CORAL GABLES – Zach McCloud is getting better at his craft right now.
The Miami (Fla.) sophomore linebacker looks to build upon his promising freshman season, which resulted in nationwide respect as a future force to be reckoned with. He finished last year’s campaign with 37 tackles (18 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, and a blocked kick on special teams.
“There were some plays that were out of my reach last year,” the Santaluces 2016 alum said. “I want to limit those mistakes this season. I want to make a bigger impact on my team. I feel a lot better about what we’re doing and the defensive system. Physically, I feel a whole lot more fresh that I have in the past. I’m ready to go.”
McCloud is part of a much-heralded linebacker corps that feature the likes two All-Americans in fellow sophomores Shaquille Quartermann and Michael Pinckney. He’s proven to be a nice fit with them in more ways than one.
Speaking of Quartermann, he took the time to speak with reporters in a media availability interview after practice on Aug. 30. The session took place at the Greentree Practice Fields.
“As a group, I know that we’re good,” Quartermann said. “Since the offseason and in training camp, we’ve been grinding not just to win every game in the regular season, but to compete for a championship. Preparation doesn’t start after you win a couple of games. Preparation starts now.”
McCloud concurred with Quartermann’s outlook on the season ahead.
“Every year, it’s like you wait the whole year and go through a whole lot of preparation to get to this point,” McCloud said. “That’s what we do it for. We are finally approaching that point. I am on the same page as everybody else. We are all excited and getting ready to go for this season.”
Miami, ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press Preseason rankings poll, will be playing its first game on Saturday (Sept. 2) at Hard Rock Stadium against Bethune-Cookman. It is slated for kickoff at 12:30 p.m.
“We’re proving and putting on film for other teams we play in the future that we are still tough and still physical,” McCloud said in his interview with reporters after practice on Aug. 29. “No matter who we lost on the back end or whatever part of the team, we are still the same group that gets after it.”
McCloud hopes that Miami’s success this season can result in a trip to its first-ever ACC Championship Game in December. With the myriad improvements made as a team, most local and national media outlets are pegging the Hurricanes as the favorite to win the ACC Coastal and at least 11 games overall.
“We have to beat the teams that beat us last year,” McCloud said. “We can’t stay down. We had a four-games losing streak last season, and we can’t let that happen again. We can’t focus on all the other things that are going on. We have to focus on what’s right in front of us.”
