MIAMI – The Miami Hurricanes took center stage at the “Mecca” (Traz Powell Stadium) on the afternoon of Saturday, Apr. 13.
Led by new head coach Manny Diaz, the defense dominated the offense for most of the scrimmage. It was highlighted by the likes of sophomore safety Gurvan Hall (two tackles) and junior defensive end Jonathan Garvin (one tackle), who applied constant pressure on the quarterbacks and the running backs.
As far as our area’s other two defensive players are concerned, junior safety Amari Carter played in one series and senior linebacker Zach McCloud suited up but didn’t see scrimmage action because of an injury.
According to a report from Canes Warning, the following defensive players stood out in a big way yesterday:
•Sophomore cornerback D.J. Ivey: two tackles, interception off transfer QB Tate Martell
•Sophomore cornerbacks Al Blades, Jr. and Nigel Bethel: five tackles each
•Senior linebacker Michael Pinckney: five tackles, sack
•Senior linebacker Shaquille Quartermann: four tackles
“We’re bare bone thin right now,” Diaz said. “We have a whole lot of guys who are not practicing right now. We had a lot of guys pulling double duty (safeties, linebackers, lineman, running backs, wide receivers). What we talked about (as a team) was to come play with a competitive spirit and some passion…We made a lot of mistakes with penalties and pre-snap things that would have been called. But we just let it rip.”
Diaz spoke briefly about McCloud.
“We’ll get Zach back with all the contact stuff,” he said, noting that McCloud and most of the other injured Hurricanes are currently sidelined with a variety of short-term injuries.
As for the offense, the main focus was on the quarterbacks and how they were going to do in this scrimmage.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback N’Kosi Perry was the starter, while redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams and Martell also had multiple opportunities to prove themselves on the field.
Media members and fans came away with a consensus on the quarterbacks. Perry and Williams were above average, while Martell could have done better.
Here are their stats, according to Canes Warning:
•Perry: 9-of-15 passing, 78 yards
•Williams: 7-of-12 passing, 79 yards, touchdown
•Martell: 4-of-11 passing, 78 yards, touchdown, interception
“They all stood in there and made some throws,” Diaz said. “What’s from my vantage point is seeing them from a week’s time in how much comfortable they are on where to go with the ball. They’re starting to find where the answers are and find where the open guy is at.”
Other offensive standouts emerged on Saturday, as per Canes Warning.
•Junior running back Deejay Dallas: 13 carries, 108 yards, three touchdowns; one reception, 11 yards
•Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Payton: three catches, 60 yards, touchdown
•Sophomore running back Cam’Ron Harris: 10 carries, 61 yards
•Graduate transfer K.J. Osborn: six receptions, 67 yards
•Sophomore wide receiver Mark Pope: two catches, 34 yards; 52-yard touchdown run
•Sophomore tight end Will Mallory: three receptions, 39 yards
“Like I told the guys, we’re better than we were a Saturday ago,” Diaz said when comparing between this scrimmage and the first one last week, which was closed to the media and public. “But if we let anything that happened, good, bad, or Indifferent, make us feel we’ve arrived and that all of our problems are solved, then we’re fooling ourselves. We’re a little better, but we need to get a lot better by the time August rolls around.”
Miami has two spring practices left (Tuesday and Thursday morning at Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility), which are closed to the public. This precedes the annual spring game, which will be held on Saturday (Apr. 20) at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Photo credits and story information credit: Jeffrey Wimbrow
