Herbstreit predicts OC Lashlee will be, ‘a head coach in a year or two’
University of Miami football fans are already convinced.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, the nation’s top college football analyst, was convinced even before the season began.
Herbstreit, who will be part of the ABC broadcast team for the Florida State at No. 12 Miami game at Hard Rock Stadium, believes that new UM offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee is so talented that within two years he’ll be a head coach.
Herbstreit spoke Tuesday night on WQAM’s Hurricane Hotline, and gushed about Lashlee to UM’s longtime broadcasters Joe Zagacki and Don Bailey Jr.
“I’ve got a lot of faith in Rhett Lashlee,’’ Herbstreit said. “I’ve followed his career very closely. I think he’s a head coach in a year or two somewhere. He’s going to have those kinds of credentials.
“When you talk to him — I’ve been doing this 25 years [and] there are certain coordinators you talk to and you just know you’re talking to a guy that is going to be a head coach in a year or two. He’s got that feel to him. In the meantime, you guys are getting a taste of how he operates.
“He’s from that system where it’s not like you and I when we’re up by a score or two we’re going to run the ball and kill the clock. He’s in attack mode until it’s done, until the horn goes off.
“That’s a different mindset than Miami has had in a long, long time. He’s basically bringing them into the 21s century.”
Lashlee, 37, is the architect of UM’s new no-huddle, fast-paced spread offense. He is a big reason that elite graduate transfer quarterback D’Eriq King came to the Hurricanes (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) for his final season, and a major part of this year’s success after two games.
It’s still very early, but the Canes are averaging 490 yards in offense after wins over Alabama-Birmingham and at then-No. 18 Louisville, good for 15th in the country. They’ve only allowed three sacks (after allowing 51 last season), none of them due to the offensive line, Lashlee said Monday.
The Hurricanes were an 11point favorite over the Seminoles (0-1, 0-1), as of Wednesday.
Lashlee, who also serves as Miami’s quarterbacks coach, has been a finalist for the Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top college assistant coach, twice. He came to UM from Southern Methodist (SMU), where he helped lead the Mustangs to a 10-3 finish last season, directing an offense that ranked No 7 in the FBS in scoring (41.8 points per game), No. 13 in passing (309 yards average), No. 9 in total offense (489.8 yards) and No. 12 in first downs gained (322).
Lashlee also served as an offensive coordinator for UConn, Auburn, Arkansas State and Samford, with significant success everywhere he has coached.
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Herbstreit will also be with ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday, when the set will be constructed on the Hard Rock Stadium grounds, but with no fan access because of the COVID-19 pandemic.