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After leading all Miami wide receivers in both catches (4) and yards (41) in the Canes’ first game against the Florida Gators, senior WR KJ Osborn is looking to move past the loss to UF and focus on the ACC opener against UNC tomorrow.
“I think we’re just moving on and trying to get better in practice,” Osborn said. “Now we’re locked in on North Carolina. We’ve had two weeks to prepare for them. We’ll continue to execute, learn our game plan and practice well.”
With the Canes starting a freshman QB that had his ups and downs in the opener, Osborn was asked what he can do during games to help out a young passer like Jarren Williams.
“The only thing we can do is make tough catches for him,” Osborn said. “Coach [Dan] Enos is going to coach Jarren to do what he does. We can come back and communicate with him on the sideline, talk about different coverages and things like that, but the only thing we can do is keep running routes and keep getting open, communicate with him, and make tough catches for him to make his job easier.”
Osborn, along with the other two starters at WR, played the vast majority of the snaps against UF in the opener, leaving minor scraps for the backups. Manny Diaz and Dan Enos have said they expect to rotate more frequently at the WR position this week and Osborn talked about how he’s been leading the younger guys that have yet to see much time in 2019.
“They have stayed positive and one thing is that we are all like upping our game, so more guys can get in the game,” Osborn said. “I tell Dee [Wiggins], I tell Jeremiah [Payton], the guys that are behind me - I just talked to Jerimiah when we got off the field. I said, ‘When you get in, make the best of those opportunities.’ Because that’s all I know from when I got in when I was a freshman and started to play. It might be a play you’re not even supposed to be in and, boom, you score a touchdown. And [the coaches] will be like ‘He can do that.’
“Then next thing you know, they start putting him in and start trusting him more. When they make plays, they make me want to make plays. That’s the beauty of being at a school like this with so much competition. I feel like it’s like that in every room. I want those guys to make plays because they make me want to play better as well, which makes the whole team better.”
The backup receiver that saw the most reps in week 1? That’d be sophomore athlete Tate Martell, who has focused more on learning WR position over Miami’s bye week.
“He looks good,” Osborn said of Martell. “He’s starting to get those wide receiver pains, though, from running so much. We try to tell people on the team it’s different at wide receiver, we run all day - `My hamstring, my groin’. Something is bothering him, it’s `Welcome to the room’. But I think he’s done well. He’s learning more techniques from coach.”
As a former QB that studied the entire offense intensely, Martell has had a somewhat easier transition in moving to WR and Osborn feels he has an advantage in that sense.
“Tate is very smart - if there’s a question about something, Tate has the answer,” Osborn said. “Like QB reads, anything, he’s very smart. Coming from the quarterback position he had to know the whole scheme anyway. Now it’s about the technique.”
While the WR room gained Martell, they also recently lost a player – sophomore Evidence Njoku officially moved to tight end earlier this week and Osborn feels he could be a mismatch at the position.
“I think he’ll do well. He has to learn the playbook from the tight end perspective and their techniques,” Osborn said. “But he has a big body, will be a fast tight end. I’m not sure if they want to put weight on, but I think he’ll do well.”
“I think we’re just moving on and trying to get better in practice,” Osborn said. “Now we’re locked in on North Carolina. We’ve had two weeks to prepare for them. We’ll continue to execute, learn our game plan and practice well.”
With the Canes starting a freshman QB that had his ups and downs in the opener, Osborn was asked what he can do during games to help out a young passer like Jarren Williams.
“The only thing we can do is make tough catches for him,” Osborn said. “Coach [Dan] Enos is going to coach Jarren to do what he does. We can come back and communicate with him on the sideline, talk about different coverages and things like that, but the only thing we can do is keep running routes and keep getting open, communicate with him, and make tough catches for him to make his job easier.”
Osborn, along with the other two starters at WR, played the vast majority of the snaps against UF in the opener, leaving minor scraps for the backups. Manny Diaz and Dan Enos have said they expect to rotate more frequently at the WR position this week and Osborn talked about how he’s been leading the younger guys that have yet to see much time in 2019.
“They have stayed positive and one thing is that we are all like upping our game, so more guys can get in the game,” Osborn said. “I tell Dee [Wiggins], I tell Jeremiah [Payton], the guys that are behind me - I just talked to Jerimiah when we got off the field. I said, ‘When you get in, make the best of those opportunities.’ Because that’s all I know from when I got in when I was a freshman and started to play. It might be a play you’re not even supposed to be in and, boom, you score a touchdown. And [the coaches] will be like ‘He can do that.’
“Then next thing you know, they start putting him in and start trusting him more. When they make plays, they make me want to make plays. That’s the beauty of being at a school like this with so much competition. I feel like it’s like that in every room. I want those guys to make plays because they make me want to play better as well, which makes the whole team better.”
The backup receiver that saw the most reps in week 1? That’d be sophomore athlete Tate Martell, who has focused more on learning WR position over Miami’s bye week.
“He looks good,” Osborn said of Martell. “He’s starting to get those wide receiver pains, though, from running so much. We try to tell people on the team it’s different at wide receiver, we run all day - `My hamstring, my groin’. Something is bothering him, it’s `Welcome to the room’. But I think he’s done well. He’s learning more techniques from coach.”
As a former QB that studied the entire offense intensely, Martell has had a somewhat easier transition in moving to WR and Osborn feels he has an advantage in that sense.
“Tate is very smart - if there’s a question about something, Tate has the answer,” Osborn said. “Like QB reads, anything, he’s very smart. Coming from the quarterback position he had to know the whole scheme anyway. Now it’s about the technique.”
While the WR room gained Martell, they also recently lost a player – sophomore Evidence Njoku officially moved to tight end earlier this week and Osborn feels he could be a mismatch at the position.
“I think he’ll do well. He has to learn the playbook from the tight end perspective and their techniques,” Osborn said. “But he has a big body, will be a fast tight end. I’m not sure if they want to put weight on, but I think he’ll do well.”
