Cornerbacks may be biggest surprise of spring
Kevin Steele can admit it now. He really didn’t know what to expect from his cornerbacks when he took over as the Miami Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator in February.
Mario Cristobal conceded the same thing Saturday after Miami wrapped up its spring game in Fort Lauderdale. The assessment from both of the new coaches at the start of the spring was similar: There were pieces to like, but, for whatever reason, it didn’t come together last season.
On Tuesday, Steele called the position “probably the biggest surprise” on defense. Cristobal pointed to its “tremendous progress” on Saturday. In the spring game, the corners’ improvement was obvious.
“The secondary coming in was something you watched on film and you were trying to figure out. We’ve got some really godo guys and we’ve got some ability back there, but something’s not matching up,” Cristobal said. “What you see is a unit really progressing.”
Although the offense won the day by scoring four touchdowns and kicking one field goal, the Canes’ defense only gave up one passing touchdown, and almost entirely limited the big plays from quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and Co.
The Hurricanes’ offense, of course, wasn’t using its full playbook, and Van Dyke and Jake Garcia mostly took what the defense gave them — a hallmark of new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis’ philosophy. Their defense, however, didn’t give them very much room to operate.
“Those corners are really, really good,” Garcia said. “It’s really hard to point out a position that’s just stood out, but those corners are really doing their thing.”
Star sophomore James Williams hauled in an interception, and at least four different corners broke up passes, with Isaiah Dunson deflecting one in the end zone as he tightly covered wide receiver Frank Ladson in the second half and fellow cornerback Marcus Clarke making another nice play on a throw intended for wide receiver Brashard Smith.
With cornerback Tyrique Stevenson out with a shoulder injury, Dunson started opposite DJ Ivey on the outside and fellow cornerback Te’Cory Couch started in the slot, sniffing out an end around and dropping Smith for an 8-yard tackle for loss.
Couch’s tackle for loss was another nice piece of evidence of progress, too.
“It was the same exact play that got me in the last scrimmage we had,” Couch said, “but they wasn’t going to get me again.”
Last year, Miami gave up the 29th most receiving yards per game in the country and let opponents complete 61.9 percent of their passes, and struggled to find a consistent starter opposite Stevenson. Although they can only learn so much from the spring, the Hurricanes felt good enough about their depth at the position they were able to move Al Blades Jr. to safety, and their top-end talent should improve even more in the regular season when Stevenson and transfer Daryl Porter Jr., who was a starter for the West Virginia Mountaineers last year, officially joins the team.
Cristobal said the group has responded well to coaching from Steele and defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae, and Garcia agreed.
“Schematically, I think that ties into it,” Garcia said. “They’re disguising things differently and able to just use their eyes and little things like that to manipulate, to try to mess with me while I’m messing with them.”
DL STANDS OUT
Miami’s front seven is also still a work in progress — at least three potential starters on the defensive line didn’t play in the spring game — but the Hurricanes felt good about the way it played this weekend.
Transfer defensive lineman Jacob Lichtenstein, who started eight games for the USC Trojans last year, had a sack, a fumble recovery and had the deflection leading to Williams’ interception. Star defensvie tackle Leonard Taylor got the starting nod and had a sack, too, and freshman defensive lineman Cyrus Moss had two, including a strip sack.
“The defense is going to be legit. They are legit,” Garcia said. “They’re going to be different this year.”
Cristobal also specifically gave shout outs to defensive linemen Thomas Davis and Chantz Williams, who had a tackle for loss, and said Moss “really flashed.”
Moss, who was a top-100 recruit in the
247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2022, is up to about 215 pounds, Cristobal said, after he arrived in Coral Gables at 199.
David Wilson: 305-376-3406, @DBWilson2