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The Hurricanes' running game started slow with only 44 rushing yards in the first half against a undersized Savannah State front last week. For sophomore running back DeeJay Dallas, playing better this week against Toledo will come down to better execution.
"They're coached well," Dallas said on Toledo. "I feel like we have a great gameplan and I trust my teammates. We just got to come out and execute better (than last week). We always come out and we do a team run first, and it’s called ‘start fast.’ So we just got to have a better start, start at a better pace. It’s nothing we can’t fix, it’s just all about execution.”
Freshman running back Lorenzo Lingard was a major reason the ground game ended up having great numbers, as he put up 82 yards and 2 TD's in the second half on just four carries.
“When he ran the first one in, I was like ‘yo, that’s my boy’," Dallas said on Lingard. "But when he ran the second one in? I was like ‘yes sir.’ I was like, ‘dang I’m proud of that kid, I’m proud.’ I’m excited to see what he is going to bring the rest of the season. In the beginning he was shaky: not knowing the plays, not knowing what to do. But now he is turning into a true star.”
What does Lingard need to do to continue to improve his game?
“Just being consistent, and that’s with everybody," Dallas said. "Everybody, all the young dudes, me, some of the older guys, we just got to be consistent. I feel like once we are all on one accord, with consistency and execution, we’ll be fine.”
After he came over to the RB group from receiver in the middle of last season, Dallas said the hardest part was getting down the protection schemes and knowing who to block, something the coaches still say is an issue for Lingard.
"When I made the transition to running back last year, it was all about learning pass protection," Dallas said. "That's the hardest part about playing running back, picking up the blitz and recognizing the blitz."
On potentially playing wildcat QB again this year: "If they put it in the gameplan, I'm always ready."
**Freshman tight end Will Mallory caught his first ever touchdown on a 2 yard, 50-50 jumpball over the defender against Savannah State last week.
“It was awesome," Mallory said on his TD catch. "I knew I had to get that; it was my one opportunity. If I didn't get that, they probably wouldn’t have gone back to me in the future. I knew I had to make a play and it worked out that way.”
While his first two collegiate games were about getting his feet wet, Mallory sees himself (and the team) improving as the year goes on.
"I think we were well prepared with all of the coaches helping us out," Mallory said. "But just getting in there and playing around is actually a whole lot different than just going through the summer with your own team. I think we improved in both games since the first and second one and hopefully from there we keep going up.”
Along with fellow freshman TE Brevin Jordan, Mallory is working to become next in line in a great TE tradition at Miami.
“I think both of us have the goal to be some of the great tight ends to come through here," Mallory said. "I think we both see the opportunity we have and there is a lot of room for improvement. I think we both are going to push each other every year and I think we’re going to keep getting and better and kind of want to leave our mark here, too.”
The biggest change from high school to college?
“The speed and the strength," says Mallory.
"It’s definitely a new experience from high school to college ball and us being thrown in there. You go from high school and you’re usually the strongest guy on the team or the fastest guy on the team so it’s kind of second nature for you. Then you come here and I mean everyone here is a highly recruited guy, so you just have to be just that much step ahead of them whether that is being in the weight room and also film study and just knowing your technique and what you have to do. That is the biggest adjustment, I’m getting thrown in there and I never really played a lot of in-line tight end in high school, so that’s the biggest deal for me, just getting adjusted to that. Coach (Todd) Hartley has done a great job at coaching us up we just have to keep on improving.”
"They're coached well," Dallas said on Toledo. "I feel like we have a great gameplan and I trust my teammates. We just got to come out and execute better (than last week). We always come out and we do a team run first, and it’s called ‘start fast.’ So we just got to have a better start, start at a better pace. It’s nothing we can’t fix, it’s just all about execution.”
Freshman running back Lorenzo Lingard was a major reason the ground game ended up having great numbers, as he put up 82 yards and 2 TD's in the second half on just four carries.
“When he ran the first one in, I was like ‘yo, that’s my boy’," Dallas said on Lingard. "But when he ran the second one in? I was like ‘yes sir.’ I was like, ‘dang I’m proud of that kid, I’m proud.’ I’m excited to see what he is going to bring the rest of the season. In the beginning he was shaky: not knowing the plays, not knowing what to do. But now he is turning into a true star.”
What does Lingard need to do to continue to improve his game?
“Just being consistent, and that’s with everybody," Dallas said. "Everybody, all the young dudes, me, some of the older guys, we just got to be consistent. I feel like once we are all on one accord, with consistency and execution, we’ll be fine.”
After he came over to the RB group from receiver in the middle of last season, Dallas said the hardest part was getting down the protection schemes and knowing who to block, something the coaches still say is an issue for Lingard.
"When I made the transition to running back last year, it was all about learning pass protection," Dallas said. "That's the hardest part about playing running back, picking up the blitz and recognizing the blitz."
On potentially playing wildcat QB again this year: "If they put it in the gameplan, I'm always ready."
**Freshman tight end Will Mallory caught his first ever touchdown on a 2 yard, 50-50 jumpball over the defender against Savannah State last week.
“It was awesome," Mallory said on his TD catch. "I knew I had to get that; it was my one opportunity. If I didn't get that, they probably wouldn’t have gone back to me in the future. I knew I had to make a play and it worked out that way.”
While his first two collegiate games were about getting his feet wet, Mallory sees himself (and the team) improving as the year goes on.
"I think we were well prepared with all of the coaches helping us out," Mallory said. "But just getting in there and playing around is actually a whole lot different than just going through the summer with your own team. I think we improved in both games since the first and second one and hopefully from there we keep going up.”
Along with fellow freshman TE Brevin Jordan, Mallory is working to become next in line in a great TE tradition at Miami.
“I think both of us have the goal to be some of the great tight ends to come through here," Mallory said. "I think we both see the opportunity we have and there is a lot of room for improvement. I think we both are going to push each other every year and I think we’re going to keep getting and better and kind of want to leave our mark here, too.”
The biggest change from high school to college?
“The speed and the strength," says Mallory.
"It’s definitely a new experience from high school to college ball and us being thrown in there. You go from high school and you’re usually the strongest guy on the team or the fastest guy on the team so it’s kind of second nature for you. Then you come here and I mean everyone here is a highly recruited guy, so you just have to be just that much step ahead of them whether that is being in the weight room and also film study and just knowing your technique and what you have to do. That is the biggest adjustment, I’m getting thrown in there and I never really played a lot of in-line tight end in high school, so that’s the biggest deal for me, just getting adjusted to that. Coach (Todd) Hartley has done a great job at coaching us up we just have to keep on improving.”
