports as the No. 7 center in the 2019 recruiting class.
▪ In their most extensive playing time to date, freshmen five-star teammates James Williams and Leonard Taylor were far from perfect but both flashed, particularly Taylor.
Taylor had half a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. He also missed a tackle on a long Virginia run early in the game, but his ability to generate a pass rush on multiple snaps showed why he was such a coveted recruit.
Williams, who received his second start, allowed a third-down conversion on Virginia’s first scoring drive but was better as the game went along, aside from an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after a Virginia touchdown.
▪ Quick stuff: ESPN noted that UM coaches have compared freshman Breshard Smith to former NFL player and Gators star Percy Harvin, which explains why the receiver has been getting carries. He had three rushing attempts for 8 yards on Thursday and caught his only target for 8 yards…
UM is going to need more from its offensive playmakers. Tight end Will Mallory’s disappointing season continued; he caught only one of four targets for 1 yard. Jaylon Knighton ran well late but averaged only 2.9 yards on his 15 carries in his first game off suspension….
The Hurricanes allowed 5.2 yards per rush, and even Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong — apparently aware of UM’s penchant for missed tackles — said: “We knew we could run the ball really well coming in. We ran the ball great… [But] I played like crap.”
▪ UM’s veteran defensive backs continue to have too many breakdowns.
Safety Gurvan Hall started and his play was once again uneven; he was called for two key penalties and was fortunate he wasn’t called for a clear targeting penalty late in the game, which would have allowed Virginia to keep the ball late. Curiously, UM continues to use him a lot in man coverage.
Cornerback DJ Ivey got lucky when a Virginia receiver dropped a pass after he was beaten on a play.
Cornerback Te’Cory Couch was fortunate when a pass to a receiver who had beaten Couch was overthrown. He also had a missed tackle that was costly earlier in the game.
In fact, too many of the older four-star players have been inconsistent this season, including Mallory, Nesta Silvera (pushed aside on a 34-yard Virginia run for a touchdown) and Donaldson.
UM’s one veteran five-star, receiver Mark Pope, is expected to enter the transfer portal soon, according to Canesport. Pope played cornerback in the Central Connecticut State game; his playing time at receiver has plummeted this season.
▪ The Canes continue to take a pounding from national media.
Mike Farrell, Rivals’ national college football columnist, tweeted: ‘Canes football makes me kinda sad. Those who never saw the teams in the 1980s and 1990s don’t know and honestly they are kinda lucky. They were so epic that this is depressing.”
Dan Wolken, USA Today’s national college football columnist, tweeted: “Miami has made four straight bad hires — and that doesn’t even include Larry Coker. Just an incredible run. I have a lot of respect for Mark Richt, and he did a great job on the fundraising/facilities side, but he was burned out.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 1:57 PM.
