Defense dominates, young players stand out

CORAL GABLES — Heading into the first scrimmage of the spring, Miami Hurricanes defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was excited to see what his players could do, even if they wouldn’t be allowed to hit the quarterbacks.

With that first scrimmage now in the books, Diaz and the UM defense have to feel good about how it did throughout much of the early portion of Saturday’s workout.

According to stats provided by the Hurricanes because Saturday’s scrimmage was closed to both fans and the media, Miami’s defense totaled nine sacks, managed a pair of interceptions and gave UM’s first-team offensive line so much trouble coaches had to shift personnel, moving Tyler Gauthier from center to right tackle just to try and help the offense get some plays off against some talented pass rushers.

The offense managed to put together a more solid performance during the second part of the scrimmage, coach Mark Richt said, but it was clear which group had stretches of dominance Saturday.

“Defense definitely came out and kicked butt in the first half, second half, offense — on the [first unit] anyway — had the best of it,” Richt said. “It was a good battle. Like I told the offense, last year, we had like 50 yards against Florida State in the first half and then [we] had close to 300 yards, or whatever it was, in the second half. The game, day’s not over yet. So they did a better job.”

Among the players who excelled defensively were two early enrollees who have been on campus since January, defensive end Gregory Rousseau and cornerback Gilbert Frierson.

According to Richt, Rousseau — a former threestar prospect at Hialeah’s Champagnat Catholic — had seven tackles, including four for loss. All four of those were sacks. Frierson, meanwhile, who was a four-star prospect at Coral Gables High, had four tackles, including a tackle for loss and an interception.

Another one of Miami’s early enrollees — this one on offense — put together a solid performance, too.

Though he went primarily against the second and third units, freshman quarterback Jarren Williams, one of the gems of Miami’s early signing class, was 6 of 8 for 86 yards with two touchdowns. He went 5 of 8 for 71 yards during a 7-on-7 period that mostly featured third-string players.

“I’ll say this about Jarren, sometimes I use the term ‘He doesn’t know that he doesn’t know.’ Sometimes he’s just back there feeling things, but when he does throw it at something, he hits it, which is pretty good,” Richt said. “He’s learning at a very rapid pace and him being here in the spring is really good for him and good for us.”

As to how the two more experienced quarterbacks did, Malik Rosier — who entered spring as the leader to keep the starting job after throwing for 3,120 yards last season — was 8 of 17 for 109 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry was 6 of 13 for 33 yards with an interception.

Rosier and Perry each spent time working with both the first- and secondstring offenses against the first and second defenses. Redshirt freshman Cade Weldon, who is also competing for the starting job, missed a second consecutive practice while dealing with an eye infection, Richt said.

“Malik is ahead of everybody as far as knowing what to do and how to do it. There’s no question. Even throughout the week, we’ve had eight other practices and it’s very evident if we try to run our total system, he’s more than well-equipped to do it,” Richt said. “N’Kosi is much better and he’s getting it. … If you sit there and watch what Malik does and see some of the things that he does that maybe a younger guy wouldn’t have figured out, you can see where having that experience to get us in the right play can make all the difference in winning a game, winning a play. … But N’Kosi’s come a long way. Cade’s come a long way. Unfortunately, Cade’s got conjunctivitis and he wasn’t able to go. He’s highly contagious right now.”

The Hurricanes, who Richt said made it through the scrimmage without any serious injuries, will practice Tuesday and Thursday ahead of their spring game on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.