Coming off his team’s 52-10 blowout of rival Florida State over the weekend, Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz praised his players’ ability to dominate in situational football against the Seminoles.
“Watching the film of the Florida State game, again just very impressed with our effort. We were relentless all night,” Diaz said. “As I suggested after the game, it was really the critical situations that made the score look the way it did - possession downs and red zone. We were dominant in possession downs, they couldn’t get us off the field on third down… That was running the ball, throwing the ball, different guys making plays, a total team effort on possession downs.
“They got in our red zone four times and only came away with 10 points. Holding them to the field goal on the first drive was so important, and that’s winning football on both sides. So again, proud of our guys.”
Offensively, the Canes exploded for 517 total yards and a series-record 52 points against FSU on Saturday. Does Diaz feel the attack unit has developed a true offensive identity as of yet?
“Absolutely, you can say that after three games,” Diaz said. “Playing fast and playing physical is what we want to do. That’s why that UAB game was very important in terms of how fast and how physical we can play. And now we’re getting more confidence, not just in terms of having results that make us feel better about ourselves, but just from a conditioning level. You have to believe you can put yourself through some things offensively to be as relentless as we are. Ultimately, what you’re doing is you’re taking the defense to a level of discomfort they’re not used to. Our guys are getting a better hang of it.
“We had a 13-play drive, an 18-play drive, that’s a lot of body blows you’re landing to that opposition. It’s early, but in terms of at least seeing what it’s supposed to look like, I think we’ve accomplished that.”
With the game clearly in hand in the fourth quarter, UM was able to get a ton of snaps for their second and third stringers, and Diaz pointed out a few players he thought made the most of their extra burn.
“Chantz Williams being able to get in there, obviously we got Elijah Roberts in there, Quentin Williams made a play down there in the red zone, Isaiah Dunson and Brian Balom got a lot of reps in the secondary, Jalen Harrell had a nice tackle,” Diaz said. “We got 30 guys with a tackle or assist in the game. Offensively, getting Jalen Rivers a couple of at-bats. Again, Mike Redding in the first half makes a tightly contested catch on one-to-one man coverage on a third and five. It was good to see all our freshmen out there contributing.”
All of those players listed were freshman, and Diaz is reiterated just how high he is on what the 2020 class has added to the program thus far.
“This class has something to it, I’ve been saying that,” Diaz said. “David Feeley still does a 5:45 [a.m.] developmental lift with all the new guys. You can really tell by how they work when no one’s watching. You can see the talent on the field, but really who you are gets tested in that weight room every week. All the reports come back: These guys are different. They want to work, they want to be great.
“We saw that when they stuck with us through some of the dark moments we had last fall. They have been who we thought they were and it’s fun to watch those guys develop and grow. That’s what it’s all about, about adding like-minded people to your program, the culture you want to build. And then I do think they’re benefiting from better, older leadership than we’ve had in the past. So it’s fun to watch those guys, those guys are really fun to be around.”
On the injury front, Diaz feels the team has avoided any major blows thus far.
“For three weeks into the season, we are about as healthy as we can be,” Diaz said. “There are some bumps and bruises along the way, but this week will be valuable to get guys rested up into the next little three game run following our bye.”
After UM’s bye week, the Canes get their first shot at #1 Clemson since falling to the Tigers 38-3 in the 2017 ACC Championship Game three seasons ago.
“We’re still a ways out in terms of even getting them scouted, seeing who they really are,” Diaz said of Clemson. “Obviously, that night in Charlotte wasn’t one of our best nights. It felt they were playing the game, we were playing the occasion. You could tell by the way we were reaction in the first seven, eight minutes of the game. They have earned the right to be where they are right now, earned it by getting in some of these type of games, losing it and learning from it and passing that knowledge down from class to class. There’s something to be said about that. In our league, we all know we are measuring ourselves by how we stack up against those guys.”
Following the showdown with Clemson, UM will face-off with #24 Pitt and then Virginia, a stretch that Diaz expects will challenge Miami’s offense.
“The next three, you go (Brent) Venables, (Pat) Narduzzi and (Bronco) Mendenhall, those are three guys that know how to build a defense,” Diaz said. “Just the challenges that are ahead, we didn’t sit around and say we’re defined by what happened a year ago, and we can’t sit around and say we are going to be defined by what happened the last few weeks. We know the things we have to improve on while we’re winning, and that’s really what good teams do. They don’t wait for the pain of defeat to be the motivation to fix some mistakes.”
While some might have concerns about the increased possibility of COVID-19 exposure as the Canes’ players head into their bye week, Diaz isn’t worried about the extra time off and feels that his team understands the importance of steering clear of risky situations.
“There will be a little more idle time,” Diaz said. “And not to mention, the numbers are going down, but we’re easing restrictions (in Florida), and no one knows how that is going to go. What we told the team today is we’ve been at this since June 15. And Dec. 5 (the season finale vs. UNC) is just over nine and a half weeks away. The story, no matter what it looks like right now, is going to be written over the nine and a half weeks, and that will determine what happens next after that day.
“Man, it seems like it’s worth it for nine and a half weeks, right? Because we’ve made the right decisions for a much longer period of time. For nine and a half weeks to control what we can control, make the proper decisions when we’re not in this building. At the end of the day it comes down to trust, and I trust our guys to do right and to protect the team.”
Diaz also touched on how analytics and research is conducted within the program, mentioning that the team does outsource data from certain services.
“We don’t have one person that organizes it, a data coordinator,” Diaz said. “But we do subscribe to a couple of different services, different than sometimes the way they present I guess to the public. In some ways, it helps us scouting film, we use a lot of data involving that, we do subscribe to a service that helps in terms of gameday decision making, down and distance, situation management, timeout management. Anyone that has numbers, we try to look at what can help us in addition to our scouting of ourselves and our opposition.”
