‘We have to be obsessed with the football': UM preaching turnovers on defense
'We have to be obsessed with the football,' Hetherman said.
Hetherman's defense thrives on chaos up front that leads to turnovers on the back end. It's a formula that succeeded at his last stop at Minnesota, which tied for seventh nationally with 17 interceptions.
That's a number the Hurricanes haven't hit in a single season since 2017, when they tied for third nationally with 31 total turnovers (17 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries). They went 10-3 that season, albeit dropping their final three games in a road loss to Pitt, an ACC Championship Game defeat to Clemson and Orange Bowl loss to Wisconsin.
The Hurricanes followed that 2017 season with another top-20 season in total turnovers in 2018 with 25 takeaways (16 interceptions, nine fumble recoveries) but have more or less been outside the top tier since. Only once in the past six years has Miami ranked in the top 25 nationally in turnovers forced.
2019: 20 turnovers (10 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries) tied for 40th nationally
2020: 16 turnovers (seven interceptions, nine fumble recoveries) tied for 40th nationally
2021: 11 turnovers (eight interceptions, three fumble recoveries) tied for 119th nationally
2022: 22 turnovers (14 interceptions, eight fumble recoveries) tied for 22nd nationally
2023: 18 turnovers (12 interceptions, six fumble recoveries) tied for 59th nationally
2024: 18 turnovers (14 interceptions, four fumble recoveries) tied for 58th nationally
Hetherman hopes to change that.
'There's a group of guys that every day they're obsessed with the ball and that's the No. 1 thing in practice. How many strip attempts do we get and how many times the ball touches the ground. If the ball is down, we are scooping and scoring and then for balls in the air, we have to have it. That's been the No. 1 message.'
While the entire defense is responsible for making turnovers happen, Hetherman will need to see production from his a secondary that has been nearly completely overhauled from last season.
Sophomore cornerback OJ Frederique is the only returning starter from the unit. Redshirt sophomore Damari Brown, who missed almost all of last season with a foot injury, and sophomore Dylan Day, who played almost exclusively on special teams, are the only other returnees that seem poised for playing time early.
Beyond that, Hetherman has a half dozen transfers at his disposal, several of whom have shown they have ball-hawking potential at their previous stops.
Safety Zechariah Poyser was a Freshman All-American at Jacksonville State last year after logging three interceptions, eight pass breakups and a pair of fumble recoveries while allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete just 47.8% of passes against him in coverage.
Sophomore Xavier Lucas, who is poised to start at cornerback opposite Frederique, intercepted a pass and and had three pass breakups in 21 targets against him last season in a limited role with Wisconsin.
And cornerback Ethan O'Connor, a redshirt sophomore, intercepted four passes and six pass breakups in 60 targets against him last season at Washington State.
Safety Jakobe Thomas and cornerbacks Keionte Scott and Charles Brantley round out the newcomers.
Hetherman said last week that right now he has five cornerbacks he's comfortable playing and that there will likely be a rotation at safety, with Poyser, Thomas, Day and a fourth likely to include one of Markeith Williams, Bryce Fitzgerald and Isaiah Taylor.
'We start every single unit meeting with the ball tape. How many times did we affect the ball in practice today?' Hetherman said. 'There's been days where it's been good and there's other days where the offense has done a really good job of protecting the football. In camp, it's weird, we want to get as many as we can, but on offense they don't want to give it to us at all. But we do as many drills as we can, we try to affect throwing lanes for the quarterback, strip attempt drills or different ways to get the football out in our [individual] periods and in our defensive periods.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
5 hours ago
- Fox Sports
CFP Committee Placing More Emphasis on Teams' Strength of Schedule This Year
College Football CFP Committee Placing More Emphasis on Teams' Strength of Schedule This Year Published Aug. 20, 2025 2:54 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link The College Football Playoff selection committee announced Wednesday it will place more emphasis on strength of schedule this year when determining which teams make the 12-team field. The committee said in a statement that the schedule strength metric has been adjusted to apply greater weight to games against strong opponents. An additional metric, record strength, has been added to go beyond a team's schedule strength to assess how a team performed against that schedule. "This metric rewards teams defeating high-quality opponents while minimizing the penalty for losing to such a team," the committee said. "Conversely, these changes will provide minimal reward for defeating a lower-quality opponent while imposing a greater penalty for losing to such a team." The adjustment to the evaluation process comes after some in the SEC complained about last season's inclusion of — at the time of selections — an 11-2 SMU of the ACC over a 9-3 Alabama or even a 9-3 South Carolina or 9-3 Ole Miss. ADVERTISEMENT SMU's losses were to an unranked BYU and a ranked Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. Alabama had bad losses against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, both .500 at the time, but also had wins over second-ranked Georgia, No. 21 Missouri and No. 14 LSU. Prompted by concerns about how teams that don't play in conference championship games are judged, the committee reviewed the movement of idle teams from the second-to-last ranking to the final ranking. The selection committee reaffirmed that movement in the final week should be evidence-based and did not recommend creating a formal policy prohibiting such movement. The committee also updated its policy on recusal of selection committee members. A member will be fully recused from the evaluation of a team if he or she receives direct compensation from the school in question or has an immediate family member who is a football player, football staff member or senior administrator at the school. A fully recused member is not allowed to participate in any deliberations or vote concerning that school. A member will be partially recused if he or she has a secondary relationship with the school in question, such as an immediate family member employed by the institution but outside the football program or senior administration. A partially recused member may remain present and participate in discussions related to the team in question but is not allowed to participate in votes involving the team. The selection committee will release its five weekly Top 25 rankings on Nov. 4. The final rankings and playoff field will be announced Dec. 7. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football What did you think of this story? share Get more from the College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Newsweek
