Sophomore CB Couch is more bite than bark
It turns out Miami Hurricanes sophomore cornerback Te’Cory Couch wasn’t too fond of defensive coordinator Blake Baker comparing him to a chihuahua on Monday.
After Baker made there mark to suggest the 5-foot-10, 172-pound Couch is feisty for his size when rushing in on the nickel blitz, Couch, while laughing about it, responded Tuesday, “We got to change that nickname fast. I’m not a fan of that at all.”
What kind of dog would he prefer to be?
“A bulldog, at least,” said Couch, who’s laid back and soft-spoken off the field but aggressive on it.
Couch broke into the North Carolina State backfield for a sack on third-and-9 in the fourth quarter with Miami down 41-37 to get the Hurricanes offense the ball back for what turned out to be the winning touchdown.
“We ran that play like almost 50 times last week, and it came out the exact same way we had done in practice,” said Couch, a Chaminade-Madonna alum. “I just put a move on the running back, and I tried to get the quarterback on the ground. Iwas just full of energy, full of excitement because I knew that play changed the momentum of the game.”
Thought of more as a cover corner who has three pass breakups this season in limited playing time behind Al Blades Jr. and DJ Ivey, Couch enjoys getting to blitz every nowand then.
“It’s really fun for me because I’m not the strongest guy on the field, but I feel like I use my quickness and speed to my advantage to get around bigger guys that can’t move as well as I can,” said Couch, who doesn’t shy away from the big blockers despite giving up more than 100 pounds to most offensive linemen.
“I feel like, if I go out there and do what I got to do, nobody can stop me. I’m just confident in myselfandmy ability, andIwork extremely hard.”
But, as a cornerback, does he prefer the big sack or big interception?
“Honestly, either one is good for me,” Couch said. “As long as I’m making a play for my team that gives us the best chance to win a game, I’d take either play.”
Speed and power
Miami defensive end Jaelan Phillips had to focus so much on adding 40- plus pounds of muscle to his frame since he transferred from UCLA and sat out the 2019 season, he didn’t have a lot of practice reps to work on his technique before training camp ahead of this fall.
It makes his rise as a UM starter even more impressive as he has 29 tackles, six for loss, 2 ½ sacks, an interception and three pass deflections in seven games. With 10 tackles, a sack and a pass breakup at N.C. State, he earned ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors.
“I didn’t have a lot of, really, position-specific drill work this offseason,” Phillips saidon Tuesday. “It was really just getting my body back right, getting my mental back right. I feel like [I’m] getting more comfortable and able to reach into a deeper bag of tricks, if you will, every week. Just kind of seeing how things are, seeing what’s working for me, what’s not working for me, I try to implement new things every game. As the season has gone on, I’ve definitely been able to implement new things .”
Already possessing the skills et of a speed rusher before he got up over 270 pounds, he now feel she has a better mix.
“I’m rushing like a speed guy, but I’m kind of big now. I’ve got a little bul know,” Phillips said. “I started to implement some power into my game. That really helps me because it keeps the tackle off guard. They never really know if I’m going to rush off the edge and usemy speed or if I’m going to use power inside, and [also] just little things technique-wise, making sure I’m active with my hands, active my reads, pre-snap reads.”
Linebacker play
Miami has received uneven play fromits starting linebacker combination of redshirt junior Bradley Jennings Jr. in the middle and redshirt senior Zach McCloud on the weak side, which start along Gilbert Frierson at the safety-line backer hybrid position of striker in UM’s base defense.
Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz, though, felt Jennings and McCloud were better in Friday’s win at N.C. State.
“I thought Bradley Jennings played maybe his best game of the year,” said Diaz on Monday of Jennings, who had four tackles and split a tackle for loss.
McCloud had an interception go right through his hands, and although he only had two assisted tackles, Diaz said McCloud played sufficiently against the run.
“Zach McCloud had that missed opportunity on the pass early on, but I thought, in the run game, did a lot better job,” Diaz said. “I thought, overall, wewere a lot better versus the run. They had the one that spit out, it was a gap the safety has to cover and was poorly aligned to do his job. Our front played a lot better.”
N.C. State had 131 rushing yards on 34 attempts, a 3.9 average. The Wol fpack and backup quarterback Bailey Hockman threw for 279 yards.
The Hurricanes face the nation’s fifth-leading rushing attack in Virginia Tech this Saturday. Led by running back Khalil Herbert, an American Heritage grad, and quarterback Hendon Hooker, the Hokies average 277 yards per game on the ground.