2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent series - Part 6 (@UNC - Oct 17th {Thursday Night})

Oct 17^th - @North Carolina (Thursday Night)

Well, we are halfway home in this opponent series. In Part 6, I’ll preview the 2013 North Carolina Tar Heels, whom we visit up in Chapel Hill on Oct 17^th, a Thursday Night game at 7:30 on ESPN.

Here’s what you need to know about the Tar Heels:

They are coached by Larry Fedora (Austin College '85), who enters his 2^nd season with the Tar Heels. He led them to an 8-4 season and won the Coastal, but they were ineligible for the ACC Championship game due to probation. He was hired in January of last year after four years at Southern Missi, where he went 34-19 in his tenure there. That includes a 12-2 finish and Conference USA championship in his final season in Hattiesburg. In Fedora's last two seasons with the Golden Eagles, they made unbelievable strides on Offense, Defense and, the most important of all, in the win column. Think about this, his first team in Carolina, seemed more poised and were more comfortable in his offense than he had in his final two years in Hattiesburg. Simply put, the Tar Heels are already ahead of schedule.

To put Fedora’s success in perspective, in 2010, his Golden Eagles team won eight games for the first time since 2006. His first two years there were nothing to write home about. However, in 2008, after a 2-6 start, they won their final 5 games to finish 7-6. That year, the offense came alive, and they broke a then school record for points with 398. The next year, they would score 428 points. IN 2010, they scored 479 points, and in Fedora’s final year, they scored 512 points.

That’s the main reason North Carolina brought Fedora in. When you look at the resume of this man, He was Mike Gundy’s OC at Oklahoma State from 2005-07, and they got better offensively each year he was there. The offense in Stillwater, struggled in 2005, finishing 96th nationally in scoring, the Cowboys finished in the top 10 in rushing yards and the top 20 in total offense in each of the following two seasons. The following year, they were one of two teams (Boise being the other) to average 200 yards per game both Rushing and Passing. Before his stint in Stillwater, he spent time in Gainesville on Ron Zook’s staff, with the final year (2004) being the OC and at Middle Tennessee State from 1999-2001 as offensive coordinator. His other FBS assistant experience were at Air Force (1997-98) and Baylor (1990-1996). Carolina was sending a message, they were going to compete for ACC titles and be a national power in Football again.

Let’s break down the North Carolina Tar Heels:

Offensively:  They lost their biggest weapon Giovani Bernard, who decided to forgo his final 2 years of eligibility and enter the NFL (Drafted in 2^nd Round by the Cincinnati Bengals). They do have nice pieces coming back, but having to fill Bernard’s shoes isn’t going to be easy. Its up to both Senior A.J. Blue (433 yards, 5.28 yards per carry) and Sophomore Romar Morris (386 yards, 5.59 yards per carry). They did ok in 2012 when given the chance to produce. If they want to have a solid starter, most likely it’ll be Blue that they lean on here. He did have a 100-yard game, when Bernard was out vs. Wake Forest. However, don’t be surprised if Fedora decides to go with a back by committee approach here between Blue, Morris, sophomore Travis Riley and true freshman T.J. Logan. Two big issues they need to get addressed:

·         UNC loses a star, in Gio Bernard and you don’t replace with just anyone.

·         They have to replace three starters on the O-Line (which I’ll talk about next)

How far their running game drops off, and there will be a drop off this year, will hinge on how quickly everyone steps up and produces in their new roles?

I want to get more in depth about the O-Line: In 2012, they had three Seniors there and they allowed the 9^th fewest sacks in the country with 11. However, in 2013, they must replace three starters there:

·         Jonathan Cooper at left guard (1^st Round pick by the Arizona Cardinals) – who was one of the best O-Lineman in the country

·         Travis Bond (7^th Round pick by the Minnesota Vikings) and Brennan Williams (3^rd Round pick by the Houston Texans) from the right side.

