Miami Hurricanes 2018 Football Preview

Miami Hurricanes 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statements: Mark Richt was a breath of fresh air when he was hired as head football coach at Miami after his term at Georgia had ended in a stale trance. Miami was home for Richt, and Miami needed his services in the worst of ways. Richt may have grown tired at Georgia, but he is one hell of a football coach, and he immediately fired up the prospects of the program moving forward. The 2018 season should be another move upwards for the Canes, and the future looks bright once again.

Breakdown Offense: Malik Rosier is back at QB after passing for 3120 yards and 26 TDs and 14 INTs. If Miami is to fly as high as they can offensively, they need Rosier to increase his accuracy. He completed just 54% of his passes last fall, and his 14 INTs were a problem at times as well. The offense fell off of a cliff in a 3 game losing streak, and he had a part in that. N'Kosi Perry is the backup heading into fall camp, and many thought he would end up starting last season (including me), but Rosier held the job, and looms to once again.

Mark Walton missed 9 games last fall to injury, and has moved on. Travis Homer took over, and carried the load. He rushed for 966 yards and 8 scores, and averaged 5.93 yards per carry. Lorenzo Lingard, a freshman, had a big spring, and may provide some depth this fall, which is a problem for the Hurricanes at the RB position. They lack serious depth here. DeeJay Dallas is in the mix as the backup, but carried just 41 times last fall.

Ahmmon Richards is back to lead the team at the WR position. He caught just 24 passes, and played in only 8 games last fall. Lawrence Cager and Jeff Thomas are also slated to start, They combined for just 33 receptions last season. Darrell Langham and Dayall Harris are the primary backups, while Brian Hightower adds depth. Mike Harley could put on a battle to start in the slot.

Michael Irvin II steps in as the starting TE after catching 9 passes as a sophomore. Brian Polendey is the backup.

The Canes are set at both Tackle spots and at Center, but they need to replenish the OG spots. Tyree St. Louis (LT), Tyler Gauthier (C), and Navaughan Donaldson (RT) return as starters. Jahair Johnson (LG) and Hayden Mahoney (RG) are in the lead heading into fall. George Brown, John Campbell, and Kai-Leon Herbert are the reserves at Tackle, while Delone Scaife and Zalon'tae Hillery are the reserves at OG. Corey Gaynor is the reserve at C.

Breakdown Defense: The Hurricanes have to replace 3 starters on the line from a defense that allowed just 21 points per game. Joe Jackson is the lone returning starter, and will line up at DE. He totaled 11.5 TFLs last season, and is one of the better ends in the ACC. Demetrius Jackson is slated to start opposite him. He played in just 7 games last fall, but still managed 6.5 TFLs. Scott Patchan, Jonathon Garvin, and Gregory Rousseau are the reserves at DE.

Gerald Willis III and Pat Bethel are the starters at DT as we head into fall, and it looks as if they will lock down those jobs. Jon Ford should rotate into the lineup at DT, and is the 3rd Tackle on the depth chart. Tyreic Martin adds some depth.

The LB corps returns intact in the starting lineup. Shaq Quarterman, Michael Pinckney and Zach McCloud are the starters. Quarterman totaled 83 tackles, and Pinckney totaled 68. McCloud had 48 tackles on the weak side. Derrick Smith got a ton of reps in spring ball, and will be the backup at SLB. Mike Smith and Waynmon Steed will back up on the weak side. Bradley Jennings is the backup in the middle.

The Canes are set at Safety, as both Jaquan Johnson and Sheldrick Redwine both return. Redwine finished with 6 PBUs, and forced 2 fumbles, and totaled 59 tackles. He also added 2 INTs. Johnson is the enforcer, as he totaled 96 tackles. Robert Knowles and Amari Carter are the backups.

Michael Jackson is back at CB, and finished with 5 PBUs last season, and tied for the team lead with 4 INTs. He is a lock for day one, but less of a lock is Jhavonte Dean, who was pushed hard by Trajan Bandy. Johnson did tie for the team lead with 4 INTs, and forced 3 fumbles last season. Bandy finished with 6 PBUs.

Breakdown Special Teams: Michael Badgley is gone at PK, and he was the all-time leading FG kicker at Miami when he left. Marco Baeza Turner Davidson, a RS freshman, are in a battle to take over the job.

Zach Feagles is back at Punter, but he largely struggled in 2017, averaging just 38.6 yards as a freshman last season. More is expected of his second go around.

Jeff Thomas is the primary KR man for Miami, as he averaged 21.59 yards per return last fall. With Braxton Berrios gone, the Canes will be looking for a new PR man in camp.

Final Analysis: Despite the late season collapse, Miami football is on its way back to relevance these days, and that could be a scary thing for the other annual contenders in the ACC. The O line looks deeper this season, and needs to be more consistent than it was last season, and the QB play will be key. If Miami gets the passing game that they had for 10 weeks, they will be right there for a division title. If not, they won't be. There will be new faces starting on the D line this fall, but they are talented players who can more than continue the work of last season. In short, there is no reason to believe that Miami will not be in the national mix, especially if everything comes to gether in the problemed areas that I have mentioned.