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buzz heading into saturday

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the difference I've started to tell friends that ask why my expectations are so high, is that compared to previous years, we're not just hopeful our Younger guys take a step forward. we're not relying on Fletcher taking the next step.. We went out and got the best RB we could.. we're not relying on Emory to take the next step, we went out and got the best QB in the portal... We're not praying Horton/Moten step up, we went out and got 2 starting caliber DT's.... We mixed other teams studs with our studs...
 
ageezy said:
**according to david lake of 247

The Miami Hurricanes football program is set to hold its first scrimmage on camp on Saturday.

I just wanted to provide some quick buzz I’ve gathered on UM going into the scrimmage. A long way to go and these scrimmage performances will determine quite a bit in terms of who plays, but here you go…

- QUARTERBACK: Cam Ward continues to impress during these practices going into the first scrimmage. We will get into the defensive line later, but that position group is giving the UM signal caller lots of good work in an iron-sharpens-iron type of way. UM’s offensive line is doing a good job in protection for the most part, but that pocket doesn’t last for long with this defensive line. Ward’s ability to extend plays is where he is special—and different from what the Hurricanes have had at the position over the past decade.

Plenty of rotation between Reese Poffenbarger and Emory Williams right now. The sense I get is that Williams has been more consistent with moving the ball down the field, but plenty of time for this battle to continue.

- RUNNING BACK: Damien Martinez has been one of the more impressive players on offense during camp. His vision, patience, and ability to hit the hole is going to make him a productive back. Martinez has ripped off some long runs and he will bring a consistently explosive element to the run game that has been missing during this Mario Cristobal era. As Cristobal has said, Mark Fletcher is going to be brought along slowly, but he is running and cutting and the progress is encouraging. Jordan Lyle and Ajay Allen are getting plenty of work to earn the trust of offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson—particularly from a pass protection standpoint. Chris Wheatley-Humphrey flashes some dynamic speed to the outside at times. Overall, the run game has looked strong and UM will have plenty of balance on offense because of Martinez.

- WIDE RECEIVER: Xavier Restrepo is still the top guy of this group in terms of production and consistently making plays that moves the chains. He is steady, consistent, and he simply makes impressive contested and/or acrobatic catches when he needs to. Isaiah Horton and Sam Brown are pushing each other and going back and forth making plays—which speaks to the development of Horton because Brown is a proven commodity. Brown is getting his feet under him at Miami during this first week and there is a sense that he is ready to explode soon and start stacking some dominant practices once he gets settled in. Jacolby George is still arguably the most talented receiver with his route running, ability to make impressive catches, and quickness in the open field, but he needs to continue to put all his gifts together on a consistent basis. Ray Ray Joseph continues to take steps forward year-over-year and his dynamic speed impresses at times. JoJo Trader has flashed at some points during the first week. This is a deep group that most ACC secondaries will have trouble containing.

- TIGHT END: Elijah Arroyo continues to impress as a pass catching threat. Riley Williams has impressed as taking the next step as an all-around player with his blocking and pass catching. Elija Lofton brings a unique skill set that allows for the offense to line him up everywhere. McCormick brings leadership and physicality to the group. This group is being asked up to line up in a lot of different spots. They will be important to what Miami does from a formation and alignment standpoint.

- OFFENSIVE LINE: One thing that stands out about the first team in particular is the way they are winning at the line of scrimmage in the run game. This Miami offensive line will move people. Matthew McCoy and Samson Okunlola are battling it out to be UM’s fifth starting offensive lineman. UM’s staff is high on the talent and upside of McCoy and want to give him an opportunity to show he can play with consistency at left guard. Okunlola is also pushing for more playing time and has taken a step forward. As Alex Mirabal mentioned, UM is also giving looks to Mauigoa at guard, which means players like Okunlola and Markel Bell can get some looks with the first team. Performances in the two scrimmages will go a long way toward setting the starting five. The feistiness of Ryan Rodriguez has impressed the UM staff as he continues to take strides as the back-up center and be a player that can also be a back-up guard. Miami wants to identify its top eight to nine offensive linemen each year and right now I’d say that group is: Jalen Rivers, Anez Cooper, Zach Carpenter, Francis Mauigoa, Matthew McCoy, Samson Okunlola, Ryan Rodriguez and Markel Bell. The other thing worth noting is that the depth has improved dramatically with this group compared to two seasons ago. Miami’s body types on the offensive line on the second team—and frankly the third team—look much, much better. Miami’s offensive line is getting tremendous looks in practice, going against UM’s defensive line. Many in the program are confident that UM’s defensive line is the best this Hurricanes offensive line will see all season—and they are definitely holding their own in some back and forth battles.

