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DB Spring Preview Part 1: Safeties

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Cory Grimes said:
Coming off a 2017 season where the Canes pass defense ranked top 25 nationally in interceptions and defensive pass efficiency, and 3rd in turnovers forced, the defensive secondary showed flashes of the great Canes’ pass defenses of years past. At the same time, largely due to lapses in the secondary, the Canes struggled to get off the field at times as they ranked 75th in the nation in 3rd down defense and 105th in red zone defense. There were some serious head scratching moments (i.e. Virginia game) and far too many occasions where 1-on-1 battles were lost to inferior talent. Headed into spring practice next week, Manny Diaz knows there is a lot to work on and a ton of questions to be answered from our secondary, but he also knows he can look to this experienced group on the back end to hold it down. In Part 1 of the DB Spring Preview, let’s assess our safeties.

The safety position, by far the more seasoned of the two secondary groups, returns two senior starters in Jaquan Johnson and Sheldrick Redwine. 2017 team MVP, leader in tackles (96) and Turnover Chain outings (6), Jaquan Johnson, will likely be a preseason All-American. What more can you say about the guy? But look for him to polish his coverage ability and help improve his draft stock. While he’s considered undersized by some at the next level, his tenacity and ball hawking ability is undeniable. If you turn on the film, 4 is not hard to find. He is likely right around the ball. It will be interesting to see how he is evaluated by scouts headed through 2018. More importantly for the Canes, expect for Johnson to be an extension of the coaches on the field and a mentor for this young group of DB’s this season.

Johnson’s fellow Senior and running mate at safety, Sheldrick Redwine, showed immense improvement down the stretch in his transition from corner to safety. Redwine, who logged 59 tackles and 2 picks last year, showed he does not shy away from contact. He also missed far too many tackles due to poor angles. Redwine’s lack of top end speed is glaring on film, and he struggled mightily in coverage at times. A portion of that can be chalked up to playing a new position, but keep an eye on his improvement this spring. There is no doubt Redwine came a long way in 2017, but if he doesn’t continue to progress in coverage and look more comfortable in open space, there’s enough talent on this roster for Coach Banda to find a replacement.

Juniors Robert Knowles and Romeo Finley will add experience and depth to the safety position. Both guys registered most of their time on special teams in 2017. Barring injuries or unexpected circumstances, don’t expect that to change much moving forward.

With 26 tackles and 2 sacks, Amari Carter displayed his versatility lining up all over the field in 2017. Carter’s progression is something to pay attention to this spring. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Carter push Redwine for the starting safety job. Regardless, Carter, proved he belongs on the field. Whether it’s at safety, nickel, hybrid linebacker, etc., Carter should make his presence felt this year.

Sophomore Derrick Smith will be taking reps at outside backer this spring. 6’2” and around 200 pounds, he’s not built to be a full time backer, not yet at least. However, he’ll add versatility and athleticism to the LB group. Look for him to be used in passing situations to improve coverage in the intermediate level of the defense.
Early enrollee out of West Palm Beach, Gurvan Hall, will look to find his way on the field. As he continues to bulk up and get comfortable with the system, give notice to how Hall will be deployed. He has the skillset to play safety and nickel corner. Diaz is no stranger to rotating guys in. Look for Hall to have a chance play early and often this year.

Last year, it was clear that this group was the beneficiaries of some exceptional play from the D-line. With the mass exodus across the D-line this offseason, this group of safeties is going to have to take their game to a whole new level in 2018 for this defense to to compete at a high level.
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Knowles brings nothing to the team.
 
plantcity3 said:
Just think of this for a second. How often have we seen Knowles get PT? Now how often have we seen Finley besides garbage time and special teams.

Papa Shaw says Finley is a striker so maybe he would look better at LB.
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This is the right response as I was thinking the same, “how do we know that Finley sucks when he doesn’t get to play, but we know for sure that Knowles isn’t very good”. Knowles gets way more snaps than he does and that’s saying a lot about Finley’s supposed lack of skill set. Like how bad could he be??? It must be mental, making the proper reads and learning the playbook/sets/adjustments.

I don’t think Banda has the confidence as a coach to make the replace Redwine call. Redwine is a senior leader and roommate of Jaquan. Hopefully he doesn’t have a reason to as Redwine improves.
 
