A Canes coach explains why this will be difficult offense to defend. And recruiting news
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Wednesday:
▪ Quarterback coach Frank Ponce doesn’t necessarily know the identity of all the players who will be lining up with quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to open games.
But he knows this about the system that Mario Cristobal and coordinator Josh Gattis have been installing:
This, he said, “is a hard offense to defend,” Ponce told WQAM’s Joe Zagacki. “No. 1, being able to run the football. You’ve got to be tough and physical up front.
“At the same time, we have play-action passes and drop back. We have outside zone and inside zone. We have a variety of run plays. It keeps defenses off balance because you don’t know which one is coming.”
There’s more variety to UM’s offense than was the case under predecessor Rhett Lashlee, who was highly skilled in pushing the pace with a traditional spread. There are spreads elements to UM’s new offense, but a lot more than that, too.
There’s a particular new play — which we won’t reveal — that UM has been running repeatedly in practice and is convinced will be very effective.
Ponce, speaking about getting a job at UM, said: “I see all these guys [big names] here all the time; I’m still star struck. I see Jimmy Johnson and I say, ‘Wow, that’s Jimmy Johnson!’ He was phenomenal when he spoke to the team. I’m grateful to be here.”
▪ Jayden Bonsu, a four-star safety from New Jersey who’s strongly considering the Canes, postponed his college decision for a few days. Miami, Ohio State and Michigan State are viewed as the top contenders for the Class of 2023 prospect.
Meanwhile, the Canes remain very much in the mix for several other players who plan to announce this week.
That group includes Connecticut-based offensive tackle Olaus Alinen (who is planning to disclose his college choice at 9 a.m. on Friday on CBSSportsHQ), Massachusetts-based safety Joenel Aguero (who plans to announce Saturday) and two Orlando-area prospects: linebacker Malik Bryant and offensive lineman Payton Kirkland, who also both plan to announce Saturday.
Alabama is reportedly UM’s top competition for Alinen. Michigan State is viewed as the front-runner for Kirkland, and Georgia long has been viewed as the favorite for Aguero. Multiple recruiting sites have predicted Bryant will pick Miami.
UM also remains very much in the mix for Ocala-based offensive lineman Tommy Kinsler, who plans to announce next week.
▪ UM, on a recruiting roll, has seen its class rise to eighth in 247 Sports’ 2023 class ratings (ahead of Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama, among others), 10th in Rivals’ ratings and sixth in On3.com’s ratings (directly ahead of Georgia and LSU).
ESPN ranks UM’s class 11th, with this comment:
“Mario Cristobal returns to his alma mater and is looking to assemble a top-10 class in his first full cycle. Recruiting wins close to home will be key, but one of his initial big additions came from out West in Jaden Rashada, a California QB with a smooth release and good arm strength. Cristobal also returned to his old stomping grounds of the Pacific Northwest to land ESPN 300 TE Riley Williams. Set to play his senior season at IMG Academy, Williams could become a big-play target for Rashada, as he is a lengthy TE with a nice catch radius and the ability to win contested matchups.
“They also pulled five-star Francis Mauigoa — a powerful and explosive big man who still has room to grow as a player and develop into a dominating presence in the trenches — out of IMG Academy. Jayden Wayne was a nice defensive addition as a rangy edge player who will only improve as he fills out and gets stronger. Closer to home, the Hurricanes added a versatile talent in athlete Robert Stafford, who projects to the secondary. Offensively, Robby Washington and Nathaniel Joseph are undersized, but both are quick playmakers who can be dangerous, especially when they get in space.”
▪ Former UM defensive tackle Jon Ford, the only Hurricanes player who was drafted this year (by Green Bay), had a creative way of describing defensive tackle Leonard Taylor: “He’s a big teddy bear that can move, can make plays. His playmaking ability is crazy.”
▪ Receiver Xavier Restrepo should do a lot of damage on third downs. But his goals are much bigger than that.
“The whole offense looks to me like [I’m] maybe an every-down guy,” he said. And on “third downs, I’m definitely going to pop up.”
Restrepo, on quarterback Tyler Van Dyke: “It’s the best job in the world, catching passes from that guy. His preplay thoughts are just amazing. His ball speaks for itself. What a lot of people don’t know is he’s very agile and elusive. When he gets into open space, watch out. You guys are going to be surprised.”
▪ With Isaiah Wong bypassing the NBA Draft, UM will have seven players back, plus two high-impact transfers (wing Nijel Pack and power rotation player Norchad Omier) and four incoming freshmen: Faour Aire, four-star forward AJ Casey, and three-star forwards Danilo Jovanovich and Christian Watson.
The seven returnees: Wong, Jordan Miller, Anthony Walker, Harlond Beverly and second-year players Bensley Joseph, Wooga Poplar and Jakai Robinson.
Robinson redshirted last season.
“Bensley has great leadership qualities,” Jim Larranaga said. “He’s a terrific defender and rebounder for a point guard. Offensively there are points of his game he needs to pay special attention to - three point shooting, one on one moves, fast-break layups, different parts of his skill development.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 1:23 PM.
