Offseason Additions: Qunicy Roche (Transferred from Temple), Chantz Williams (2020 signee), DE Quentin Williams (2020 signee), Elijah Roberts (2020 signee)
Offseason Departures: Gregory Rousseau (Opted out), Jon Garvin (NFL Draft), Trevon Hill (Graduation/UDFA), Scott Patchan (Tranferred to Colorado State)
During the Manny Diaz era at Miami going back to his time as DC, the Hurricanes’ stop-unit has been known for the play of their defensive ends. Over the past 4 seasons, Miami DE’s have set up shop in the opponent’s backfield, regularly creating havoc plays and putting offenses in tough down and distance situations. That production has made them the engine that drives the defense and sets the table for the back seven to make plays, which was certainly true again in 2019. Hurricanes’ defensive ends combined for a whopping 27.5 sacks and 44 TFL last year, helping UM rank among the nation’s leaders in both categories yet again (6th in sacks, 4th in TFL).
However, with yesterday’s news that redshirt sophomore and projected top 10 NFL Draft pick Gregory Rousseau will sit out the 2020 season acting as the final domino, all of that production is now completely gone. Miami does not have a single returning DE that played any meaningful snaps for the team in 2019; Jon Garvin and Trevon Hill are off to the NFL, while Scott Patchan elected to use his 6th season of eligibility at Colorado State. For most programs, that would cause a huge crisis at a position, or at least lead to a ton of question marks in the offseason. Miami, though, has set themselves set up to the point where this could be nothing more than a blip.
That’s a bit of an exaggeration: You can never replace a top 10 player in the country like Rousseau with a snap of the fingers, but it doesn’t hurt when you add one of the top 5 sack artists in the country to your roster. That’s what Diaz did over the offseason when he went out and landed Temple senior grad transfer Quincy Roche, who dominated the AAC in 2019 to win the conference’s Defensive Player of the year Award. Roche finished the 2019 season as the Owls’ leader in tackles for loss (19) and the single-season record holder for sacks (13). He also owns the AAC record for career sacks with 26 and most tackles for loss in a single season. Roche showed up at Miami in spring and demonstrated his speed and quickness off the edge from the get-go, so he is expected to be a major piece in the reload effort in 2020.
Across from Roche, there is a battle brewing that most around the program feel is being led by redshirt junior Jaelan Phillips based on his spring performance. A former 5-star and #1 overall player in the country in the 2017 class, Phillips transferred to UM last year from UCLA after deciding to pick football back up again; he medically retired from the sport for a few months following the 2018 season with the Bruins due to injuries. Phillips sat out for the Canes in 2019 due to transfers rules and was able to use the year to rejuvenate his body, proving that was the case in spring by sporting a bulked up frame that he used to terrorize Miami’s offensive tackles with violent physicality and burst. Phillips was one of the stars of the abbreviated spring and has taken another step towards fulfilling the promise many saw in him out of high school.
Phillips’ main competition for the #2 job will come from Jahfari Harvey, who also had a strong spring camp after adding more muscle while keeping his explosiveness. Harvey saw limited time as a freshman last season in blowouts before shutting it down and taking a redshirt year; while his lack of experience will likely prevent him from winning a starting role out of the gate in 2020, there’s no doubt he’s going to play a key part in this season’s defense. Miami used Hill and Patchan a ton off the bench last year, and Harvey could actually be an upgrade from either of those two in the rotation.
Miami also brought in a strong freshman class at this spot to keep the good times rolling, beginning with Chantz Williams, a national top 100 overall prospect that was able to enroll early for spring. While Williams was limited with a wrist injury in spring, he was able to add an additional 15 pounds of muscle over the offseason to prepare himself for the rigors of the college game. Williams at a minimum will be able to contribute a few snaps per game as a third down specialist or when giving the starters a breather, with the upside for much more.
Redshirt freshman DT Jason Blissett also saw some time working at end in the spring, but it’s unclear if he will permanently stay at the spot or will swing back over to DT in fall. Cameron Williams took a redshirt as a freshman last season and could work his way into the mix as well.
Over the summer months, UM added two more freshmen to the roster in Elijah Roberts and Quentin Williams. Coming in so late, it’s difficult to imagine either of them playing enough to justify burning a redshirt with all the talent in front of them, but Roberts in particular has the versatility and the frame to play inside if necessary, which could help him see the field early on; many see him ending up at DT at some point down the line regardless.
Bottom Line
Without Rousseau, the dynamic really changes here, and the pressure will intensify on each member of the position group to step their game up just a little more than they expected to have to in 2020. Can Roche make a quick adjustment to ACC play coming from the Group of 5 level? Can Phillips stay healthy over a full season and reach his potential? Is Harvey ready for a major role with so little experience? Will a freshman step up to fill out the rotation?
Although this unit does have some questions, compared to any other spot on the roster, I’m the most confident that they will be answered in a positive manner for Miami. If Miami could afford to take a hit anywhere, it was at DE; UM has recruited too well both in the transfer portal and in high school to not find at least one impact player from this group, and I’m inclined to believe they will end up with multiple this fall, especially in a scheme favorable for DE production. I’ll be paying most attention to if Harvey can take a real step forward in his second year, and/or if Chantz Williams proves he’s ready early on, because that will really lessen the burden on the projected starters. The hole that Rousseau leaves in the lineup could also cause Miami to take a committee approach with their backups early in the season until somebody really earns their spot in the rotation.
