UM is breaking in new linebackers
This is a largely untested group of linebackers participating in spring practice at the University of Miami.
Consider: Aside from Wesley Bissainthe (who played 401 defensive snaps last season), every other linebacker available this spring combined for 73 defensive snaps during the 2023 regular season.
That includes Marcellius Pulliam (11), Bobby Washington (14), Chase Smith (7), Raul Aguirre (29) and Malik Bryant (12), plus early enrollees Cam Pruitt and Adarius Hayes and converted safety Kaleb Spencer. The upshot is several players who need the reps are getting the reps in practice.
Francisco Mauigoa, the Canes’ best linebacker, is missing spring practice with an injury, allowing Aguirre to play alongside Bissainthe with the defensive starters.
“Popo has done a great job,” UM linebackers coach Derek Nicholson said of Aguirre. “He’s continued to take steps, leaps and bounds from what he was at the end of the year. He communicates well. He’s confident in what he’s doing.
“This is his first spring. He didn’t come early last year. He has improved each and every day. I’m excited about his future.”
And what about Washington, another secondyear player?
“He didn’t play a lot for us last year, but he’s had a really good offseason so far,” Nicholson said.
Pruitt has impressed everyone; Mario Cristobal predicted this week that he will become a “spectacular” player.
“Cameron ‘Bobby’ Pruitt just has flashed,” Nicholson said. “Every day, it seems like he’s making some type of flash play. He’s done a real good job of learning and having a clear understanding of the defense and playing with confidence.
“If there’s one thing you just notice, it’s his speed, his overall athleticism and his feel of the game, knowing his way around the football field in different spots because he’s also playing different spots, as well, depending on the package and what we’re doing.”
As for Hayes: “Adarius, full pads, was out there [Thursday after an earlier injury] and he was thumping, so that was really good to see,” Nicholson said Thursday. “You can see him, confident, trotting around there, which you like to see from a young player.”
Nicholson, who was given the co-defensive coordinator title this week, said: “We are fairly young but very talented.”
UM needs Bissainthe to become an elite run stopper and improve his subpar pass coverage.
Among UM linebackers, Bissainthe had the most difficult time in coverage last season, allowing a 135 passer rating in his coverage area (13 for 15 targets caught for 166 yards and a touchdown).
“Wesley has taken a jump” overall, Nicholson said. “He has had a really good offseason. I’m really proud of his progression.
“Huge steps mentally. He’s gotten bigger, gotten stronger. He’s more explosive. Got a clear understanding of what he’s doing and what 11 pieces of the puzzle are doing defensively, and what the offense is trying to throw at him.”