Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Eyeing a midseason return
Silvera excited about depth on defensive line as foot heals
CORAL GABLES — Miami Hurricanes defensive tackle Nesta Silvera is progressing in his rehabilitation following foot surgery early in training camp, and the hope is he can make a midseason return.
“Oh, I’ll be back out there,” Silvera said Tuesday at Miami’s media day, where he wheeled in and out on a steerable leg scooter to rest his right foot.
Said Hurricanes defensive line coach Todd Stroud: “The injury that he has is easily recoverable. Hopefully midseason or so we’ll get him back on his feet again, rolling and see how it is and go from there.”
The 6-foot-2, 302-pound American Heritage product has remained his usual, vociferous self, and his attitude has impressed coaches.
“I’ve been really proud of him. He’s in a very good place mentally,” said Miami defensive coordinator Blake Baker. “I think he’s attacked his rehab head-on. He’s helping out with the younger guys quite a bit. He’s still very vocal on the sideline during practice, very much into it. I’m really proud of the way he has responded.”
Pat Bethel, the veteran among UM’s defensive tackles who started alongside Gerald Willis last year, appreciates the approach he has seen from Silvera.
“He’s been very mature,” Bethel said. “I’m proud of him keeping his head up and staying strong. He’s been fighting in rehab and doing everything he needs to do to get back as soon as possible.
“I can’t wait for him to return. I can’t wait for him to come back on the field with us.”
Redshirt freshman defensive end Gregory Rousseau, who is good friends with Silvera as a fellow Broward County product in the same UM recruiting class (Rousseau is from Coconut Creek, although he attended Campagnat Catholic in Hialeah), has helped Silvera during his recovery. He feels he owes it to him after Silvera did the same for Rousseau when he had ankle surgery after just two games in his freshman season.
“We keep each other up,” Rousseau said. “When he got hurt, I was talking to him, and vice versa when I got hurt. That’s my brother. We look out after each other.
“Hopefully, he’s just going to keep staying positive and he’ll be back pretty soon. I can’t wait till he’s back.”
Silvera entered this season with high hopes on a defensive line that will likely start Bethel and junior Jonathan Ford at defensive tackle.
Miami’s depth at defensive tackle has the team confident it can deal with Silvera’s absence until he returns. Redshirt senior and UCLA transfer Chigozie Nnoruka and redshirt freshman Jordan Miller provide depth behind Bethel and Ford. Baker and Stroud want to be able to rotate players and keep players fresh on the field.
Three freshmen — Jason Blissett, Jared Harrison-Hunte and
Jalar Holley — along with redshirt junior Tyreic Martin, can provide additional depth.
“It hurts losing Jade, don’t get me wrong,” Baker said. “But being able to sign Chigozie helps fill that loss until we can get him back. And once we get him back, it’s even scarier. Keep those guys as fresh as we can, so the more the merrier is how I look at it. They’re all going to play.”
Silvera also is excited about the depth at the position.
“I feel we got probably one of the deepest units,” Silvera said. “If you look at who we got … Jon Ford came a tremendous long way from where he was. Pat Bethel, he’s always reliable. Everybody knows that. Jonathan Garvin is one of the
best D-ends, if not the best in the country. We just got [defensive end and Virginia Tech transfer Trevon] Hill, Scott Patchan, Greg [Rousseau]. Chigozie’s another great addition, [Jordan Miller]. The three freshmen coming along too and Tyreic Martin, as well.”
With Miami’s opener against Florida in Orlando on Aug. 24, Silvera has four former American Heritage teammates on the Gators roster: cornerback Marco Wilson, defensive tackle Tedarrell Slaton and linebackers Andrew Chatfield and James Houston. He says he hasn’t engaged in any trash talk.
“I’m just talking to my teammates every day,” Silvera said. “That’s what I’m focused on — and getting back healthy.”