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Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Injuries derailed their 2024 season. Can they help the Miami Hurricanes in 2025?
Damari Brown and Ryan Rodriguez were poised for big roles with the Miami Hurricanes last season. Both impressed during spring practices and fall camp to the point that they cracked the starting lineup for Miami's season opener against the Florida Gators, Brown at cornerback and Rodriguez at left guard. Isaiah Taylor, meanwhile, was hoping to carve out a role in the secondary behind starters Mishael Powell and Jaden Harris after transferring in from Arizona. But before they knew it, their seasons were derailed. Brown injured his foot covering a deep ball in the Gators game. Rodriguez broke his leg against UF. And Taylor ultimately needed a pair of shoulder surgeries for injuries sustained before the season began. It's a year later now, and all three are fully healthy and once again fully in control of their path to helping a Hurricanes team trying to improve on a 2024 season in which they went 10-3 but missed out on both the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game and the 12-team College Football Playoff. They know roles aren't guaranteed and there's competition for playing time as Miami increased its talent and depth across the roster through the transfer portal and recruiting, but Brown, Rodriguez and Taylor are doing what they can to remain in the grand scheme of Miami's plans. 'I'm excited,' Rodriguez said, 'to get the chance to prove myself again.' Rodriguez, a redshirt senior entering his final year of college football, that this is his final chance to make a statement. He has only played in eight games during his Hurricanes career, missing all of 2022 due to injury and only getting on the field for the Florida game last season before the leg injury derailed his opportunity to show he can be a full-time starter. 'Last year, I finally made a little name for myself, and I'm not satisfied with that,' Rodriguez said. 'Obviously there was an obstacle that I had to overcome. I got injured; fixed it, recovered, rehabbed, and now I feel like I'm better than I was last year. I got smarter over that time. That's something that I really feel like I needed to focus on.' With Rodriguez sidelined last season, Matt McCoy entrenched himself as the team's starting left guard and played steady all season despite dealing with a torn labrum in his right shoulder all season. Rodriguez has been taking reps at both guard spots and center during practices to give the Hurricanes an option off the bench. 'I know what to do at all three spots,' Rodriguez said. 'Whatever [offensive line] coach [Alex Mirabal] tells me to do, I just go out there and do it. That's that's really it. I don't ask too much.' Brown, like Rodriguez, was poised for a big role last season. He started opposite Daryl Porter Jr. at outside corner in the season opener against the Gators before sustaining a foot injury early in that game covering a deep ball. Brown missed the next 10 games before making a brief appearance in Miami's regular-season finale against Syracuse. 'It was a big, unexpected injury,' Brown said. While he was sidelined, Brown took onus upon himself to become a 'another voice to the guys out there.' He used his time rehabbing to see the game 'through a different lens' and act essentially as a player coach during practices. Now that he's back, his goal is to make an impact in a revamped secondary that was one of the Hurricanes' biggest weaknesses a year ago. Depth was thin by the end of the season, and the group's performance handicapped what could have been a stellar season. Miami added six new defensive backs via the transfer portal, including four cornerbacks in Xavier Lucas, Keionte Scott, Ethan O'Connor and Charles Brantley. That quartet plus Brown and freshman All-American OJ Frederique Jr. gives the Hurricanes a much-improved two-deep depth chart at cornerback. 'Things happened for the better,' Brown said. '... Just don't look back.' As for Taylor, he's still waiting to get on the field for the first time with Miami. He transferred to UM last season from Arizona with the hopes of being part of the Hurricanes' safety rotation and make an impact on special teams. That opportunity never came because of shoulder injuries that ultimately required a pair of surgeries. 'It got me missing the game a lot more than I really thought I was going to be,' Taylor, entering his redshirt senior season and the son of defensive line coach Jason Taylor, said of the injuries. What his role will be for Miami is still to be determined. Transfers Zechariah Poyser and Jakobe Thomas are projected to be Miami's starting safeties. From there, Taylor will compete with returnees Markeith Williams and Dylan Day plus true freshmen Amari Wallace and Bryce Fitzgerald for playing time. 'We do have a real talented group and a lot of experience as well,' Taylor said. 'For me, wherever coach wants me to play, I'll play. I'm very versatile where I need to be, and I'll take advantage of any opportunity I get.'
Miami Herald
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Miami Hurricanes ‘needed to make some changes' on defense. Will they pan out?