They do get back Senior left tackle James Hurst, who’s easily an all First Team ACC player, and Junior center Russell Bodine, who’s become more of the vocal leader on that line. To fill those huge shoes of the three Seniors they lost to Graduation/NFL Draft, they’ll look to Landon Turner, a sophomore, at RG, like they did in the final four games of last season because Williams got hurt, and RS Freshman Caleb Peterson, who will have to huge task of filling Cooper’s huge shoes at LG, barring any developments during fall camp. At RT, it’ll be up to Junior Nick Appel to step up. When you have an All-ACC First team player like Hurst next to you on the line, Peterson should be able to make the quick transition to a starting job and shine. When you add a leader like Bodine, that should make the interior of the O-Line very good.  If there’s a down side, and there is a down side here, it’s the fact that Peterson is raw. You have to realize that the right side of their line goes from extremely inexperienced to, at best, a minor concern. However, the other side of the coin there, is that the right side could be a major problem for an Offense looking to continue the momentum that last season had success on the ground. Also, while Carolina add four recruits in time for fall camp, which includes a JUCO transfer, they are lacking depth here and anyone goes down, it could be big trouble in Chapel Hill.

As for the passing game, that’s unchanged for the most part. They did lose only a nice possession receiver in Erik Highsmith (Signed as UFA by Minnesota Vikings), Overall, you can see they’re liking  in Fedora's system and they believe in it. They have experience back running his offense in Senior Bryn Renner, who’s entering his third season as the Heels' starter. He comes in as one of the best QB’s in the country. In 2012, Renner was outstanding, sans the midseason doldrums of ACC play,  and comes into his senior year, with a chance to break every major passing record in school history, which says a lot. He already has the top two single-season touchdown records, and had a career-high 28 in 2012, and also, set a new school record for total offense with 3,394 yards. He also is the most efficient QB in ACC history (154.59). This was evident in the Louisville game when he went head to head with Teddy Bridgewater in September, and he only got better as the season went on. In November, he was a monster. In 2013, this guy could be maybe a Top 5 QB in the country.

Look at the weapons Renner has back. They have Sophomore Quinshad Davis (61 receptions for 770 yards) and Junior tight end Eric Ebron (40 for 625) as their main weapons, with the latter (Ebron) being a borderline All-American candidate after a strong first season as their full-time starter at TE. As for Davis, he’s their leader of their WR core. After him, you have Junior Sean Tapley (26 for 351), Sophomore Kendrick Singleton, Sophomore T.J. Thorpe and Juniors Nic Platt and Roy Smith. What the other WRs lack in proven production after Davis and Tapley, they make up for it in being comfortable in Fedora’s Offense, and there’s only one Senior there. This is going to be a very dangerous core to deal with in 2013. They don’t have the possession WR, so it’ll be up to incoming freshmen, Jordan Fieulleteau and Johnathan Howard, to step up and fill the role Highsmith had in 2012, and be that guy to be that true downfield threat to make opposing DC’s have to respect the slot guy more and not focus on just Davis and Ebron.

Defensively: As great as UNC's offense, the same cannot be said for their defense. In 2012, especially toward the end of the season, they were just horrendous. This area needs plenty of work to build the confidence back up in them. Their strongest area is the secondary, which has all four primary starters back. Their front seven, has to replace:

·         A starting tackle

·         A  stub at MLB

·         Two hybrids

o   An end-linebacker

o   Linebacker-safety.

On one side of the coin, they have to replace some major talent and production off here. On the other side of the coin, these same starters couldn't do anything to halt the 2^nd half skid. However, you don’t replace guys like Sylvester Williams (1^st Round pick {28^th Overall} by the Denver Broncos) and Kevin Reddick (Signed as UFA by the New Orleans Saints) with just anyone. At the same time, they are more familiar with DC Dan Disch's unorthodox system.

They do have coming back on the D-Line, Senior DE Kareem Martin (40 tackles, 15.5 for loss) and senior DT Tim Jackson, with the latter moving over to fill Williams' huge shoes on the inside. With Jackson moving over, this opens a spot at the nose for Junior Shawn Underwood, who was Jackson’s understudy. The question that has to be asked here:

Can Jackson, Underwood and juniors Ethan Farmer and Devonte Brown even come close to duplicating the sort of disruptive presence Williams brought to their defense in 2012? A bigger issue is the lack of size inside: Think about this, they only have one returning lineman over 300 pounds  and that’s Underwood, however, incoming freshman Greg Webb, will be the other. Even if this defense is built on speed, they have to really stand tall at the point of attack and not get pushed around by bigger and more athletic O-Lines. If there’s any good news, its that Martin is good enough to have the Front 4 get on his back, but he’s going to need the others on that line to step up and produce.

