Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘Standards’ main priority for Diaz
Diaz will tap into methods he used as leader of defense
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — His players have spent the better part of the last three months lifting weights, running sprints, learning how to take better care of their bodies, studying and motivating each other to be ready for the challenges that await.
But with the Miami Hurricanes set to report next week for the start of their first training camp under Manny Diaz, the first-year coach acknowledged Thursday during his first appearance at ACC Kickoff, the league’s annual media day event, that there is still a lot of work to be done in the locker room. There may also be some difficult conversations to have too given that Diaz says some of the Hurricanes haven’t yet embraced the high standards he and his staff have tried to set.
The goal? To ultimately get Miami back to championship status and hopefully follow the blueprint Diaz used when he turned Miami’s defense from an ACC doormat to a unit ranked among the top five nationally last season.
“This is UM, man,” said Diaz, who served as Miami’s defensive
coordinator under former coach Mark Richt the last three seasons. “This is a high-standard place.
“We’ve got to win and that’s really what we did defensively. In 2016, we said, ‘I don’t know how good we’re going to be on defense, but we’re going to set ridiculously high standards. Who thought we’d start three freshmen at linebacker? Why did we start them? Because they were the only ones that met the high standard.
“The older guys who were like, ‘Nah, Coach, you’re going to play me,’ they weren’t in. The older guys weren’t in like the younger guys were. Those three guys [Shaq Quarterman, Mike Pinckney and Zach McCloud] were not going to take no for an answer. They were going to play. ... I don’t know how good we’re going to be now.”
With Miami’s season set to open Aug. 24 against longtime rival Florida in a showcase game that is being marketed as the celebratory start to the 150th season of college football, the Hurricanes will be forced to answer some significant questions quickly.
A starting quarterback must be named. A consistent and effective offensive line combination needs to be determined. Unproven defensive backs will be asked to rise to the challenge. And an offense that
struggled to move the ball last year during a disappointing 7-6 season that ended with a disastrous 35-3 loss to Wisconsin in December will have to be tougher and more effective.
To help find answers to all of those questions, Diaz will, early next week, meet with the one staffer who’s spent more time with the Hurricanes over the course of the summer than anyone else: strength and conditioning coach David Feeley.
“We will go through each guy on the roster in depth,” Diaz said. “All I need to know is that we just can’t put a guy that’s not for the ’Canes in a dependable situation and then all of a sudden be surprised that he drops the ball on third down or misses a block on third down or misses a tackle on third down.
“And I think as long as the players know that, that’s cool. And this movie, it’s already happened before. It’s exactly what we did in 2016 on defense. I’ve already seen this movie. I know how it ends. It’s just coming to the entire team now.”
Feeley won’t be the only one helping Diaz determine which players are capable of upholding “the standard,” as its become known in the locker room.
Veterans, including Quarterman — a linebacker who hasn’t missed a start since arriving at Miami in 2016 — and receiver K.J. Osborn, an experienced transfer from Buffalo, will provide input too, much as they have throughout the summer.
It’s a responsibility both players, who accompanied Diaz to this year’s ACC Kickoff, say they take seriously.
“My opportunities are very limited now,” Quarterman said. “I’m no longer a freshman or a sophomore. I have a regular season of games left. God willing I’ll stay healthy, but this is it for me. This is my last year. It’s very sacred to me.
“But then you have guys who just don’t know any better. They’re freshmen, they’re sophomores. They think they have a lot of time to get it right. You have to encourage them to understand there’s no time like the present.
“You’re competing against everybody in the country. You need to be the best at everything you do. You have to work that way every day, and it’s hard. The standard is very hard, I’m telling you. It’s not for the faint of heart.”
Added Osborn: “The standard is to win and the coaches are going to hold us to a high level, whether that’s finishing, whether it’s not bending over, whether it’s excitement, whether it’s hustling. The standard is never going to be let down.
“The great thing about Miami is we have to live up to it. We didn’t set it. It’s already been set in the ’80s and [with the] ’01 team and all the great alumni that we have to live up to. … Coach Feeley tells us Miami is going to be good with or without us. It’s ‘The U,’ so we have to uphold it. It’s bigger than us.”