Offseason Departures: Gregory Rousseau (Opted out), Jon Garvin (NFL Draft), Trevon Hill (Graduation/UDFA), Scott Patchan (Tranferred to Colorado State)
During the Manny Diaz era at Miami going back to his time as DC, the Hurricanes’ stop-unit has been known for the play of their defensive ends. Over the past 4 seasons, Miami DE’s have set up shop in the opponent’s backfield, regularly creating havoc plays and putting offenses in tough down and distance situations. That production has made them the engine that drives the defense and sets the table for the back seven to make plays, which was certainly true again in 2019. Hurricanes’ defensive ends combined for a whopping 27.5 sacks and 44 TFL last year, helping UM rank among the nation’s leaders in both categories yet again (6th in sacks, 4th in TFL).
However, with yesterday’s news that redshirt sophomore and projected top 10 NFL Draft pick Gregory Rousseau will sit out the 2020 season acting as the final domino, all of that production is now completely gone. Miami does not have a single returning DE that played any meaningful snaps for the team in 2019; Jon Garvin and Trevon Hill are off to the NFL, while Scott Patchan elected to use his 6th season of eligibility at Colorado State. For most programs, that would cause a huge crisis at a position, or at least lead to a ton of question marks in the offseason. Miami, though, has set themselves set up to the point where this could be nothing more than a blip.
That’s a bit of an exaggeration: You can never replace a top 10 player in the country like Rousseau with a snap of the fingers, but it doesn’t hurt when you add one of the top 5 sack artists in the country to your roster. That’s what Diaz did over the offseason when he went out and landed Temple senior grad transfer Quincy Roche, who dominated the AAC in 2019 to win the conference’s Defensive Player of the year Award. Roche finished the 2019 season as the Owls’ leader in tackles for loss (19) and the single-season record holder for sacks (13). He also owns the AAC record for career sacks with 26 and most tackles for loss in a single season. Roche showed up at Miami in spring and demonstrated his speed and quickness off the edge from the get-go, so he is expected to be a major piece in the reload effort in 2020.
Across from Roche, there is a battle brewing that most around the program feel is being led by redshirt junior Jaelan Phillips based on his spring performance. A former 5-star and #1 overall player in the country in the 2017 class, Phillips transferred to UM last year from UCLA after deciding to pick football back up again; he medically retired from the sport for a few months following the 2018 season with the Bruins due to injuries. Phillips sat out for the Canes in 2019 due to transfers rules and was able to use the year to rejuvenate his body, proving that was the case in spring by sporting a bulked up frame that he used to terrorize Miami’s offensive tackles with violent physicality and burst. Phillips was one of the stars of the abbreviated spring and has taken another step towards fulfilling the promise many saw in him out of high school.
Phillips’ main competition for the #2 job will come from Jahfari Harvey, who also had a strong spring camp after adding more muscle while keeping his explosiveness. Harvey saw limited time as a freshman last season in blowouts before shutting it down and taking a redshirt year; while his lack of experience will likely prevent him from winning a starting role out of the gate in 2020, there’s no doubt he’s going to play a key part in this season’s defense. Miami used Hill and Patchan a ton off the bench last year, and Harvey could actually be an upgrade from either of those two in the rotation.
Miami also brought in a strong freshman class at this spot to keep the good times rolling, beginning with Chantz Williams, a national top 100 overall prospect that was able to enroll early for spring. While Williams was limited with a wrist injury in spring, he was able to add an additional 15 pounds of muscle over the offseason to prepare himself for the rigors of the college game. Williams at a minimum will be able to contribute a few snaps per game as a third down specialist or when giving the starters a breather, with the upside for much more.
Redshirt freshman DT Jason Blissett also saw some time working at end in the spring, but it’s unclear if he will permanently stay at the spot or will swing back over to DT in fall. Cameron Williams took a redshirt as a freshman last season and could work his way into the mix as well.
Over the summer months, UM added two more freshmen to the roster in Elijah Roberts and Quentin Williams. Coming in so late, it’s difficult to imagine either of them playing enough to justify burning a redshirt with all the talent in front of them, but Roberts in particular has the versatility and the frame to play inside if necessary, which could help him see the field early on; many see him ending up at DT at some point down the line regardless.
Bottom Line
Without Rousseau, the dynamic really changes here, and the pressure will intensify on each member of the position group to step their game up just a little more than they expected to have to in 2020. Can Roche make a quick adjustment to ACC play coming from the Group of 5 level? Can Phillips stay healthy over a full season and reach his potential? Is Harvey ready for a major role with so little experience? Will a freshman step up to fill out the rotation?
Although this unit does have some questions, compared to any other spot on the roster, I’m the most confident that they will be answered in a positive manner for Miami. If Miami could afford to take a hit anywhere, it was at DE; UM has recruited too well both in the transfer portal and in high school to not find at least one impact player from this group, and I’m inclined to believe they will end up with multiple this fall, especially in a scheme favorable for DE production. I’ll be paying most attention to if Harvey can take a real step forward in his second year, and/or if Chantz Williams proves he’s ready early on, because that will really lessen the burden on the projected starters. The hole that Rousseau leaves in the lineup could also cause Miami to take a committee approach with their backups early in the season until somebody really earns their spot in the rotation.