As for the LB core, its up to Sophomore Shakeel Rashad (18 tackles, 3.5 for loss) to fill the shoes left by Dion Guy (Graduation) as UNC's hybrid end-linebacker. This is a role that he’ll do very well at because if his speed, agility and overall athleticism. Usually, you would have a converted LB in this role, but they see something in him that makes them believe he can be a full-time starter because he has enough speed to harass skill players off the edge, though he is a bit on the light side  Add to the fact that Junior Tommy Heffernan (73 tackles, 8.5 for loss) is back as the Weak side LB, and they can devote this fall camp to locating a replacement for Reddick in the middle. Something they’ll look at here is to move either Heffernan or Travis Hughes there. That way, that would allow them to have their two most experienced LBs on the field; another option their staff is considering, though less likely this scenario happens, is to give the job to one of two RS Freshmen, (Nathan Staub and Dan Mastromatteo). As it is now, they seem inclined to start either Hughes or Heffernan on the weak side, with the reserve still playing a big role, and have inexperience replace one of the best linebackers in the ACC in Reddick. There will be a dropoff there without question.

Their secondary, as stated earlier, has everyone back, and this could be one of the better units in the ACC. Injuries were an issue back in the Spring. However, their starting four should remain the same:

·         Senior Jabari Price (76 tackles) and junior Tim Price (48 tackles, 4 interceptions) at CB.

·         Senior Tre Boston (86 tackles, 4 interceptions) at FS

·         Either sophomores Sam Smiley or Darien Rankin (48 tackles, 3 interceptions) at strong safety.

When you look at their safeties, this group is loaded with talent. The hybrid spot, one shared by Gene Robinson and Pete Mangum last year, will be held by Junior Brandon Ellerbe, who’s a former safety that moved to the position following last season's scheme change. Ellerbe's coverage experience is key because their hybrid acts more like a fifth defensive back than a third linebacker.

Special teams: Losing Casey Barth (Graduation) is huge and filling his shoes is going to be a very tough act. The one they will turn to here to fill the huge shoes left behind by Barth is Junior Thomas Moore, who made two of his three attempts in limited duty a year ago.

However, they do get Junior Tommy Hibbard back at Punter. Some would say he’s the best punter in the ACC, though Duke's Will Monday will have something to say about that. They do get Tapley back on Kick returns, which gives them very nice field-position asset, however, when you lose a Home Run threat like Bernard, there’s going to be big drop there.  

In closing, looking at Carolina’s schedule, right off the bat, they have to go to Columbia for a meeting with Mr. Clowney and Co. on a Thursday Night. After that, they have MTSU in their home opener, and after a BYE week, go to Atlanta to play GT, before going back home for East Carolina the following week. They’re back on the road the following week to Blacksburg to play VT. After the second BYE week, we come to town for a Thursday Night game and nine days later, they host BC. After the Eagles game, they go back on the road to Raleigh to play NC State, before coming back home the following week to host UVa. After the Cavaliers leave Chapel Hill, they make the trip North to ACC newcomer Pittsburgh, to close the road portion of their schedule. They close with Old Dominion and Duke at home.

I have to tell you this team has the chance to win 10 games this year. Will they do it? Probably not. I’m going with 9-3 for North Carolina in 2013.

In Part 7 of the series, I will talk about the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. 

2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent series - Part 5 (GT - Oct 5th ACC Opener)

Oct 5^th – GT (ACC Opener)

In Part 5 of the 12 part 2013 Miami Hurricanes opponent series, I’m going to talk about our opponent in the ACC opener, and that’s the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who come to Sun Life Stadium on October 5^th.

Here’s what you need to know about the Yellow Jackets: They are coached by Paul Johnson, who is entering his 6^th season in Atlanta. This was the hot team when he came in from Navy, but my, have things changed. In 2009, they won the ACC title beating Clemson in Tampa to do so. With a Johnson coached team, you know what you’re going to see, which is the Triple Option. His teams have led the nation or have been near the top in total yards (especially rushing, not so much passing) and total points.

Here’s what Johnson said after winning the 2009 ACC title: "When we took the job, this is the reason we took it — to have a chance to compete and go to BCS bowl games.” He was on a roll at that point and when you look at the resume of this man, you see why he had the confidence he had at that time. He won two Division I-AA (now FCS) national championships at Georgia Southern. Then he led the Naval Academy to five straight bowl games. And once he arrived in Atlanta, he had early success to everyone’s amazement.

