Diaz says COVID-19 nearly postponed game
The Miami Hurricanes’ 25-24 win against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday almost didn’t happen.
COVID-19 has spread through Miami’s roster for the last month and it — at least in part — led to the Hurricanes missing 13 players (three starters) for the trip to Blacksburg, Virginia, this weekend. Coach Manny Diaz said the trip almost didn’t happen.
“We were on the brink,” Diaz said. “The players’ attitudes, I thought, was the most telling. They wanted to play, and we were right on the brink at some position groups and whether we could even function as a team.”
Offensive lineman Jakai Clark, defensive lineman Jared Harrison-Hunte and Zach McCloud were all missing for undisclosed reasons. Offensive lineman John Campbell Jr., who has also started games this season, was out, too.
All told, Miami (7-1, 6-1 Atlantic Coast) had to beat Virginia Tech (4-4, 4-3) without those four, tight end Larry Hodges, safety Keshawn Washington, offensive linemen Cleveland Reed Jr. and Jalen Rivers, and defensive linemen Jason Blissett Jr., Jahfari Harvey, Jalar Holley and Chantz Williams. Offensive lineman Issiah Walker Jr. was also once again unavailable as he continues to await word from the NCAA about eligibility after transferring from the
Florida Gators in May.
The No. 9 Hurricanes were missing four players from their two-deep depth chart on the offensive line and two from their two-deep defensive line. Offensive lineman Navaughn Donaldson, who has yet to play this season as he recovers from offseason knee surgery, was nearly pressed into duty and available to play as an emergency option, Diaz said.
“Obviously, this week was really tough for us, missing a lot of guys,” quarterback D’Eriq King said.
With 13 players unavailable, Miami’s list of missing players grew for the third game in a row. Last month, the Hurricanes were missing six players for their win against the Virginia Cavaliers, with most of those out because of
COVID-related issues, a source told the Miami Herald. On Nov. 6, Miami was missing 11 players for its win against the North Carolina State Wolfpack and, once again, most of those were missing because of the virus.
The Hurricanes’ policy this season is not to disclose whether a player is out because of the coronavirus, but Diaz has acknowledged Miami has had to deal with it in recent weeks.
Some of those missing players did finally return Saturday, but more became unavailable. Star tight end Brevin Jordan and wide receivers Xavier Restrepo, Michael Redding III and Keyshawn Smith all were back after missing time. About a halfdozen other contributors all went out.
Clark was missing, so fellow offensive lineman Ousman Traore, who missed the North Carolina State game, returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the Hurricanes’ opener.
Harrison-Hunte was missing, so fellow defensive lineman Jon Ford returned to the starting lineup after Harrison-Hunte replaced him last week in Raleigh, North Carolina.
McCloud was missing, so fellow linebacker Sam Brooks Jr. stepped into the starting lineup for the first time all season.
Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, tight end Dominic Mammarelli, defensive lineman Elijah Roberts and linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. also returned after missing at least one game.
This weekend, at least 11 college football games were postponed, with another four canceled because of the pandemic. One of those games was the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets against the Pittsburgh Panthers, with both teams dealing with COVID-related issues.
Miami is slated to host Georgia Tech on Nov. 21 at Hard Rock Stadium.
COUCH DELIVERS AGAIN IN FOURTH QUARTER
Saturday began with Te’Cory Couch making his first career start. It ended with him making a handful of the biggest plays in the final minutes to help the Hurricanes complete a second straight fourth-quarter comeback on the road.
Couch logged one tackle, a quarterback hurry and a critical interception in the fourth quarter Saturday to help Miami rally past — and hang on to beat — Virginia Tech. For the second straight game, the sophomore made the plays on defense to help the Hurricanes pull out a hard-fought road victory.
Couch finished the game with five tackles. He recorded half a sack and half a tackle for loss, plus another quarterback hit. Right after King found wide receiver Mark Pope for the winning touchdown, Couch picked off Virginia Tech quarterback Hendon Hooker on the first play of the Hokies’ next drive with 5:52 remaining.
In his last two games, Couch has a sack, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and an interception.