CORAL GABLES – This fall could perhaps be the best time for Amari Carter to fully show Miami what he’s made of.

As a player who has shown flashes of potential at the collegiate level, the Hurricanes coaching staff will be eager to witness Carter taking the next step forward.

The 6-2, 197-pound junior safety finished the previous season with 10 tackles and 3 pass deflections. He’ll be expected to improve on those numbers across the board this time out.

Speaking with media members after this morning’s practice at Greentree Fields, Carter made it clear what is at stake.

“It’s good competition,” Carter said of the players vying for the two open starting safety spots, which includes the likes of sophomore Gurvan Hall, Jr, USC transfer Bubba Bolden, & incoming freshman Keontra Smith.

“It’s just making everyone else better out on the field. Linebackers, safeties, everybody is looking better on the field. We have a great receiving corps, so we’re making them better. We’re running to the ball and doing everything that coach (co-defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda) asks us to do from the beginning.” 

Carter, who has steadily improved on his overall play since he was a freshman, spoke of the experience that he has gained in his time at Miami.

“I’m older,” the Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) alum said. “I have more responsibility and I just make sure every day that I’m in the right mindset and do what I have to do to make the team better.” 

One thing that has been notable is the relationship Carter has with Hall. After all, they’re both from Palm Beach County and are just a year apart from each other.

The familiarity helps a lot. It’s purely evident when they have been patrolling the secondary together in both practice and scrimmage plays.

“I feel like everything we go through here is not easy,” Carter said. “Nothing is easy. You need those people around you. It’s not just me, it’s everyone. Everyone is getting closer. Gurvan, that is my brother. We fight, we’re there for each other. We meet in the middle. It’s a bond that real brothers have. We’re not related, but that’s like my brother on and off the field.”

At this particular time, it looks as if both Carter and Hall have the inside track to securing the two open starting safety spots. The key defensive positions were previously occupied last season by NFL Draft picks Sheldrick Redwine and Jaquan Johnson.

Banda spoke at length about Carter’s communication with Hall and how they have developed together.

“I think the biggest thing that I’ve seen between them is just the culture that we’ve built in that room over the last few years, starting with Jamal Carter and Rayshawn Jenkins, and then [Sheldrick] Redwine and Jaquan [Johnson] and the standard that they held and put up there,” Banda said. “They understand it. They’ve seen it. They know what it looks like.”

The Miami (Fla.) co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach also spoke on the sheer importance of continuity with the coaching staff – particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

Head coach Manny Diaz, who was ultimately promoted from the defensive coordinator position last season, kept most – if not all – of the defensive staff from this past year. It shows in how well the defensive players respond to their coaches.

It has paid profound dividends for Carter and Hall, if nothing else.

“They understand exactly what it is, they understand what urgency is, when I say it,” Banda said. “They understand how important it is, and it’s not just a word. The biggest thing, too, is that they’ve seen when they are urgent, and try to reach for the standard every day and are consistent, how well they play. As soon as they see the tangible things – ‘Oh, I’m playing well because I am doing these things’ – then all of a sudden they’re bought in and it’s over after that. It’s easy.”

Hall concurred with Banda’s take in a separate interview this morning with media members.

“As Coach Banda and Coach [Mike] Rumph always say, communication is key,” Hall said. “We learned that [after the] year that just passed, from [Sheldrick] Redwine, Jaquan [Johnson], Mike Jack [‪Michael Jackson‬, Sr.] and Trajan [Bandy]. We learned from those guys, and we understand now that communication is key, before and after the snap.”

Hall and Carter plan to do whatever is necessary to follow the path set for them, while blazing their own collective trail in the process.

“We learned a lot,” Hall said. “Like Coach Banda always says, urgency is the key. Whether you’re going to class, anything you do, you have to be urgent – you always see him running behind us. We learned a lot from those guys.” 

PHOTO CREDITS: Jeffrey Wimbrow