CORAL GABLES – It’s safe to say that the Miami Hurricanes have come a long way over these past several months.
It’s also safe to say they still have some work to do on both sides of the ball.
With that said, a good thing coming out of the Manny Diaz Era is the new head coach’s level of consistency, honesty, and tenacity. You can rely on those traits from Diaz every day, every time.
Which takes us straight to his analysis on how it all went in last night’s (Aug. 10) scrimmage.
Anyone thinking that Diaz would announce the victor in the quarterback competition between Tate Martell, N’Kosi Perry, and Jarren Williams will be sorely disappointed. Maybe he already has decided; maybe not.
One thing’s certain: it was a tale of two halves for the quarterbacks and all other positions.
“The first half, it was a massive butt-whooping,” Diaz said. “The defense just got after the offense. Very disappointing in the way that you started to see the ‘far away’ look in some guys on the offense, things we’re trying to eradicate from our program. We had a feeling the disease wasn’t fully cured. That being said, second half, the offense rallied. Where in the past, when things have not gone well, there would sort of be a tanking for the game.”
Diaz had more.
“I saw a couple productive touchdown drives in the second half and guys showing some competitive fight and spirit, which is really what this camp and this offseason has all been about,” Diaz said. “That’ll be encouraging. But the self-inflicted wounds in the first half, not to mention, sometime you just take a beating – will be disappointing. It’s a good reality check. Conversely, defensively, to play as well as they played in the first half, and to sort of lose their edge in the second half, was disappointing.”
After digesting all that took place, the general public and media members alike are still mostly interested in one thing only.
Which quarterback performed the best?
“Obviously, in the first half, nobody played well on offense,” Diaz said. “It was hard for those guys to function, and part of that was their doing as well. But again, I saw some guys lead some good touchdown drives in the second half. I think Jarren [Williams] hit one to Will Mallory. I know we had one to K.J. Osborn at the end. I still like the running of DeeJay Dallas. I think he has been consistent throughout camp. That has been encouraging.”
There were four standouts on offense in the second scrimmage: a quarterback (Williams), a running back (Dallas), a tight end (Mallory), and a wide receiver (Osborn).
Takeaway on Williams: The fan base would quickly warm up to him as the starting quarterback. He’s one to be generally careful with the ball and get the job done at the very least.
But that doesn’t mean he won the competition.
As for the defensive side of the ball, the top standout was our very own Gurvan Hall. The sophomore safety and Palm Beach Gardens alum seems to have secured a starting job by catching an interception in last night’s scrimmage.
Hall was one of several defensive players who performed well.
“Gurvan [Hall, Jr.] now has three [interceptions] in two weeks in scrimmage situations, which is great for him,” Diaz said. “Greg Rousseau, I thought, showed up tonight, which we’ve been waiting for in camp. I think he’s feeling a little better about his body. That was encouraging. Of course, [Michael] Pinckney and [Shaquille] Quarterman and those guys. I think Trevon Hill had a multiple-sack night.”
Moving on from the second scrimmage, Diaz will be looking forward to a series of competitive practices over the next two weeks. He wants to see which players will ultimately be the best fit for the season opener against Florida on Saturday, Aug. 24.
“Both teams will be supremely motivated to play against each other,” Diaz said. “Who can keep their competitive will through adversity?…That’s why it’s about finding the right mix of guys that don’t blink in that setting. That’s what we have to go back and study this film and find out who are the guys that will fight their way off the ropes. I think both teams are going to land some blows. When you get put on the ropes, you have to fight your way out of it.”