Now, though, fast forward to 2013, they are not as consistent as they were early on. They come into this season off a 7-7 season, and the third straight year with at least five losses. Yes, there has been bowl games in that stretch, but when you go to the Sun and the Independence Bowls, instead of the BCS bowls like the Orange and the Sugar, the disgruntling gets a little louder.

GT by the numbers in 2012:
Rushing Offense: 311.21 (4th in nation, 1st in conference)
Passing Offense: 129.86 (115, 12)
Total Offense: 441.07 (35, 4)
Scoring Offense: 33.57 (34, 4)
Rushing Defense: 144.21 (41, 5)
Pass Defense: 229.79 (58, 5)
Total Defense: 374.00 (43, 5)
Scoring Defense: 28.29 (65, 7)
Turnover Margin: 0.29 (45, 4)
Sacks: 2.00 (59, 8)
Sacks Allowed: 1.00 (13, 2)

That right there tells you that this is purely a running team. Defensively, this is a middle of the road team.

What does 2013 hold for the Yellow Jackets? Lets break them down:

Defensively – They have eight starters back here, which includes Jeremiah Attaochu, who makes the move over to the D-Line from LB, more specifically DE. This is off a 2012 season where he had 10 sacks while at LB. You have to realize the move is coming from a change in philosophy. 2012 Defensive coordinator, and former Virginia head coach, Al Groh was canned in mid-season after their  D allowed 40-plus points for the third straight game. When he was at GT, Groh used the 3-4. On Jan. 9^th, Johnson hired former Duke HC Ted Roof to be the new DC in Atlanta. Roof, is an alumnus of GT, playing LB there. For five years, he was Duke’s head coach and he’s been an assistant in many places, including a stop in Happy Valley in 2012. What we’ll see from Roof is a 4-3 defense. The LBs he’ll have at his disposal returning as starters all made more than 40 tackles last season, including 84 (4.5 for loss) from sophomore Jabari Hunt-Days, a reigning Freshman All-American.  They did lose to Graduation: DE Izaan Cross (Signed as UFA by Buffalo), DT T.J. Barnes, CB Rod Sweeting (Signed as UFA by New Orleans).

Offensively – They will have to fill the shoes of Tevin Washington (Graduation), who was a two-year starter and the ACC’s all-time leader in career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. The man that will likely be the guy to run Johnson’s offense is Vad Lee, a redshirt sophomore who appeared in all 12 games in 2012. Lee was a four-star recruit from Durham (NC) Hillside H.S. He had 96 carries for 544 yards, including 59 yards and two scores in the 56-20 rout of the Virginia Cavaliers on Sept. 15. In the shootout win vs Carolina (68-50) on Nov. 10, he threw for 169 yards and ran for another 112 yards. Backing up Lee, is Justin Thomas, a redshirt freshman from Prattville, AL  and another four-star prospect. To help Lee in Johnson’s offense, the RBs that are back for them are David Sims, a RS Senior (135 carries for 612 yards, and 4 TDs and 2 receptions for 8 yards receiving in 2012), and junior B.J. Bostic.(34 carries for 212 yards rushing and 7 receptions for 139 yards receiving in 2012). They also have Four offensive line starters coming back for them. The Yellow Jackets averaged over 311 rushing yards a game last season. Look for that again in 2013. Gone to Graduation or other circumstances besides Washington: RB Orwin Smith (Signed as UFA by Tampa Bay), OG Omoregie Uzzi, WR Jeff Greene (Transferred to Ohio State and sitting out this season).

Special Teams – They do return Junior Jamal Golden as both the Punt/Kick Returner. The PK will be Senior David Scully, and the P will be Senior Sean Poole.

In closing, when I look at GT’s schedule, there are winnable games there. Elon in the opener is a no-brainer right there. After that, they go to Duke after the BYE week on Sept 14^th, and then have Carolina and VT at home in a five day stretch. They could either be 2-2 or 1-3 after the first month of the season. Then comes a trip down to Sun Life nine days later, which will be a loss for them, so we’re looking potentially at 1-4 or 2-3 for Tech before heading out West the following week to play BYU in Provo, before going back to Atlanta to host Syracuse the next week. Then they have a trip to Charlottesville before coming back home to host Pitt. After the second BYE week, comes a trip to Clemson to close the ACC portion of the schedule. They close with Alabama A & M and their bitter rival UGa at home.

