’Canes looking for more explosive plays
Lashlee adding urgency to hit big gains in pass game
The Miami Hurricanes were certainly pleased to run for 337 yards in their opener against a stout Conference USA defense in UAB, but they want to get more out of the passing game as they begin a run of 10 consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference games.
In hisUMdebut, redshirt senior quarterback D’Eriq King was held to 141 yards passing and one touchdown, which extended his FBS record of throwing and running for a touchdown to 16 consecutive games, going back to his time atHouston.
“There’s definitely some passes and some deep balls there that we need to hit if we want to be explosive,” said offensive coordinator RhettLashleeaftertheHurricanes’ longest pass play in Thursday’s 31-14 win went for 25 yards.
“I think the passing game is always the last thing to come along with anybody. There’s just a lotmore detail to be on the same page. We were a little off on some things. We still had a good completion percentage. We didn’t turn the ball over, didn’t have a lot of drops.”
King completed 15 of his 23 passes as Miami got a look it wasn’t expecting from the Blazers’ defensive front. That made theHurricanes run twice as often as they passed, 52 to 26 plays, while making some halftime adjustments.
“He was OK throwing the football,” Lashlee said of King. “I think he’ll be the first to tell you he can better. We’ve seen him be better. It was Game1. I think he’d like to have a couple of the vertical passes back.
“It just takessometime— receivers, tight ends, quarterbacks. The game is different than practice, getting on the same page, the routes being run exactly like they need to be run, the timing. I think that’s something we’ll get better in and we need to get better in as the games really get tougher and tougher eachweek.”
An early-season key for the Hurricanes is how quickly Lashlee, King and his targets can get on one page so the passing game can be as efficient as possible.
The No. 17 Hurricanes play at No. 18 Louisville on Saturday night before returning home against the rival Florida State Seminoles on Sept. 26. Against the Cardinals last season, former quarterback Jarren Williams threw for six touchdowns in the last bright spot for him and excoordinator Dan Enos. The Hurricanes went on a three-game losing streak to finish the season.
After an odd offseason during the coronavirus pandemic, there was one noticeable case early on Thursday night when there was quarterback-receiver miscommunication — when redshirt freshman wideout Jeremiah Payton came back on a route as King threwit deep.
“For the most part, itwas good. Therewas not a lot of busts. Guys knew what to do,” said Lashlee, noting the Payton instance was the only such mishap. “It was more about the execution. Is the route run the proper way? Is the quarterback’s timing correct? Is he sitting in the pocket correct?”
King said after Thursday’s win: “It was a lot of things that usually happen in the first game. I think we did some good things, and we got to better on a lot of stuff.”
Lashlee attributed both of the sacks Miami allowed to King not getting the ball out instead of the offensive line. King also, however, covered up a few blemishes in pass protection by escaping pressure and turning a would-be sack into a big rushing play. Removing his two sacks that lost 14 yards, King had 10 carries for 97 yards.
“His pocket presence was good,” Lashlee said. “I think it’s a little bit of a double-edged sword. One of his strengths is, man, he made some incredible plays when things broke down or when he saw a crease, he’d drop back and take off and get a conversion on the run.”
“He’s a wizard,” said center Corey Gaynor, who was namedACCOffensive Lineman of the Week. “Let him keep being him.”
Lashlee is confident the explosive pass plays will come with time.
“That’s definitely a big point of emphasis for us right now,” he said. “That’s fairly normal for that to take a little longer than the run game coming along.”