- DEFENSIVE LINE: There is no way around it, this defensive line is SALTY—and quite frankly this position group has frustrated the offensive rhythm and flow at times during the first eight practices. On Thursday, Mario Cristobal said the defensive side of the ball was beating the offensive side going into the scrimmage and a big reason why he said that was the play of this position group. Rueben Bain has continued to build on his freshman season. Tyler Baron has the tools to be a first or second round pick and has flashed some dominant stretches in camp. Akheem Mesidor is back to being the type of impact player he was in 2022. Elijah Alston executes his job at a high level and can get after the quarterback. Amongst the young defensive ends, Cole McConathy is the one to keep an eye on for this season, but there is a ton of talent there to develop for the future. At defensive tackle, the sense I get is this group is much tougher compared to last year. Simeon Barrow and CJ Clark are veterans who play hard. Ahmad Moten has taken a step forward going into year three as a rotational player. The UM staff is really pushing Justin Scott to be ready to contribute in a role in game one and there is a lot of confidence he will be ready because he is a physical freak and is coachable. You never know how the development of a true freshman defensive tackle is going to go in year one, but Scott’s addition to this team could be very important because he has impact potential. Anthony Campbell has also taken a nice step forward this season and there is a lot of confidence he will help the Hurricanes in a rotational role. The last thing to note about this group is the versatility. We all know how Lance Guidry loves to be creative with his personnel usage. This group can play together in a lot of different ways. This defensive line can be the best in the ACC and if they have relatively good injury luck for the season, they can be one of the best in the country. If Miami’s defense takes a big step forward in 2024—going from a Top 30ish defense to a Top 15-ish group—this defensive line is the reason why.

- LINEBACKER: The most feedback I get regarding this group is about the development of Wesley Bissainthe, who is taking the next step with playing faster and with more confidence. Kiko Mauigoa continues to show why he is one of the most disruptive linebackers in the ACC as well. Bobby Pruitt is the young linebacker name that gets mentioned to me the most because of his athleticism and approach to constant improvement.

- SECONDARY: The way the defensive line has performed has benefited the UM secondary. Meesh Powell and Jaden Harris have been dependable at safety and Damari Brown has made a smooth transition to playing plenty in the nickel role. Compared to the spring, Jadais Richard has improved his consistency level and Daryl Porter continues steadily execute his assignments. Markeith Williams led the Hurricanes in interceptions over the first week, but he must improve is physicality and consistency. Zaquan Patterson flashes a lot of talent and needs to keep stacking positive days. OJ Frederique shows promise that he can potentially be a rotational corner this season and he has many confident that he can be a starter down the road. Safety Dylan Day and cornerback Robert Stafford are speedy young players with impressive ball skills who need to keep sticking with the process.

**the vibes are crazy with this team ... would love for @DMoney, @Cribby, @Coach Macho or any other insider guys to chime in to speak to the validity of these reports
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Interesting no mention of Chris Johnson for the RBs...really excited about his speed. I know strength could be an issue but hopefully they find ways to get him the ball. He was in the running for Heisman in yr 2 of my ncaa dynasty lol...also any word on Blount? Heard that short interview on ACCN that Bain did yesterday and he said Blount will be food once he gets back?
 
305407cane said:
Cam ward extending plays is huge. TVD was a statue and throwing outside the pocket wasn’t his strong suit. Nor was mobility in the pocket. So even tho his line was great he got himself hit a lot. Cam can extend plays and throw off platform which will lead to some broken play completions. Keep drives going. He can also scamper for a first every now and then. Maybe even a quick goal line keeper off read option
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TVD was hurt most of last season. He's not a runner but he was a willing scrambler before the injuries. Scrambling was part of the reason he took such a shot at UNC.
 
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gacaneaddict said:
Listen I know we have all been beaten down over the past 20 years.