I’m going to honest here, I’m looking realistically at best case, 7-5 for GT in 2013.

In Part 6 of the series, I will preview the North Carolina Tar Heels. 

2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent series - Part 4 (@USF - Sept 28th)

Sept 28 - @USF

In Part 4 of the 12 part 2013 CANE opponent series, we’re going to talk a team that that made a big splash in recruiting this offseason and that’s the South Florida Bulls, whom we play up in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium on Sept 28^th for our first road game of the season.

Here’s what you need to know about the Bulls: Like with the previous opponent, they have a new Head Coach. Unlike Earnest Wilson III, Willie Taggart, comes in with big expectations in the Bay area. Taggart became the 3^rd Head Coach in their history. He comes over from Western Kentucky (his alma mater), to come back home to the Tampa Bay area and build the Bulls into a national power and have them take that next step, He didn't keep any of Skip Holtz's assistants. When Taggart came in, he cleaned house from top to bottom. He brought many of his staff from WKU down to Tampa with him,  Here’s a list of coaches brought with him down to Tampa from WKU:

·         OC and OL coach Walt Wells

·         Special teams coordinator Stu Holt

·         DL coach Eric Mathies

·         QB coach Nick Sheridan

·         LB coach Raymond Woodie.

Those names won’t jump out at you right away, but the one thing Taggart values is loyalty and with the Woodie hire, who knows every coach in South Florida, Taggart wants USF to be a bigger presence in the Tri-County area (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach), and in the ’13 class, since he took over, has 4 commits from the Tri-County area (3 from Miami-Dade and 1 from Broward). When you add to the fact that he hired former NFL assistant Chuck Bresnahan as his DC and had a coup when took Ron Cooper away from LSU, and is very familiar with the Bay area, having being a former Bucs assistant, as the Secondary coach, and you have a staff that’s committed to taking that next step into a national power and a force to be reckoned with. The Bulls have never had a 10 win season in their history. You give him 2-3 years, and they’ll be winning 10+ games on a consistent basis.

Last year, they were 3-9 and just 1-6 in the former Big East (now American Athletic).

Let’s break down the 2013 Bulls.

Offensively: There will be a change in philosophy in Temple Terrace. You won’t see the QB get a majority of the rushes. While we’ll still see some running from the QB, you’re going to see more a power running game from them. On the surface, you’d think senior Marcus Shaw (248 yards in 2012) would have a big lead on the competition due to the fact no one else has done anything of note in the offense.  However, the thing you have to consider is that Shaw is not the back that can go 25-30 carries a game. That opens the door for returnees like Sophomore Willie Davis and Junior Michael Pierre, and also newcomers like Darius Tice and Sta'fon McCray. Taggart will give Shaw every opportunity to be that go to back. However, the main competition will be for the reserve position(s). The QB competition will be fierce, and it was the case back in the spring when Senior Bobby Eveld and Sophomore Matt Floyd were battling for the job. No one stood out there and this fall practice will be one to watch to see who ends up winning the job in Tampa.

Neither one seems to be the one for the long haul. Floyd is a nice dual-threat quarterback, however, with him more of a running QB than a passing one, you have to ask yourself would he give them the balance Taggart wants from his QBs, which is some mobility, but not sacrificing the passing game too much. On the other hand, Eveld has much more experience at the position, but did not produce at a high level the last two years when he was B.J. Daniels' backup. After the Spring, it seemed that his pro-style tendencies would have him be the guy to run the offense Taggart and Wells wants. Now, Floyd could be the change-of-pace option in certain packages, but its likely Eveld is going to ultimately win the job. A wild-card to consider is Penn State transfer Steven Bench (transferred from Penn State to USF in late May.

If Eveld struggles early, keep an eye on Bench because of what he brings to the table which is his own skill set, and its huge to boot, and the experience learned under Bill O'Brien in Happy Valley. It’ll be his job to lose. Another name to watch in the coming years, incoming freshman Mike White, who was hand-picked by Taggart in his first recruiting class. Having that endorsement is huge, however he’s going to need a full season to properly know the offense, and put on some much-needed weight before ascending the depth chart.

