Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
No more opt-outs are expected, so Hurricanes prepare to go bowling
The Miami Hurricanes already know they won’t have starting defensive ends Jaelan Phillips and Quincy Roche for the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29.
On Monday, coach Manny Diaz said he believes that’s all the opt-outs UM will have as his No. 18 Hurricanes get set to take on No. 21 Oklahoma State.
“I don’t [expect any more opt-outs] at this point,” Diaz told 560-AM. “I think it’ll be just those two, but it’s 2020.
“We’ll adjust to anything we have to adjust to. I feel like the rest of the guys are excited to play.”
Phillips and Roche are both declaring for the NFL draft and training for the combine. Roche, viewed as an outside linebacker prospect in the NFL, has accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Jan. 30. Kicker Jose Borregales has as well, but he has not announced whether he plans on entering the draft or using an extra season of college eligibility at Miami.
UM will likely start redshirt freshmen Jahfari Harvey and Cameron Williams with Phillips and Roche out. The two rotated in for the starters this season. Fresh
man Chantz Williams, among others, could be elevated into significant playing time.
In the only bowl matchup of two ranked teams outside of the New Year’s Six bowls, the Hurricanes won’t be the only ones not at full strength. Cowboys running back Chuba Hubbard, offensive tackle Teven Jenkins and cornerback Rodarius Williams had previously announced bowl opt-outs.
“It’s where we’re at now with bowl games — it’s the new normal,” Diaz said. “We have seen this every year, but I’m excited about the guys we do have playing because that is one of the side benefits of what’s going on. You do have a little bit of a next man up, and I think some guys get excited about their opportunity to go shine.”
It’s an unusually quick turnaround from a bowl announcement to the day the game is played with the delays the college football regular season experienced this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It may be the best thing for us,” Diaz said. “Let’s get to work. Let’s get going. Let’s get a great week of practice.
“We do have Christmas in the middle of the week, so we will give the players a little bit of time for Christmas, and [then] let’s go play.”
Several colleges opted out of playing in a bowl game this postseason: Arizona State, Boise State, Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Louisville, LSU (NCAA sanctions), Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, San Diego State, Stanford, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Washington.
Were the Hurricanes ever close to making a decision along those lines?
“It’s tough,” Diaz said. “The strain of the year has gotten on a lot of people. I think what helps us is we have a lot of our players here locally.
“If you’re from far away, school’s been out [for a week or two], so you’ve got a group of kids sitting in their dorms or apartments, some foreign place that they really would rather not be in the winter time. And they’re sitting around waiting for a bowl; sometimes they’ve been sitting around for three or four extra weeks for a bowl. You can see where that becomes very difficult.
“I do think we benefit a little bit from our guys being here. We do have a lot of guys that are home, but even the guys that aren’t home, as we know, South Florida’s not the worst place to be in December.”
Diaz foresees the possibility of lineup changes, aside from the obvious need to replace his two starting defensive ends, after Miami lost 62-26 in its regular-season finale to No. 13 North Carolina. He wants to ramp up competition in practice this week.
“That’ll be a deal,” he said. “We’re going to have a couple of highly spirited practices the next couple of days to get back to work.”
Diaz also noted that some players who underperformed against UNC built up a body of work throughout the season and should be able to rebound.
“What I’m expecting is a team to come back with a little bit of an edge about it, a little bit upset about the taste that that left in our mouth,” Diaz said.