Miami Hurricanes Spring Game Thoughts

Another spring game has come and gone for the Miami Hurricanes and the general consensus a few days later; mild confusion.

Spring games as a whole always grade out as an incomplete. No one is going full speed, back-ups get their reps, the depth chart itself is sideways and in an era where freshmen earn their fair share of playing time, many Hurricanes who will play this fall aren’t even on campus yet.

Offense is usually a few steps behind (even more so this year with running back Joseph Yearby suspended for missing curfew), while defense capitalizes on the inconsistencies by an “O” not yet ready to go.

Some instant highlight, lowlights and everything in-between:

Brad Kaaya has remained consistent in his play as of late—outside of three first-half interceptions in the spring game—while r-freshman Malik Rosier is making the type of forward progress not seen by Miami’s second-stringers in forever.

Kaaya undoubtedly has the job locked down and should be a force this fall when he’s under center for his second consecutive season, but with the emergence of Rosier, the Hurricanes have another offensive option that they haven’t been afforded in years past.

Whether that means James Coley goes to some type of wildcat packages or other run-type plays, the Canes need every offensive advantage they can get when thinking about how this team will fare without the firepower of Duke Johnson, Phillip Dorsett and Clive Walford this fall.

As mentioned earlier, Yearby was “unavailable” so the onus was on Gus Edwards to carry the load; which was limited due to a shoulder injury.

Still, Edwards did enough over the past few weeks to leave coaches feeling optimistic about the junior’s abilities come fall and coupled with Yearby and true freshman Mark Walton, the Canes won’t easily replace The Duke Of Coral Gables, but will have a handful of options at their disposal.

Speaking of the losses of Dorsett at receiver and Walford at tight end, Miami lacks experience regarding pass-catchers and needs someone to step up quickly.

Stacy Coley is coming out of a sophomore slump, while Rashawn Scott has battled injuries and suspension the better part of his career.

Herb Waters also hasn’t been a picture of consistency, while Braxton Berrios will need to take things up a notch as a sophomore—which looks to be on track after a five-catch, 31-yard first half at Lockhart Stadium this past Saturday. Coley also did his part with two long grabs—29 and 27 yards apiece.

Scott has earned the praise of coaches this spring, but again, what does that really mean now and how will it translate by fall? As for Coley, last year’s disappearing act was an enigma and Waters has faced some setbacks both on and off the field.

In short, Kaaya will only go as far as these guys carry him and right now the receivers position remains a huge x-factor—putting more pressure on tight ends coach Larry Scott and the guys he’s working to coach up this off-season.

Standish Dobard began making a name for himself last season, while guys like Chris Herndon, David Njoku and JUCO transfer Jerome Washington all have a shot at replacing Walford’s numbers, production and presence.

Offensive line … meh. Too many intangibles right now to even go there. There are some huge losses—Ereck Flowers, Shane McDermott and Jon Feliciano—while KC McDermott and Taylor Gadbois battle back from season-ending injuries last year.

Nick Linder was a bright spot as a freshman in 2014, while Sunny Odogwu has impressed in spring, but will that carry over? Can sophomore Trevor Darling take a step forward? Also, what can Hunter Wells and Alex Gall do?

Whatever happens, seems like coach Art Kehoe and the Canes are in for a game of musical chairs early in the season. The biggest hope is that inconsistency doesn’t cost Miami any early games before that chemistry is discovered.

While it’s hard to overpraise the defense at this point of the year, there were certainly some standout moments and players who appear ready to take a step forward. Whether they do or don’t when it counts remains to be seen, though.

Safety Jamal Carter was responsible for two of Kaaya’s three interceptions, while Jermaine Grace pulled down a pass from Rosier. Linebacker Raphael Kirby had a few tackles for losses, while the defense as a whole was pressuring the quarterback and creating some havoc.

Al-Quadin Muhammad is back in the fold after being suspended all of last season and while he has put in the work and passes the eye test physically, remains to be see what he can do on Saturdays come fall.

Coupled with Chad Thomas and Jelani Hamilton—considered this spring’s most improved player—the defensive line should be improved, albeit not yet the dominant force is needs to be.

Courtel Jenkins, Earl Moore, Calvin Heurtelou and a lighter Michael Wyche—will somebody step up, or will be another year where Miami has to hope that next year’s class brings in the type of studs that have eluded the position for way too long?

Lastly, a hearty thanks to all those who came out to the spring game.

No, Miami won’t soon compete with the insanity that surrounds the off-season in such places like Norman, OK or Tuscaloosa, AL but the Hurricanes program is turning a corner in regards to occasions such as these, with the athletic department working harder to put on more event and creating bigger draws which are impacting overall turnouts.

allCanes recent did a promo for the Canes’ home basketball game against North Carolina Coastal, where a ticket stub earned a discount. This time around we’re making the fan support promo universal to all—30-percent off any one item ins tore between now and April 5th.

Use promo code SPGA2015 online or print out / bring in the coupon below and get your discount.

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