On to the receivers: This group was nothing to write home about here. They did lose Victor Marc to graduation, and Terrance Mitchell to a violation of their team rules. The latter wasn’t a big deal for the offense, since he was going to be moved to the other side of the ball anyway. The receivers that do come back in 2013 are led by Junior Andre Davis (46 receptions for 534 yards in 2012), who just might become the first USF receiver to crack the 750-yard mark and that would be saying something. The likely starter alongside Davis is junior Deonte Welch (18 receptions for 183 yards in 2012). After that, you have Senior Derrick Hopkins (19 receptions for 278 yards in 2012) and sophomore D'Vario Montgomery. They would get a huge shot in the arm when former Florida transfer Chris Dunkley comes aboard. He should be reinstated to the program by the start of the season. They have a pretty good TE in Sophomore Sean Price (21 receptions for 209 yards in 2012), and in Taggart’s offense, it wouldn’t be a shock if he were near the top on the team in receptions. Lets talk about the offensive line: Not much in terms of surprises here or even any competition here. There aren’t really any surprises up front, or even much of a competition, At OG they have are sophomores Brynjar Gudmundsson and Thor Jozwiak. A fun fact here: Jozwiak's real name is Thornton, but as Vanderbilt coach Herb Hand, a friend of the Jozwiak family, told USA Today’s Paul Myerburg, and I found this pretty interesting too, "If he wants to play piano, it's Thornton, Football, its Thor." From a football end, he moves over from RG to LG, which opens up a starting role for Gudmundsson. Junior Austin Reiter is back at the Center position and Junior Quinterrius Eatmon is back at RT. The two new starters on their line are Gudmunsson and Junior LT Darrell Williams. Williams has some big shoes to fill, considering that all-conference pick in Mark Popek is gone to Graduation. Their staff believes that Williams, who started several games on that side in 2012, is very ready to assume a full-time starting role. That line was terrible last year, but you have to factor in, there were losses and attrition played a major role here. If they stay healthy, this could be a unit that will be one to deal with.  

Defensively: Their front 4 is going to be the best in the American Athletic Conference. Look what they have coming back at the Ends: You have Senior Ryne Giddins (25 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and Sophomore Aaron Lynch, but especially Lynch, who is going to be an All-American. While at Notre Dame, in his freshman year, he was already becoming a force on the D-Line. This guy has tremendous talent and with the right coaching, this guy could be a great Bulls fans talk years after he leaves the program. With Lynch on one side and Giddins on the other side, harassing linemen and quarterbacks, anything is possible.

Their entire front is already pretty darn good. After Giddins and Lynch, you have in the rotation, Seniors Julius Forte and Tevin Mims, and they are going to get a lot of work in the rotation for them. They did lose Cory Grissom (signed as UFA by New England) inside, they get back Seniors Luke Sager and Anthony Hill, as well as Juniors Elkino Watson and Todd Chandler, as well as Sophomore James Hamilton. The staff and the fanbase in the Bay area are really waiting to see If Chandler becomes the beast people thought he would be when he came out of Northwestern High in Miami. They are deep here so they can absorb the loss of Grissom. Lynch is the impact player on their D-Line.

While the D-Line is very strong, the same cannot be said for their back seven. In 2012, they lacked  production and reliability and the results proved that pretty painfully. Their staff believes that Cooper has to step up and be an immediate impact player in their secondary, which like many groups on this team, doesn’t lack talent, but do lack consistency. With the LB core, they get back a leader in Senior DeDe Lattimore (76 tackles, 7.5 for loss), but the other two outside LBs need to step up and produce. One of those players that need to step up is returning starter  Reshard Cliett, a Junior, who come backs on the strong side. Others that need to step their games up are sophomores Zack Bullock and Tashon Whitehurst. To have to try and duplicate the impact former starter Sam Barrington (drafted 7^th round by Green Bay) made on the weak side is going to be pretty tough. If there’s a weak link on the D, this area is it right here.

Cooper is the man to lead the secondary back. How bad was it in Tampa in 2012? They only had two picks all year. He’s going to have much work to do, with the departure of Kayvon Webster (3^rd round pick by Denver), who was their leading tackler in 2012. There is some good news here: They went younger in the secondary as the season went on, whether due to injuries or otherwise, and this experience will help in 2013, especially with Cooper coaching the secondary.

