Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Top 20 Miami Hurricanes to watch during spring football
The Miami Hurricanes begin spring football practice Monday — following a disappointing 6-7 season in Manny Diaz’s first year as head coach.
Here’s a look at 20 key players to watch during UM’s 15 spring practices.
The grad transfer quarterback from Houston cut his senior season short at four games last year to retain eligibility for a fifth season. The spring will be pivotal for the dual threat — who accounted for 50 total touchdowns in 2018 — to get acclimated to new Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s system and his receivers. 2. Greg Rousseau, DE
The redshirt sophomore finished second to only Ohio State’s Chase Young with 15 1⁄2 sacks last season. Rousseau will have his first full season as a starter next fall and, instead of having Jonathan Garvin or Trevon Hill opposite him, he will be complemented by grad transfer Quincy
Roche. 3. Zach McCloud, LB
After limiting himself to four games as a senior last year, McCloud redshirted to maintain his eligibility this season. He’ll
lead the Hurricanes’ linebacker unit that’s filled with youth as seniors Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney are headed to the NFL draft.
4. Quincy Roche, DE
Coming to Coral Gables as a grad transfer from Temple, Roche, who had 13 sacks last year, will quickly get acclimated to defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s defense while working with defensive line coach Todd Stroud and his new teammates this spring.
5. Zion Nelson, OT
Thrown into the fire immediately last season by starting at left tackle as a true freshman, it will be critical for Nelson to get to work with new offensive line coach Garin Justice to make improvements. The offense will work best if Nelson is consistently protecting King’s blind side.
6. Michael Harley, WR
Already exhibiting some veteran leadership qualities as a junior last season, Harley will be counted on even more so in that regard now that K.J. Osborn is gone. With Jeff Thomas leaving early for the NFL, Harley must take strides toward utilizing his top-line speed to burn defenses deep and be more proficient on underneath routes.
7. Cam’Ron Harris, RB
Harris already carried the workload at the end of last season when DeeJay Dallas went down with an injury. Now, he’ll be expected to do so over an entire season as a junior while also bringing along freshmen running backs Don
Chaney Jr. and Jaylan Knighton.
8. Gurvan Hall, S
Hall was Miami’s second-leading
tackler last season (66) from the safety position. He also had two sacks, 3 1⁄2 tackles for loss, an interception, a fumble recovery and three pass breakups. With Robert Knowles out of eligibility and Bubba Bolden expected to miss much of the spring with an ankle injury, Hall needs to stand out as a playmaker. The same goes for fellow Palm Beach County product Amari
Carter, who returns in the back end of the defense.
9. Corey Gaynor, C
Gaynor was already UM’s leader on the offensive line and will continue in that role as he heads into his redshirt junior season. His impact will only be magnified with senior guard
Navaughn Donaldson out for the spring, recovering from a knee injury.
10. Nesta Silvera, DT
Silvera needs to expand on his previous spot duty in the defensive-tackle rotation to be the consistent, dominant force he has the potential to be — especially with Pat Bethel having graduated. Silvera, who missed time early last season as a sophomore, will also be relied upon to set an example for the team’s young defensive linemen. The American Heritage grad will play alongside fellow Broward County product in senior Jonathan
Ford, who attended Dillard.
11. Will Mallory, TE
Brevin Jordan is still out with his foot injury, so Will Mallory, who would be a No. 1 tight end on most teams, will lead the unit in the spring. He looks to build on his 16-catch, 293-yard sophomore season.
12. Mark Pope, WR
The Miami receiving corps could use a breakout season from Pope or Dee
Wiggins — the two rising junior receivers from Miami Southridge. Wiggins showed flashes last season, and Pope is yet to fully tap into that five-star potential.
13. Al Blades Jr., CB
Blades and DJ Ivey platooned as starting cornerbacks opposite Trajan Bandy last year and both played in nickel packages. With Bandy gone, Blades and Ivey would be expected to grab hold of the two starting boundary cornerback spots, but will have secondyear players Te’Cory Couch and Christian Williams pushing them.
14. Gilbert Frierson, Striker
Last year’s starter at striker, Romeo Finley, has graduated. Frierson spelled Finley at the safety/linebacker hybrid position last season and had a big interception in Miami’s bowl game. Keontra Smith is moving to the unique position from safety this spring and is excited about it, according to his high school coach, Dameon Jones of Chaminade-Madonna. The versatile Smith is used to being closer to the line of scrimmage, playing a lot at linebacker in high school.
15. Jaelan Phillips, DE
Now eligible to play after sitting out 2019 due to NCAA transfer rules as he came over from UCLA, the former five-star edge rusher will be thrust into action, along with redshirt freshman Jahfari Harvey. The oft-injured Phillips won’t have too much pressure on him with Rousseau and Roche on the defensive line.
16. Jalen Rivers, OT
The All-American tackle in high school can help bring depth at the position or challenge for a starting spot. Zion Nelson started at left tackle all last season, while DJ Scaife started at right tackle most of the season. Guard Jakai Clark’s spring will be key after starting much of last year, along with John Campbell after spot duty at guard and tackle. Cleveland Reed’s return also bolsters the line.
17. Avery Huff, LB
Fellow second-year linebacker Sam Brooks had an outstanding bowl game while filling in for Michael Pinckney, but he is out for the spring with a shoulder injury. Huff, a St. Thomas Aquinas product who sat out last year to get his academics in order, is another linebacker worthy of hype. He and Patrick Joyner are among those who can look to play alongside McCloud during the spring.
18. Jeremiah Payton, WR
The prized prospect of UM’s 2019 recruiting class has a lot to gain with a strong spring at a position where two players left for the NFL. He also should be motivated to keep himself ahead of four incoming freshman receivers, although Michael Redding may be worked in slowly with a wrist injury. Payton played sparingly on special teams as a true freshman and had a 23-yard catch against Bethune-Cookman.
19. Tyler Van Dyke, QB
The early-enrollee freshman doesn’t have any pressure on him to come in and start right away with D’Eriq King likely cemented in that role — or even to rise to be his backup with N’Kosi
Perry and Tate Martell still around. What this spring can provide Van Dyke is an opportunity to grow in Lashlee’s offense in order to be prepared to compete by the 2021 spring or ensuing fall season.
20. Jaylan Knighton, RB
With fellow All-American freshman back Don
Chaney Jr. set to sit out his first spring at UM with a shoulder injury, Knighton will have an opportunity to get a leg up and learn from veterans Cam’Ron Harris and Robert Burns. The Deerfield Beach grad will have the opportunity to get playing reps come fall.