The Miami Hurricanes held their first scrimmage of fall camp in preparation for the season opener against the Florida Gators on August 24th and head coach Manny Diaz spoke afterwards on what he was seeing from his team.
“We needed it,” Diaz said. “I thought our guys competed hard, but just in terms of the game day - getting in and out of the huddle, getting the plays called in, substitution – you can just tell the little differences between a practice when coaches have been in a player’s ear as opposed to when they have to go out here and show what they really know. So between this day and when we scrimmage next Saturday, we’ll be looking for a lot improvement in those areas.”
Of course, the key area of interest this fall has been the competition at QB and Diaz was encouraged by what he saw out of Tate Martell, N’Kosi Perry, and Jarren Williams as a group.
“Collectively, I was pleased. We rotated the three guys with the ones and twos evenly,” Diaz said. “Combined they completed 71 percent of their passes, which is encouraging. All three guys led a touchdown drive, which was very encouraging for me. The battle rages on. There’s a lot of stuff mechanically and organizationally we need to correct, but all three guys left with something to be proud of.”
The defense limited big plays in the scrimmage and Diaz pointed to two players that stood out on the stop unit.
“Defensively, any time you scrimmage first, it’s your first time tackling. Can we tackle? Can we get guys down in the open field? I didn’t see any long explosive plays break out due to missed tackles, so I thought that was a positive,” Diaz said. “We’re looking for some guys to step up in the secondary, so seeing a guy like Gurvan Hall with two interceptions – one was on a pick, the other was on an outstanding break where he made an outstanding play, that we think he’s that type of guy – was really encouraging. Up front, we have to be a disruptive defense. A guy like Mike Pinckney, you see him popping through with a couple tackles for loss, which is right up his alley.”
On the offensive side, it was two junior athletes that made the most plays in Diaz’s view.
“DeeJay Dallas, I thought, ran the ball really well. Also caught a touchdown pass,” Diaz said. “Really versatile guy, which we’ve already known. I thought, in terms of his day running the ball, it was his best day of training camp. In the back end, down the field, Mike Harley looked really dynamic running routes, dynamic when he had the ball in his hands and had some really good runs after the catch. Other guys did some things too, but those two guys stood out.”
The scrimmage will act as a key point of evaluation for Diaz and his coaching staff, and the Miami head coach implied they will spend the next week narrowing down the reps at each position to favor those they trust to make plays against the Gators.
“This is the most important week of their 2019. That’s what we’ve told them,” Diaz said. “Everything they trained for – every weight they lifted, every sprint they’ve run, everything they’ve done – has been for this six-day period between right now and next Saturday. Because after next Saturday, we have to set sail on the 2019 season and not everyone is invited on the boat. If you want to be on the boat, you’ve got to step up this week. You really have to bring it. You have to compete all week. This is going to be a hard week, intentionally. We told them it’s going to be hard. We have to find out…this is really our last evaluation of separating the ones who like it from the ones who love it.”
“We needed it,” Diaz said. “I thought our guys competed hard, but just in terms of the game day - getting in and out of the huddle, getting the plays called in, substitution – you can just tell the little differences between a practice when coaches have been in a player’s ear as opposed to when they have to go out here and show what they really know. So between this day and when we scrimmage next Saturday, we’ll be looking for a lot improvement in those areas.”
Of course, the key area of interest this fall has been the competition at QB and Diaz was encouraged by what he saw out of Tate Martell, N’Kosi Perry, and Jarren Williams as a group.
“Collectively, I was pleased. We rotated the three guys with the ones and twos evenly,” Diaz said. “Combined they completed 71 percent of their passes, which is encouraging. All three guys led a touchdown drive, which was very encouraging for me. The battle rages on. There’s a lot of stuff mechanically and organizationally we need to correct, but all three guys left with something to be proud of.”
The defense limited big plays in the scrimmage and Diaz pointed to two players that stood out on the stop unit.
“Defensively, any time you scrimmage first, it’s your first time tackling. Can we tackle? Can we get guys down in the open field? I didn’t see any long explosive plays break out due to missed tackles, so I thought that was a positive,” Diaz said. “We’re looking for some guys to step up in the secondary, so seeing a guy like Gurvan Hall with two interceptions – one was on a pick, the other was on an outstanding break where he made an outstanding play, that we think he’s that type of guy – was really encouraging. Up front, we have to be a disruptive defense. A guy like Mike Pinckney, you see him popping through with a couple tackles for loss, which is right up his alley.”
On the offensive side, it was two junior athletes that made the most plays in Diaz’s view.
“DeeJay Dallas, I thought, ran the ball really well. Also caught a touchdown pass,” Diaz said. “Really versatile guy, which we’ve already known. I thought, in terms of his day running the ball, it was his best day of training camp. In the back end, down the field, Mike Harley looked really dynamic running routes, dynamic when he had the ball in his hands and had some really good runs after the catch. Other guys did some things too, but those two guys stood out.”
The scrimmage will act as a key point of evaluation for Diaz and his coaching staff, and the Miami head coach implied they will spend the next week narrowing down the reps at each position to favor those they trust to make plays against the Gators.
“This is the most important week of their 2019. That’s what we’ve told them,” Diaz said. “Everything they trained for – every weight they lifted, every sprint they’ve run, everything they’ve done – has been for this six-day period between right now and next Saturday. Because after next Saturday, we have to set sail on the 2019 season and not everyone is invited on the boat. If you want to be on the boat, you’ve got to step up this week. You really have to bring it. You have to compete all week. This is going to be a hard week, intentionally. We told them it’s going to be hard. We have to find out…this is really our last evaluation of separating the ones who like it from the ones who love it.”
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