Takeaways from a review of UM’s defense in spring game and feedback from Canes officials
Some observations and notes on Miami’s defense from a tape review of the Hurricanes’ spring game and feedback from UM people:
▪ Best development of the spring defensively?
I would cite two: freshman defensive lineman Rueben Bain’s emergence and the fact that Francisco Mauigoa looks like UM’s best middle linebacker since Shaq Quarterman.
Mauigoa, the Washington State transfer, showed his instincts by shedding a block and tackling Henry Parrish Jr. for a loss on a third-and-3 play early in the spring game. Pro Football Focus graded him the second-best linebacker in the Pac-12 last season.
“Very instinctive, fast linebacker. That’s we needed,” safety Kam Kinchens said. “He’s always around the ball every play.”
He seems a clear upgrade over Corey Flagg Jr., who has had a good career at UM.
We’re waiting to see a big step from Wesley Bissainthe at the other linebacker spot; he certainly has the talent. Bissainthe missed a tackle in the spring game, leading to a long gain by Xavier Restrepo.
Flagg, Keontra Smith and four freshmen provide depth. We’re told that Chase Smith badly injured a knee in a practice last year and hopes to return this summer.
▪ Former UCF cornerback Davonte Brown made a great play in the end zone of the spring game, knocking a potential TD out of Colbie Young’s hands.
Daryl Porter Jr. allowed a touchdown pass but made two nifty plays in coverage — one on Young in the end zone and another breaking up a short throw to Young on a fourth-and-4.
Brown, Te’Cory Couch and Porter are the clear front-runners for the top three cornerback jobs.
There are question marks behind them, and it will be interesting to see if two summer arrivals — Robert Stafford and Damari Brown — show enough in August to challenge for playing time. They were ESPN’s No. 12 and No. 13 corners in the 2023 class.
If not, UM’s fourth corner could be Chris Graves, Iowa transfer Terry Roberts or someone from the portal. Jaden Harris, who has worked at safety this spring, has flashed and can play in the slot.
▪ Missed tackles remain a problem. Kinchens missed two in the first half on Friday.
Chantz Williams took a poor angle on a run by Xavier Restrepo early in the game, and then missed a chance to tackle him by not wrapping him up. And Bissainthe missed that tackle on Restrepo. There were a few other missed tackles that weren’t as egregious.
▪ Defensive end Nyjalik Kelly was in the backfield a lot on Friday and throughout the spring. He had one sack and nearly had another, but Tyler Van Dyke eluded him for a 10-yard run on a third-and-14.
In one sequence, Kelly got stuck in pass coverage on a completion to Young. Everyone who talks about Kelly raves about him. He has a chance to be an All-ACC-caliber talent.
So does Bain, who was the defensive star of the night with three sacks on Friday. “You see Bain applying pressure constantly,” coach Mario Cristobal said Friday night. We could see him lining up at tackle in some passing situations this season.
▪ Second-year defensive end Cyrus Moss had two sacks in the spring game, but he needs to add weight and strength to be a serious factor this season.
▪ Good to see Williams recover from a poor first play (a bad angle and missed tackle on Restrepo) to sack the quarterback once on Friday; he could have easily been credited with a second sack that was borderline. He’ll need a strong August to stay in the top four at defensive end with Akeem Mesidor, Jahfari Harvey and Kelly. And Bain will have something to say about that, too.
▪ As much as the offense will benefit from the coordinator shift from Josh Gattis to Shannon Dawson, I suspect the defense will be helped almost as much by the transition from Kevin Steele to Lance Guidry.
Multiple Canes players have talked about how last year’s defense was vanilla, and this year’s defense has a better chance to flummox offenses with disguises and varied looks.
“Lance Guidry brings a lot of stuff whether it’s cover 0, free safety blitz, nickel blitz, all these different twists in the front,” Van Dyke said. “Seeing stuff, it’s really been helpful. In the past it’s really been vanilla in the spring. Get to fall camp and games, we’re prepared for those situations.”
Kinchens said this defense is “very different. There are a lot more different things we can do. Last year there wasn’t too much we did. This year, we’ve got a little bit of everything. It’s kind of easy to grasp. They’re testing us more vertically this year.”
Kinchens said Guidry “brings a lot of energy. He’s a safeties coach, too, so we get that energy 24-7. He’ll always be on you, a fire right behind your butt. So you’re always on your feet.”
Center Matt Lee, the UCF transfer, said Guidry “runs a lot of complicated stuff, a lot of different fronts you probably don’t know what to do unless you go against it. Going against his defense on a daily basis, a lot... can be confusing if you’re not on your stuff. Going against that every day is [beneficial] leading up to the season because a lot of teams aren’t going to be as multiple as that and it gets you that much more ready.”
▪ Markeith Williams has emerged as UM’s No. 3 safety, behind Kinchens and James Williams, who was limited this spring after shoulder surgery. He started ahead of Brian Balom in the spring game, opposite Kinchens.
“Really seeing him take control of the defense and getting comfortable in the play calls,” Kinchens said of Markeith Williams. “He’s taking that next step.”
Markeith Williams was beaten in coverage on Van Dyke’s 33-yard pass to Riley Williams on Friday but used a stiff-arm to push Don Chaney Jr. out of bounds on a running play, for no gain.
Also keep an eye on Harris, who made a nice pass breakup in the spring game.
▪ Defensive tackle remains a position that UM will try to augment in the portal. There’s a potentially high-end player in Leonard Taylor and a good one in Jared Harrison-Hunte. Both missed the spring due to injury.
But it seems Thomas Gore and Branson Deen might be more depth or off-the-bench rotation pieces than frontline starters, just as Jacob Lichtenstein was last season. (We’ll see how it plays out with Gore and Deen, who transferred from Georgia State and Purdue, respectively).
Deen missed time late in the spring with an injury; he had excellent pass rush metrics in the Big 10 last season.
Lichtenstein returned for the 2023 season and had a sack in the spring game.
▪ Second-year defensive tackle Ahmad Moten got first-team work on Friday and drew strong praise from Cristobal in two separate interviews after the game; he could end up helping this season.
Moten “has gotten a lot better,” Lee said, comparing the start of the spring to the end. “When he’s tired, it doesn’t matter. He’s going to push through it. He’s developed a lot.”
Joshua Horton, the only pure defensive tackle in UM’s 2023 class, enrolls this summer.
Here’s my Monday piece with feedback on UM’s offense.
This story was originally published April 18, 2023 at 3:07 PM.