When the Miami Hurricanes begin the 2025 season on Aug. 31 against Notre Dame, all eyes will be on their overhauled defense. Coach Mario Cristobal wasted little time reforming the group that handicapped his team a year ago. It started at the top with a change in defensive coordinator, with Corey Hetherman replacing Lance Guidry. It continued with the rest of the defensive coaching staff, with defensive line coach Jason Taylor the lone holdover from the group. New to the staff are defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge, safeties coach Will Harris and defensive tackles coach Damione Lewis. And it is seen in the roster, with Miami digging deep into the transfer portal to find reinforcements. The Hurricanes have nine new additions on defense this year via the portal, including six defensive backs to shore up the team's weakest position from a year ago. Safeties Zechariah Poyser and Jakobe Thomas plus cornerbacks Xavier Lucas, Charles Brantley and Keionte Scott lead that group. 'All in all, we felt like we needed to make some changes in that department,' Cristobal said, 'and we made them.' And for good reason. Miami's offense was the best in the nation last year, leading the country in scoring (43.9 points per game), yards per game (537.2), yards per play (7.57) and third-down success rate (56.25 percent). The defense? Not so much. It regressed significantly in Guidry's second season and was a major reason the season ended with a 10-3 record and Miami missing the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game and a chance to compete in the 12-team College Football Playoff. The Hurricanes ranked 68th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 25.3 points per game — a number that ballooned to 30.8 points per game in conference play. In Guidry's first season as defensive coordinator, Miami allowed an average of 22.8 points per game but only gave up more than 40 points in a game once compared to three times last season. Miami ended the season losing three of its final four games after a 9-0 start, including giving up 42 points apiece in its final two games to Syracuse and Iowa State, which averaged 34.1 and 31.1 points per game respectively. Miami led 21-0 in the second quarter of the Syracuse game and 38-28 midway through the third quarter of the Iowa State game before eventually losing both contests. UM also lost 28-23 to a one-dimensional Georgia Tech team that ran for 271 yards — the most Miami has allowed in a game since giving up a school-record 554 rushing yards on Dec. 12, 2020. 'After Week 4 last year, we took a downturn,' Cristobal said. 'We slipped defensively. I don't want to blame anybody. I always look at myself and say, 'What could I have done better?' We had some injuries that led to some schematic changes that weren't the best for our football program.' Enter Hetherman and the slew of other changes on defense. Players have praised Hetherman's aggressive style of coaching and the relentless pressure he wants them to force up front. It was a big part in how he turned Minnesota's defenses into one of the top in the country last year before joining the Hurricanes. 'I love coach Hetherman,' sixth-year senior defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor said. 'He's a great teacher. He's just an aggressive guy, as you guys can see in his interviews. But he really just gets it down to the point. He's a technician; anything you have, he'll probably answer your question before you ask it. But he's an amazing person, a great coach, and he just lets us play free, play fast.' But with that comes lessons that need to be learned. The Hurricanes defense struggled with communication issues a year ago, which led to a lot of the opponents' chunk plays. That became a priority for Hetherman right from the start. 'If you don't communicate,' Mesidor said, 'your defense is going to get just torched.' A foundation was laid during spring practices. It will continue when fall practices begin on July 31. And then it will be put to the test a month after that. Players to watch While the Hurricanes have their share of established guys, Mesidor and senior linebacker Wesley Bissainthe have a few teammates — some returnees, some new — they're looking forward to seeing take the field this season. Mesidor pointed out sophomore defensive lineman Armondo Blount ('If you're looking for a guy who's going to run to that ball and just has maximum effort, he'll pop out on film') while Bissainthe mentioned Miami's two linebacker transfers in Mohamed Toure and Kamal Bonner, both of whom committed to Miami during the spring transfer window. Other names they mentioned included cornerback transfer Ethan O'Connor and linebacker Raul 'Popo' Aguirre. 'I'm excited to show the world what we've got,' Mesidor said.
