Over the course of the summer, Canes305 and The Beast will be answering your questions regarding some of the hottest topics surrounding Hurricane Nation. The first question comes from Chris in Ft. Lauderdale:
“Who will emerge at wide receiver and cornerback this year?”
Canes305: Seems we’re asking ourselves this question every summer and at season’s end the guys we expected to see big time play out of seemed to disappoint.
With the new coaching staff, I’m curious to see what becomes of some upperclassmen who have seemed poised for breakout years, but haven’t broke through. Especially guys like Aldarius Johnson and LaRon Byrd at wideout.
I want to believe Travis Benjamin bounces back this year as his issues last year seemed to be mental more than physical and I think Byrd is the one who separates himself from some of the other big guys.
As far as newcomers, I’ll throw Allen Hurns out there. Coaches seem to like him and his 6-foot-3 frame. Hurns had a year in the old system, but like everyone gets a fresh start and clean slate with the new staff. All these guys are learning a new playbook, which levels the playing field.
At corner, the list is sparse and there’s reason for concern, but there are some guys there who can step up. Being that it’s wide open, I’ll go with Keion Payne to step up, as well as newbie Thomas Finnie. Finnie sounds like his head is on straight and again, with a new system there are no favorites, so a true freshman starting won’t be unheard of this season.
The Beast: I’m not sure anyone on this team is ready to have the record breaking year that Leonard Hankerson had. It truly was an amazing story to see Hank go from a guy I thought might not make it four years here at Miami to a guy that we counted on to make big plays.
I’m getting to the point where I’m wondering whether we’ve seen the best from Johnson / Byrd. Those guys would be the natural answer to the question, but I’m going in a different direction. 305 referenced him and I’m following his lead; Allen Hurns. Coach Golden loves this guy and he has a good reason to.
When Coach was able to watch a few practices in December and the debacle in El Paso against Notre Dame, he noticed the hustle by Hurns – even on special teams. When a guy gives that much effort in adverse situations, you know he’s ready to bring it when the lights shine on him. I look for Hurns to continue his development and be a pretty good player by season’s end.
As for corner … it’s a bit more tricky. I’d like to see JoJo Nicholas or Brandon McGee really emerge – and they might – but I’m going to go out on a limb, picking Lee Chambers.
Chambers made the move from running back and he’s hungry for playing time. He improved greatly over the spring and he’s a guy that’s been around long enough to understand the hard work it takes to get on the field.
Corner is a position that can be picked up in a short time, if a guy has the athleticism. I believe Chambers does.
Could he be the next Sam Shields and be another example of a player leaving offense, for defense and shining? We’ll see. I also really like Finnie. Literally every player I talked to in this spring smiled when I asked them about Finnie. I don’t like to have high expectations for freshmen, though. One great spring may not equal a great fall.
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