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Coming off their bye week, the Miami Hurricanes are set to open ACC play against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday night. As senior LB Shaquille Quarterman put it, the Canes are well-aware of the importance of a strong start in not only the conference, but the Coastal division as well.
"Conference game, can't afford to mess with these types of games," Quarterman said. "Put the work in, earn it Monday through Friday to make it worth it on Saturday."
UNC freshman QB Sam Howell earned a lot of attention after leading an upset over South Carolina in the Tar Heels’ first game, and Quarterman has been studying his dual-threat tendencies the past week.
“He’s a young quarterback, plays with a lot of passion, isn’t scared to tuck it and run, he doesn’t run away from contact either,” Quarterman said of Howell. “When you’re dealing with a guy like that you have to be wary - first responders to the scramble, things like that.”
Despite most of the hype going to Howell, the Tar Heels actually worked hard to establish their ground game in week 1 against South Carolina. Running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter each saw over 15 carries, and Quarterman expects to see a similar strategy this weekend.
“I think that they do what they do well, the same thing they did last year,” Quarterman said of UNC. “They are going to run the ball. They really like their backs, so they are going to do anything they can to keep the ball in their playmakers’ hands and it always starts with the run. If they can open up the run, then they can open up a lot of things. That’s college football for you. From last year to this year, that’s what I see. They have some veteran guys at the position. That’s our first thing as a defense. We’re always going to stop the run first and deal with everything second.
"You have to come prepared to play four quarters. My whole thing is they love to run the ball - whoever can run the ball, whoever can defend the run the best, whoever can tackle the best will win the game. That's always been our theory."
Of course, the Canes are working hard to bounce-back from their game 1 loss against Florida, and Quarterman thinks the entire team has come back focused since Orlando.
“With the extra time, we’ve really just practiced... It didn’t take long to put away the Florida game. Press on, that’s the only thing we’ve been talking about. We can’t sit and sulk on that. We’ve never been the team to sulk, so we just move on and look toward the next Saturday.
“I think we’ve responded well. We’ve put on a good week of practice and are still continuing to do so. I think that were doing a really great job.”
**Junior cornerback Trajan Bandy knows that Miami head coach Manny Diaz and UNC head coach Mack Brown have a history together, but he says it won’t be any extra motivation for him when he steps out on the field against the Tar Heels on Saturday night.
“I don’t really get caught up in that. I just want to win,” Bandy said. “As a team, we just want to win. I feel like everything else is going to take care of itself. Once you put the team before yourself and you just go out there and do what you do, everything else is going to come. We’ll play hard, play fast, try to go out there and get a `W.’”
With UNC freshman QB Sam Howell leading the Tar Heels to an upset victory in his first career start against South Carolina, many are predicting him to do the same against Miami. Bandy sees the young gunslinger’s talent, but stressed the UM defense will be ready for him.
“I think he’s a good quarterback,” Bandy said of Howell. “From what I’ve seen, he’s very consistent with the ball, can tuck it and run at times. I feel like he’s a good quarterback. I think we’re going to have to come to play Saturday, and I think we’ll be ready.”
Bandy had 3 tackles and 1 PBU in the week 1 loss to the Gators, and had a few big stops on third downs to get the UF offense off the field.
“I knew the down and distance,” Bandy said. “I knew that it was third down and we had to get off the field, so that let me know that they were going to come with something quick. I reacted real well and every time they caught the ball, I lowered the boom on them.”
How does Bandy help set the tone for this defense?
“Well, I mean, my tone is really to come out and win,” Bandy said. “When I go out and play, I’m playing to win every single time.
"We're just going to go out there and play. We're going to play as a defense, play fast, we're going to play better than we played last game. That's our goal. Just go out there and get turnovers, let's get this `W.' That's what we're concerned about."
"Conference game, can't afford to mess with these types of games," Quarterman said. "Put the work in, earn it Monday through Friday to make it worth it on Saturday."
UNC freshman QB Sam Howell earned a lot of attention after leading an upset over South Carolina in the Tar Heels’ first game, and Quarterman has been studying his dual-threat tendencies the past week.
“He’s a young quarterback, plays with a lot of passion, isn’t scared to tuck it and run, he doesn’t run away from contact either,” Quarterman said of Howell. “When you’re dealing with a guy like that you have to be wary - first responders to the scramble, things like that.”
Despite most of the hype going to Howell, the Tar Heels actually worked hard to establish their ground game in week 1 against South Carolina. Running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter each saw over 15 carries, and Quarterman expects to see a similar strategy this weekend.
“I think that they do what they do well, the same thing they did last year,” Quarterman said of UNC. “They are going to run the ball. They really like their backs, so they are going to do anything they can to keep the ball in their playmakers’ hands and it always starts with the run. If they can open up the run, then they can open up a lot of things. That’s college football for you. From last year to this year, that’s what I see. They have some veteran guys at the position. That’s our first thing as a defense. We’re always going to stop the run first and deal with everything second.
"You have to come prepared to play four quarters. My whole thing is they love to run the ball - whoever can run the ball, whoever can defend the run the best, whoever can tackle the best will win the game. That's always been our theory."
Of course, the Canes are working hard to bounce-back from their game 1 loss against Florida, and Quarterman thinks the entire team has come back focused since Orlando.
“With the extra time, we’ve really just practiced... It didn’t take long to put away the Florida game. Press on, that’s the only thing we’ve been talking about. We can’t sit and sulk on that. We’ve never been the team to sulk, so we just move on and look toward the next Saturday.
“I think we’ve responded well. We’ve put on a good week of practice and are still continuing to do so. I think that were doing a really great job.”
**Junior cornerback Trajan Bandy knows that Miami head coach Manny Diaz and UNC head coach Mack Brown have a history together, but he says it won’t be any extra motivation for him when he steps out on the field against the Tar Heels on Saturday night.
“I don’t really get caught up in that. I just want to win,” Bandy said. “As a team, we just want to win. I feel like everything else is going to take care of itself. Once you put the team before yourself and you just go out there and do what you do, everything else is going to come. We’ll play hard, play fast, try to go out there and get a `W.’”
With UNC freshman QB Sam Howell leading the Tar Heels to an upset victory in his first career start against South Carolina, many are predicting him to do the same against Miami. Bandy sees the young gunslinger’s talent, but stressed the UM defense will be ready for him.
“I think he’s a good quarterback,” Bandy said of Howell. “From what I’ve seen, he’s very consistent with the ball, can tuck it and run at times. I feel like he’s a good quarterback. I think we’re going to have to come to play Saturday, and I think we’ll be ready.”
Bandy had 3 tackles and 1 PBU in the week 1 loss to the Gators, and had a few big stops on third downs to get the UF offense off the field.
“I knew the down and distance,” Bandy said. “I knew that it was third down and we had to get off the field, so that let me know that they were going to come with something quick. I reacted real well and every time they caught the ball, I lowered the boom on them.”
How does Bandy help set the tone for this defense?
“Well, I mean, my tone is really to come out and win,” Bandy said. “When I go out and play, I’m playing to win every single time.
"We're just going to go out there and play. We're going to play as a defense, play fast, we're going to play better than we played last game. That's our goal. Just go out there and get turnovers, let's get this `W.' That's what we're concerned about."