You can buy the hype this season. The thing that could derail the season is injuries to important people. I am an Atlanta Braves fan, we were preseason picks to win the World Series. Problem is the first game we lose the projected Cy Young winner for the season in Spencer Strider. We lose our all star catcher the same game for 2 months.

Then 2 months later we lose the reigning MVP for the season in Ronald Acuna Jr. Then we lose our starting CF for 2-3 Months, and our all star 2ND baseman for 2 plus months.

No team can sustain that many key injuries and be the same team.

Back to Miami we lead the ACC in most 1st team selections, and that is with Jalen Rivers getting absolutely ROBBED. We should have had at least 1 more with him, and frankly Damien Martinez is 1st team worthy also.

We have most preseason projected top 100 picks for 2025 NFL draft in the league also.

This is the best QB we've had since Dorsey, best RB we've had in a decade, best WR core since early 2000's, best OL since Stoutland, and best DL since early 2000's.

it really comes down to staying away from the injury bug, and it all coming together on the field imo.
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Bro this one hit hard. I'm a braves fan too and this season has been brutal. Had such high hopes for this yr and injuries just killed it. Same the last 2 yrs with my Fins...so I'm hoping the braves are being sacrificed for the best Canes season that we've had in 2 decades lol
 
gacaneaddict said:
Listen I know we have all been beaten down over the past 20 years.

You can buy the hype this season. The thing that could derail the season is injuries to important people. I am an Atlanta Braves fan, we were preseason picks to win the World Series. Problem is the first game we lose the projected Cy Young winner for the season in Spencer Strider. We lose our all star catcher the same game for 2 months.

Then 2 months later we lose the reigning MVP for the season in Ronald Acuna Jr. Then we lose our starting CF for 2-3 Months, and our all star 2ND baseman for 2 plus months.

No team can sustain that many key injuries and be the same team.

Back to Miami we lead the ACC in most 1st team selections, and that is with Jalen Rivers getting absolutely ROBBED. We should have had at least 1 more with him, and frankly Damien Martinez is 1st team worthy also.

We have most preseason projected top 100 picks for 2025 NFL draft in the league also.

This is the best QB we've had since Dorsey, best RB we've had in a decade, best WR core since early 2000's, best OL since Stoutland, and best DL since early 2000's.

it really comes down to staying away from the injury bug, and it all coming together on the field imo.
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dont you put that evil on me GIF
 
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PUNCICANE said:
We need to do A LOT better recruiting QBs...

Ward is a stud, but no one else on our roster is on par with the talent that is being recruited around them.
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Our QB is in the portal, the guys on roster are just practice arms like NFL. Ward does what he should do and go to NY early Dec and early in draft and proof of concept will have us being a destination school for portal QBs.

Heck if things break right our portal QB might be at the 1st game in swamp


Chess Boardgames GIF by NETFLIX
 
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cway313 said:
If he is right, we need to schedule the parade.
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Right? I thought about this some more after posting... I get that elite is subjective and it would be difficult to put an exact definition on it, but I think a conservative definition would be that you have to at least be in the discussion as a top 10 player at your position.

Even that is probably too encompassing and in reality should be at least the top 5 to be considered elite (and even then, should the 5th best TE or K be considered elite?), but let's go with 10 for the sake of argument.... does anyone really think that Miami has 15 players that are in the top 10 at their position?
 
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Bird4um said:
No mention Kinsler or Stafford?

2 I was expecting to hear moving up
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“Safety Dylan Day and cornerback Robert Stafford are speedy young players with impressive ball skills who need to keep sticking with the process.”
 
skyman said:
Our QB is in the portal, the guys on roster are just practice arms like NFL. Ward does what he should do and go to NY early Dec and early in draft and proof of concept will have us being a destination school for portal QBs.

Heck if things break right our portal QB might be at the 1st game in swamp


Chess Boardgames GIF by NETFLIX
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Yeah I’m usually not much of a person that puts too much importance on one season but this is another reason why this one is so crucial

If we flop this year we may as well chalk up next season as a flop as well because the portal will be a brick wall for us

We lose A LOT of talent from this team this offseason and between players transferring away and trying to convince new guys to transfer here…we have to win this year. Have to.
 
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