Even better for them, they start three seniors: Mark Joyce (74 tackles) and JaQuez Jenkins (53 tackles) at safety and Brandon Salinas at CB. Joining Salinas on the outside is sophomore Kenneth Durden, who moved into the starting lineup late in the season. This is going to an area to watch as the season goes on.

Special Teams: They have three guys that can return Kicks/Punts to the house in Shaw, Hopkins and Andre Davis, though its likely it’ll be more of the latter two than Shaw, due to the fact that he will be in their offense more and with not enough energy to return kicks/punts. The attention here turns to breaking in both a Kicker and Punter.  At the former, Maikon Bonani is gone (Graduation, signed as UFA by Tennessee Titans), so it’ll be up to either junior Marvin Kloss or incoming freshman Emilio Nadelman to fill those big shoes that Bonani leaves behind. At punter, sophomore Mattias Ciabatti steps up to replace Justin Brockhaus-Kann (Graduation).

In closing, looking at USF’s schedule, you have to believe, this is 8-9 win team, possibly 10 if things break their way. We’re going to start to get a good idea on them on 9/7 when they go up to East Lansing to play Michigan State. As I said in the beginning, we come to RJS on 9/28 after USF has their BYE week on 9/21. Their biggest conference game is going to be Louisville on 10/26, when the Cardinals come to RJS. If they win that game, then running the table in the conference becomes a real possibility. Realistically, I think 8-4 season is accurate here for USF.

In Part 5 of the series, I will talk about our opponent in the ACC opener and that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. 

2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent series - Part 3 (Savannah State -...

Sept 21^st – Savannah State

In Part 3 of the 12 part 2013 CANE opponent series, we’re going to talk a team that to be quite honest, we shouldn’t be playing, but they are on the schedule, and that’s the Savannah State Tigers, who come into Sun Life Stadium on September 21^st, off the BYE week.

Here’s what you need to know about the Tigers: They started football back in 1915, so they've been around for almost 100 years. They have a new Head Coach in Earnest Wilson III, who became the 24^th Head Coach in their history. He comes over from fellow MEAC School, Hampton, where he was their OC and QB coach. I’m sure this asked of Wilson during the interview process: “What do you do when you don’t know what to do?” The Tigers have won more than two games in a season only once since 1999.

They finished 2012 with their third straight 1-10 season and ranked among the 10 worst teams in the Football Championship Subdivision in rushing offense, total offense, scoring offense, rushing defense and scoring defense. That’s all that needs to be said right there about Savannah State.

With the hire of Wilson, perhaps it might the spark needed for their athletics program there. They've had a nice year with their baseball team winning the MEAC tournament and going to an NCAA regional, getting knocked out by FSU in Tallahassee. Also, they had several track and field athletes in the NCAA Championships.

Their men’s basketball team has been to the postseason the last two years, last year losing to East Carolina in the Collegeinsider.com tournament by 1 (66-65).

However, the big attention getter in any program, but especially in the South is football.

As their AD Sterling Seward Jr, pointed out to Donald Heath in the Savannah Morning News: “We’re in the South, and (football) has to be successful.”

That’s the challenge for that program, scheduling teams that they know will beat them easily, while earning paydays for the Athletics department.

Let’s talk about a few players to watch for them.

Offensively: There’s Senior WR Simon Heyward, who made their conference first team, while WR Dylan Cook and TE Kris Drummond were named to their conference third team. Heyward (5-11, 185) in 2012 had 44 receptions for 751 yards and 6 TDs. He’s a native of Savannah and he comes into his senior year with 116 career receptions for 1,381 yards and 8 TDs. He was also named to the First Team Preseason All-MEAC team by College Sports Madness He’s also on the watch list for the College Football Performance Awards FCS Wide Receiver Award. That award is given annually to the top wide receiver in the Football Championship Subdivision. Heyward is one of 34 players on the watch list. That’s pretty impressive. As for Cook (6-2, 190), a senior from Hiram, GA, he caught 37 balls last year for 491 yards and one touchdown. As for Drummond (6-5, 215), a junior from D.C., he caught 21 passes for 318 yards and a touchdown. Nothing much to write home about on either of those two. Clearly, their best receiver is Heyward.