Miami Herald
14-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Five Miami Hurricanes players who improved their standing during spring practices
The Miami Hurricanes' 15-practice spring regiment concluded Saturday with the team's spring game, and coach Mario Cristobal toed the line between praising his group and understanding more work needs to be done as the team prepares for the season ahead. 'A lot of ground was made,' Cristobal said after the scrimmage. 'I will never come up here and try to fluff up the spring. We have a ways to go, but we have progressed so much. We are excited. We feel like every spring we are getting better and I feel the same way about this spring.' The team will reconvene in late July to resume preparation for the 2025 season, which begins Aug. 31 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Miami is coming off a 10-3 season in which it started 9-0 and then faltered down the stretch, losing out on chances to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game and the 12-team College Football Playoff in the process. In the meantime, here are five players who took a step forward this spring. Offensive lineman Markel Bell Bell has the size at 6-9 to be a menacing force at left tackle. He got valuable reps last season as well when starter Jalen Rivers missed five games and then continued getting spot playing time when Rivers did return. Now, Bell looks poised to take over full-time at left tackle for a starting offensive line that should also include left guard Ryan Rodriguez, center James Brockermeyer, right guard Anez Cooper and right tackle Francis Mauigoa. The offensive line will need to be a strength for the Hurricanes in 2025. Defensive back Xavier Lucas Of the handful of defensive backs who transferred to Miami this winter, Lucas has been the most consistent. With OJ Frederique and Jadais Richard slowed by injury during spring practice, Lucas got ample reps with the first-team defense and should be a regular in the Hurricanes' rotation. At full strength, the Hurricanes will have plenty of depth at cornerback. In addition to Lucas and Frederique most likely projecting Miami's starting cornerbacks, Miami also has Richard once he returns, Damari Brown (who played just two games due to injury last season) and transfers Charles Brantley, Emmanuel Karnley and Ethan O'Connor as part of the rotation. Defensive back Markeith Williams And while most of the talk around the defensive backs is on the newcomers, one returnee who was noticeable during the spring game Saturday was rising redshirt junior Markeith Williams. He got reps with the first team opposite transfer Zechariah Poyser during the scrimmage with Zaquan Patterson limited with injury. In 25 games with the Hurricanes, Williams has 31 tackles, two pass breakups and one tackle for loss. In addition to Williams, Poyser and Patterson, rising sophomore Dylan Day and true freshman Amari Wallace could factor into the rotation as well. Malachi Toney The freshman wide receiver out of Plantation American Heritage appears to be cementing himself as the front-runner to be Miami's slot receiver. He showcased his shiftiness and hands during the scrimmage and has been giving junior Ray Ray Joseph a run for his money at the position. Defensive tackle Donta Simpson Another true freshman who stood out during spring, Simpson was a standout at Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna. He was overlooked at the start of spring because he was only a three-star recruit, but Simpson flashed throughout the spring and could find himself as part of Miami's defensive tackle rotation that figures to feature Louisiana Tech transfer David Blay, Justin Scott and Ahmad Moten.
Miami Herald
25-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cam Ward's advice to Carson Beck as he takes over as Miami Hurricanes quarterback
At this point last year, Cam Ward was in the position that Carson Beck is in now. He was the Miami Hurricanes' new quarterback, a veteran who transferred in for his final season of collegiate eligibility hoping to raise his draft stock. Things worked out well for Ward, who set just about every notable single-season record for a UM quarterback on his way to being a Heisman Trophy finalist and very likely the No. 1 overall pick in next month's NFL draft. So what advice would Ward give to Beck as he attempts to follow up Ward's efforts? 'I think the biggest thing that I would tell Carson is just be himself and try to win games,' Ward said Monday after UM's Pro Day. 'At the end of the day, they can talk how bad they want about you, but if you win games, you've got the one-up on them.' Ward led Miami to a 10-3 season in 2024, the Hurricanes' first 10-win season since 2017. They started 9-0 and had an inside track to make both the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game and the 12-team College Football Playoff before dropping two of their final three regular-season games and then ultimately losing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl to wrap up the campaign. In his one year at Miami after spending two seasons apiece at FCS-level Incarnate Word and then Washington State, Ward set the Hurricanes' single-season school records for completions (305), passing yards (4,313), passing touchdowns (39) and completion percentage (67.2 percent). He was Miami's first Heisman Trophy finalist since 2002 and could potentially become just the third player in the Hurricanes' storied history to be selected first overall in the NFL Draft, joining quarterback Vinny Testaverde in 1987 and defensive tackle Russell Maryland in 1991. Beck has a track record of winning from his time at Georgia. He went 24-3 during his two seasons as a starter at Georgia. That included leading the Bulldogs to the SEC Championship Game last season before sustaining a season-ending elbow injury in that game. Beck has not yet gone through a full practice with the Hurricanes while rehabbing that injury. Statistically, Beck was dominant in 2023, his first season as Georgia's starter. He completed 72 percent of his passes for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns against six interceptions. He took a step back in 2024. In 13 games, he completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns but also threw 12 interceptions — tied for the most among quarterbacks at Power 4 schools this season — before sustaining the elbow injury in the second half of the SEC Championship Game. Beck has 51 pass plays of at least 30 yards over the past two years. He's cerebral and knows when to audible at the line of scrimmage. But Ward said Beck should be able to thrive at Miami. Ward praised offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson's scheme for being quarterback friendly. 'Don't really look at the stat sheet and what I did this year, because at the end of the day, it wasn't hard,' Ward said. 'You're talking about a quarterback playing in coach Dawson's offense. You should at least throw 30 touchdowns a year.'