6 hours ago
- Newsweek
Colts Predicted to Hit Reset Button on QB in 2026 NFL Draft
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. When the Indianapolis Colts drafted Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the consensus was the team was making a worthwhile gamble — one that was applauded by several talent evaluators and analysts. "Time will tell, but I love the gamble: This is the Colts betting on Shane Steichen's ability to develop a young quarterback," The Athletic's Zak Keefer wrote at the time. "Richardson is just 20 years old and has so much ahead of him." But fast forward two years, and not only did Richardson lose the Colts' starting quarterback competition after just two preseason games, he was beaten out by New York Giants castoff Daniel Jones — a player who is fighting his own battle to shed his "draft bust" label. More NFL: 49ers Could Face NFL Punishment Over Brandon Aiyuk Decision Anthony Richardson Sr. #5 of the Indianapolis Colts and head coach Shane Steichen stand for the national anthem prior to an NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on August... Anthony Richardson Sr. #5 of the Indianapolis Colts and head coach Shane Steichen stand for the national anthem prior to an NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on August 7, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. MoreHours after head coach Shane Steichen named Jones Indianapolis' starter on Tuesday, Richardson's agent Deiric Jackson spoke to ESPN, hinting that the relationship between the Colts and Richardson could potentially be fractured. "Trust is a big factor and that is, at best, questionable right now," Jackson said. Steichen told reporters on Tuesday that Jones was his starter for the 2025 season and he wouldn't be on a short leash, prompting many to start wondering if Richardson still had a future in Indianapolis. More NFL: Adam Schefter Drops Major Hint on Shedeur Sanders' Browns Future Some scouts and NFL draft analysts seem convinced he doesn't, which is why ESPN's Field Yates has the Colts taking Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in his early 2026 mock draft. "The Colts recently named Daniel Jones as their starter for the 2025 season, which underscores the team's big need for a true QB of the future," Yates wrote. "The ship seems to have already sailed on Anthony Richardson Sr. Allar has ideal 6-foot-5, 235-pound size, good mobility and a rocket arm. "I also see moments of creativity on the tape. The tools and upside have evaluators intrigued, but they also want to see more consistency and urgency in the pocket in 2025. If he puts it all together, Allar would be a great get for the Colts in this range." Drew Allar #15 of the Penn State Nittany Lions warms up before the 2025 Orange Bowl against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Hard Rock Stadium on January 9, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Drew Allar #15 of the Penn State Nittany Lions warms up before the 2025 Orange Bowl against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Hard Rock Stadium on January 9, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. CFP/Getty Images More NFL: Insider Believes Blockbuster Trade Could Be in the Works for the Patriots Many believed had Allar came out in the 2025 draft, he would've been a top-15 or maybe even top-10 pick. The 21-year-old signal-caller completed a career-high 66.5% of his passes for 3,327 yards, 24 touchdowns, and eight interceptions last season while leading the Nittany Lions to a 13-3 record and 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper has been high on Allar for a while, stating during an appearance on the "Adam Schefter Podcast" that he believes Allar could even work his way into the conversation to be the No. 1 overall pick. "Right now, this is the Drew Allar year," Kiper said. "When you're looking at having guys like that [running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen] back, that should help him and should allow Drew Allar, with another year, to really step it up and to, maybe, become the No. 1 pick overall — or somewhere in the mix to be that first quarterback." More NFL: Chiefs Lose First-Round Pick to Season-Ending Injury
USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
Auburn claims 2004 college football national championship in subtle shot at USC
The 2004 USC Trojans are widely regarded as one of the greatest college football teams of all-time. They went undefeated and wire-to-wire as No. 1 in the AP Poll, with few teams even keeping the score particularly close. In the Orange Bowl, they dominated Oklahoma 55-19 to claim the undisputed national championship. Undisputed until now, at least. On Tuesday, Auburn officially claimed four more football national championships, including the 2004 title. Like the Trojans, the Tigers finished the 2004 season 13-0. However, Auburn finished the year No. 3 in the BCS standings, behind USC and Oklahoma. As a result, the Tigers did not have an opportunity to play for the national championship, instead going to the Sugar Bowl, where they defeated Virginia Tech 16-13. That same Virginia Tech team fell to USC 24-13 earlier in the season. In addition, the Trojans went on the road to the heart of SEC country the year prior and dominated Auburn 24-0. Hence, it is extremely difficult for the Tigers to prove that they were the better team. Ultimately, the widely held consensus is that USC was far and away the best college football team in the country in 2004. Auburn trying to claim otherwise is just another instance of a program trying to make themselves look better than they actually are through revisionist history.