“Watching the film of the Florida State game, again just very impressed with our effort. We were relentless all night,” Diaz said. “As I suggested after the game, it was really the critical situations that made the score look the way it did - possession downs and red zone. We were dominant in possession downs, they couldn’t get us off the field on third down… That was running the ball, throwing the ball, different guys making plays, a total team effort on possession downs.
“They got in our red zone four times and only came away with 10 points. Holding them to the field goal on the first drive was so important, and that’s winning football on both sides. So again, proud of our guys.”
Offensively, the Canes exploded for 517 total yards and a series-record 52 points against FSU on Saturday. Does Diaz feel the attack unit has developed a true offensive identity as of yet?
“Absolutely, you can say that after three games,” Diaz said. “Playing fast and playing physical is what we want to do. That’s why that UAB game was very important in terms of how fast and how physical we can play. And now we’re getting more confidence, not just in terms of having results that make us feel better about ourselves, but just from a conditioning level. You have to believe you can put yourself through some things offensively to be as relentless as we are. Ultimately, what you’re doing is you’re taking the defense to a level of discomfort they’re not used to. Our guys are getting a better hang of it.
“We had a 13-play drive, an 18-play drive, that’s a lot of body blows you’re landing to that opposition. It’s early, but in terms of at least seeing what it’s supposed to look like, I think we’ve accomplished that.”
With the game clearly in hand in the fourth quarter, UM was able to get a ton of snaps for their second and third stringers, and Diaz pointed out a few players he thought made the most of their extra burn.
“Chantz Williams being able to get in there, obviously we got Elijah Roberts in there, Quentin Williams made a play down there in the red zone, Isaiah Dunson and Brian Balom got a lot of reps in the secondary, Jalen Harrell had a nice tackle,” Diaz said. “We got 30 guys with a tackle or assist in the game. Offensively, getting Jalen Rivers a couple of at-bats. Again, Mike Redding in the first half makes a tightly contested catch on one-to-one man coverage on a third and five. It was good to see all our freshmen out there contributing.”
All of those players listed were freshman, and Diaz is reiterated just how high he is on what the 2020 class has added to the program thus far.
“This class has something to it, I’ve been saying that,” Diaz said. “David Feeley still does a 5:45 [a.m.] developmental lift with all the new guys. You can really tell by how they work when no one’s watching. You can see the talent on the field, but really who you are gets tested in that weight room every week. All the reports come back: These guys are different. They want to work, they want to be great.
“We saw that when they stuck with us through some of the dark moments we had last fall. They have been who we thought they were and it’s fun to watch those guys develop and grow. That’s what it’s all about, about adding like-minded people to your program, the culture you want to build. And then I do think they’re benefiting from better, older leadership than we’ve had in the past. So it’s fun to watch those guys, those guys are really fun to be around.”
On the injury front, Diaz feels the team has avoided any major blows thus far.
“For three weeks into the season, we are about as healthy as we can be,” Diaz said. “There are some bumps and bruises along the way, but this week will be valuable to get guys rested up into the next little three game run following our bye.”
After UM’s bye week, the Canes get their first shot at #1 Clemson since falling to the Tigers 38-3 in the 2017 ACC Championship Game three seasons ago.
“We’re still a ways out in terms of even getting them scouted, seeing who they really are,” Diaz said of Clemson. “Obviously, that night in Charlotte wasn’t one of our best nights. It felt they were playing the game, we were playing the occasion. You could tell by the way we were reaction in the first seven, eight minutes of the game. They have earned the right to be where they are right now, earned it by getting in some of these type of games, losing it and learning from it and passing that knowledge down from class to class. There’s something to be said about that. In our league, we all know we are measuring ourselves by how we stack up against those guys.”
Following the showdown with Clemson, UM will face-off with #24 Pitt and then Virginia, a stretch that Diaz expects will challenge Miami’s offense.
“The next three, you go (Brent) Venables, (Pat) Narduzzi and (Bronco) Mendenhall, those are three guys that know how to build a defense,” Diaz said. “Just the challenges that are ahead, we didn’t sit around and say we’re defined by what happened a year ago, and we can’t sit around and say we are going to be defined by what happened the last few weeks. We know the things we have to improve on while we’re winning, and that’s really what good teams do. They don’t wait for the pain of defeat to be the motivation to fix some mistakes.”
While some might have concerns about the increased possibility of COVID-19 exposure as the Canes’ players head into their bye week, Diaz isn’t worried about the extra time off and feels that his team understands the importance of steering clear of risky situations.
“There will be a little more idle time,” Diaz said. “And not to mention, the numbers are going down, but we’re easing restrictions (in Florida), and no one knows how that is going to go. What we told the team today is we’ve been at this since June 15. And Dec. 5 (the season finale vs. UNC) is just over nine and a half weeks away. The story, no matter what it looks like right now, is going to be written over the nine and a half weeks, and that will determine what happens next after that day.
“Man, it seems like it’s worth it for nine and a half weeks, right? Because we’ve made the right decisions for a much longer period of time. For nine and a half weeks to control what we can control, make the proper decisions when we’re not in this building. At the end of the day it comes down to trust, and I trust our guys to do right and to protect the team.”
Diaz also touched on how analytics and research is conducted within the program, mentioning that the team does outsource data from certain services.
“We don’t have one person that organizes it, a data coordinator,” Diaz said. “But we do subscribe to a couple of different services, different than sometimes the way they present I guess to the public. In some ways, it helps us scouting film, we use a lot of data involving that, we do subscribe to a service that helps in terms of gameday decision making, down and distance, situation management, timeout management. Anyone that has numbers, we try to look at what can help us in addition to our scouting of ourselves and our opposition.”