Redwine is fine. A lot of clowns were talking trash about Jaquan before last year as well. Just plain moranic.

Our safety and LB depth is unreal.
 
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Lol well Finley must not be that great when they kept throwing Knowles out there to watch him look confused on every play..
 
plantcity3 said:
Just think of this for a second. How often have we seen Knowles get PT? Now how often have we seen Finley besides garbage time and special teams.

Papa Shaw says Finley is a striker so maybe he would look better at LB.
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I’ve been advocating this move for a while.
 
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SinisterCane said:
Redwine is the DB equivalent of rosier
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Redwine may not be an elite talent but he doesn't handicap the defense in the sense that Rosier did for the offense last year.

Hes a versatile DB that has improved every year and made several impact plays last year.
 
Redwine is solid but I want to see Carter beat him out. That kid showed some serious fire last year. He’s got game-changing ability in his game with how ferocious he plays
 
JHallCanes said:
Redwine is solid but I want to see Carter beat him out. That kid showed some serious fire last year. He’s got game-changing ability in his game with how ferocious he plays
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Safety rotation should be
Jaquan, redwine, carter, hall this year and maybe Finley. Would also say smith but apparently he’s moving to linebacker. Do not want to see knowles on the field at all
 
Excellent commentary, Cory. I agree with all of it, and I’ve been hammering those points on Redwine for awhile.

Redwine is an excellent Cane, and I love him. But he is exactly the type of limited athlete that Rick needs to replace through recruiting. He just doesn’t move well enough to be a starting DB at UM.

The most glaring example of his lack of athleticism was when Bryant shook him out of his shoes then beat him to the corner for a TD in the ACCCG. Bryant is a pretty good athlete, but he should never be able to do that to a Miami DB.
 
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Exactly. People say they want to win ships on here. But no one wants to replace a player who won’t help you get to that level. Good kid but not quite good enough athletically. Everyone said how much better the Clemson players were after we got molly ***ed. How could that be forgotten so fast?
 
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AtrainCane said:
Exactly. People say they want to win ships on here. But no one wants to replace a player who won’t help you get to that level. Good kid but not quite good enough athletically. Everyone said how much better the Clemson players were after we got molly ***ed. How could that be forgotten so fast?
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Yep. If you want to build a championship team you need championship players.

Redwine is a good backup and special teams player on a championship team. He can match up pretty well against most Coastal teams. But when Clemson’s QB, who isn’t even a great athlete, makes one of your starting DBs look like he’s carrying a piano on his back, then you need to upgrade.
 
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The Franchise said:
Yep. If you want to build a championship team you need championship players.

Redwine is a good backup and special teams player on a championship team. He can match up pretty well against most Coastal teams. But when Clemson’s QB, who isn’t even a great athlete, makes one of your starting DBs look like he’s carrying a piano on his back, then you need to upgrade.
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I like Redwine but is he even James Lewis(one of the all-time underrated Canes)? A guy like Redwine on a vintage UM squad in my view is a special teamer who gets a drive or two a game or a nickel/dime back. Thats how you would maximize him, Bill Parcells always believed that limited players were much more valuable in smaller roles as they would eventually get exposed if you put more on the plate than they were capable of handling
 
k9cane said:
I like Redwine but is he even James Lewis(one of the all-time underrated Canes)? A guy like Redwine on a vintage UM squad in my view is a special teamer who gets a drive or two a game or a nickel/dime back. Thats how you would maximize him, Bill Parcells always believed that limited players were much more valuable in smaller roles as they would eventually get exposed if you put more on the plate than they were capable of handling
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That’s exactly how I see Redwine. Great team guy. Valuable reserve. Special teams demon. Not a championship-level football Safety.

He might be about as athletic as Lewis, but he doesn’t have all those dudes around him like Lewis did.
 
The Franchise said:
That’s exactly how I see Redwine. Great team guy. Valuable reserve. Special teams demon. Not a championship-level football Safety.

He might be about as athletic as Lewis, but he doesn’t have all those dudes around him like Lewis did.
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Lol, yeah, Lewis was surrounded by a decent supporting cast.

But the word I'd use to describe Redwin is solid and serviceable. which is fine, we need a few more 'special' guys
 
For all the Redwine **** riders who do think LSU gonna target after watching Clemson/Wisconsin game tape ?
 
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