Harley injury ‘trending in right direction’
Miami Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz said wide receiver Mike Harley is “trending in the right direction positively” after leaving Saturday’s loss versus Alabama midway through the matchup with an “upper extremity injury” as ABC reported during the game’s broadcast.
On third-and-7 early in the third quarter versus the Crimson Tide, Harley was hit by three different Alabama defenders after catching a 17-yard pass from D’Eriq King to covert the first down.
His helmet popped off his head after the three hits, with secondyear wide receiver Xavier Restrepo replacing Harley in the slot for the remainder of the game.
Harley, who had team-highs of 57 catches, 799 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions in 2020, was listed on UM’s two-deep chart for its home opener versus Appalachian State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
He finished with three catches for 23 yard against Alabama, with Restrepo having three receptions for 55 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
“We’ll have our staff meeting [Monday] afternoon,” Diaz said. “I’ll know more at [4 p.m on Monday]. But it sounds like it’s better than maybe we initially thought.”
Diaz added that third-year linebacker Sam Brooks Jr., who didn’t play against Alabama and wasn’t listed on Miami’s depth chart for Saturday, is still a “ways away” from playing in a game after having toe surgery over the offseason.
“He had a little setback during training camp,” Diaz said. “So we’re just trying to get him all the way right. It’s been a series of just frustrating setbacks with Sam. We just thought that was the best thing. He was ahead of schedule when he came back in training camp.”
Oluwaseun replacing Scaife
The only significant change on Miami’s two-deep depth chart versus the Mountaineers was Justice Oluwaseun, the UNLV transfer, replacing D.J. Scaife Jr. as the starting right tackle.
Scaife started at right tackle against Alabama, but Oluwaseun subbed in for him in the second
quarter and took most of the snaps at the position after the change was made.
“When Justice came in, we were a lot more stable in pass protection,” Diaz said. “I thought he had played very well against maybe the best defensive end in the country. We have to remember who we’re blocking. I don’t think anybody can better what [Alabama] has. I feel like we calmed [the pressure] down as the game went on. It gave us a chance to execute some things down the field.”
Scaife, a fourth-year offensive lineman who started at right guard last season, struggled as a pass rusher against Alabama.
On Miami’s third possession of the game early in the second quarter, Crimson Tide linebacker Christopher
Allen got by Scaife before sacking King and forcing him to fumble, with the Hurricanes losing possession on the drive while already down 17-0 at that point in the game.
On UM’s next drive, linebacker Will Anderson Jr. beat Scaife on the edge on a third-and-10, which forced King to scramble for 5 yards and the Hurricanes to punt the ball away.
Oluwaseun, who made 21 starts — including six last year at right tackle — during his four years with the Rebels, stepped in for Scaife on Miami’s next drive.
“The bottom line is he was competing in a way that was giving D’Eriq time to get rid of the ball,” offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. “We just weren’t doing that the first few drives on the right side. When one was in there, we were getting hit, and the other one we weren’t.”
Lashlee added that UM is still “reevaluating” its offensive line combinations after the loss to the Crimson Tide and that the team’s depth chart at that unit is what is now because “that’s how we played the majority of the game.”
The remainder of the offensive line remained unchanged: Zion Nelson at left tackle, Jalen Rivers at left guard, Corey Gaynor at center and Navaughn Donaldson at right guard.
Jarrid Williams, the Houston transfer who started at right tackle for Miami last year and was getting reps with the first-team offense at both tackle spots during fall camp while Nelson was dealing with an injury, is listed as the backup left tackle for the Hurricanes’ matchup with Appalachian State.