"Five days before the University of Miami’s home opener against Bethune-Cookman, coach Mario Cristobal went on WQAM early Monday to take Hurricanes football and highlight a few of the players hosts Joe Rose and Zach Krantz asked him about. Cristobal gave good insight on sophomore defensive tackle Leonard Taylor, the 6-4, 296-pound former five-star prospect out of Miami Palmetto who had 21 tackles in nine games, including a team-leading (tied with former defensive end Zach McCloud) 7 1/2 tackles for loss and two sacks and a pass breakup. “He’s improved,’’ Cristobal said. “You know, the biggest thing with Leonard was making sure that all that ability, all that talent, shows up on a more consistent basis. He’s starting to understand the importance of having to train really, really hard and keep working and changing that body, because the world he lives in, that’s like Jurrasic Park in there, man. TOP VIDEOS Skip in 4s × “I mean they’re getting thrown around, beat up, you’re getting shots on the hips, you’re getting hands to the face and bounced around. So, the flashes are absolutely incredible and the inconsistencies we’re working on, but Leonard is going to be a great player.’’ COREY FLAGG Sounds like Corey Flagg, who started all 12 games last season and led the team with 60 tackles (and had three sacks, an interception and three quarterback hurries), will be the starting middle linebacker, though Cristobal would not cite any starters. When asked how much middle linebacker has stepped up as the quarterback of the defense, Cristobal said, “He stepped up big time...When guys have a great offseason, it tells the truth during fall camp. He understands the game and he’s really instinctive. He plays with confidence, and when you’re a linebacker that has to make things right when they’re not right on the field when a signal comes in and offense is running some tempo or running some unbalanced set... it changes things. And Corey has certainly done that. “Looking for him to have an excellent year and really appreciate just the way he has stepped up and bought into the culture.’’ RBS, KNIGHTON Cristobal reiterated that two tailbacks “are not going to play” in the opener, “one is done for the season in TreVonte’ [Citizen],’’ who sustained a torn ACL in camp; and [Don] Chaney Jr, he said, “it will be a little while before he gets back.’’ Chaney’s injury is hip-related, per a source, and Cristobal said last week that he would be out “several weeks.” Find more sports news, plus coverage from Sports Illustrated. READ MORE “But we got some guys,’’ the coach told WQAM, that “have done a really good job.” Sophomore Jaylan Knighton, who was held out of the second scrimmage and some practices for “precautionary” reasons, the coach previously said, “is good to go. He looked great yesterday.” Knighton played in eight games last season and started the last six. He led Miami with 561 yards and eight touchdowns rushing on 145 carries, a 3.9-yards-per-carry and 70.1-yards-per-game average. “So, we’re going to play ball, man, and other guys are stepping up and we’re rotating them in ways where we feel they can be efficient, they can maximize their ability to help the team and we’ll roll from there,’’ Cristobal said. UM ADDS RUNNING BACK Depleted at running back, UM is adding UAB transfer Lucious Stanley, according to on3.com. The 6-foot, 215-pound Stanley averaged 5.1 yards on 211 college carries with 12 touchdowns rushing and two receiving. Stanley, will come to UM as a walk-on redshirt senior transfer, had 38 carries for 213 yards and a touchdown last season, averaging 5.6 per carry. He appeared in 13 games and started one. Stanley ran 20 times for 118 yards and two TDs in 2020, had 90 rushes for 414 yards with seven TDs in 2019, and 52 carries for 274 yards in 2018. The North Ft. Myers (Fla.) High School alum had planned to transfer to Tuskegee to play this fall but changed plans when the UM opportunity became available, per on3.com."