Defensively: Senior DB John Wilson was named to their conference second team. While senior DL Micah Blount was named to their conference third team defense. Wilson (5-10, 175), a native of Athens, GA, had 68 tackles in 2012; only three of those tackles were for losses. However, he had four interceptions and broke up seven passes. He also blocked a kick. Blount (6- 6, 225), is a big boy out of Stone Mountain, GA, but only 225 lbs, pretty light for a tall frame. He played in nine games last year and had 37 tackles, four of those tackles were for losses and he also had 2.5 sacks.

In closing, Savannah State, which received one first place vote, was picked to finish 11th in the MEAC, which is not a big surprise, considering how terrible they've been in recent years. Expect another terrible season in Savannah.

In Part 4 of the series, I will talk a team that has made some pretty big noise this off-season and that’s the South Florida Bulls.

2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent series - Part 2 (Florida - Sept 7...

Sept 7^th – Florida

In Part 2 of the 12 part 2013 CANE opponent series, we’re going to talk the opponent in Armageddon, which is the Florida Gators. Game time is Noon on ESPN at Sun Life Stadium. Here’s what you need to know about the Gators. Their D was just outstanding all-around vs. both the pass and the run. Their Special Teams was amazingly good. While, they will have a new kicker coming in, their special teams are still going to be a threat.

Offensively: Inconsistency was the word of the day here. One week, they’re BCS contenders, and the next, they look like garbage. Their running game in 2012 was a force to be dealt with, however, their passing game left a little to be desired. Their O-Line had a very tough time protecting Jeff Driskel, who basically held the ball too long at times and either threw picks or took sacks. As a result, their receiving corps had a very hard time getting open down field and getting YACs (yards after the catch) and they don’t have a lot of depth here at that position. Its so bad up there, that they had to convert DB Loucheiz Purifoy to a WR. They’re hoping that he can be a dual threat on both sides of the ball. While, he’ll give them some energy, don’t expect him to be that game-changing threat Gordie Lockbaum was back in the day at Holy Cross.  On the O-Line, they lost Xavier Nixon  (UFA to Washington Redskins) and James Wilson (graduation) and that line was beat up in the Spring due to suspensions and injuries,  although those on the Gators staff believe that an influx of more versatile linemen might help them against the speed rush. In the running game, they lose Mike Gillislee to graduation (drafted 5^th round by the Dolphins), however, they return a force in Matt Jones, who they think will fill into Gillisee’s shoes quite nicely. However, at the end of the day, look for it to be status-quo in 2013 here.

Defensively: They lost a lot of good talent to the NFL, however, in Gainesville, they don’t rebuild, they reload. You have to remember, they lost to the League: DT Sharrif Floyd (Minnesota) LB Jon Bostic (Chicago) and S Matt Elam (Baltimore). Yet, their D should be outstanding again with that back seven and enough weapons to keep on humming. The best part about everything the defense was able to accomplish last season was that it all happened without one of the premier pass rushing prospects in college football. They get back Ronald Powell, who is the big-time pass rusher they sorely missed in 2012. He was just a man among boys out there last offseason before suffering a knee injury that cost him the entire year, but fortunately, it happened early enough to give him a full season to recover. You have a defense like that that ranked fifth in the nation getting back the one thing it was missing in 2012, which was a devastating speed rusher. If he’s the Powell before the knee injury, this team will be very dangerous.  The questions here are:

• Will their front 7 that is loaded with 5-star athletes’ move into bigger roles?
• Will Purifoy (also being on the other side of the ball at WR) & Marcus Roberson give them the best 1-2 CB combo in the conference??
• Will CB Vernon Hargreaves III, be an immediate impact player as a true freshman? Did they lose a few too many players to the league, to still be good, if not better?

Special Teams:  Caleb Sturgis is gone to graduation (5^th round pick by Miami Dolphins). It’ll be up either Senior PK Brad Phillips or Redshirt Freshman PK Austin Hardin to fill the shoes Sturgis leaves behind in Gainesville. How big were those shoes? He was 24-28 on field goals last season and the four that he missed, he had three of them blocked. This guy had the accuracy from 40+ yards, being 8-9 in that category, which included two of them from 50+ yards. (a 50-yarder against Georgia and a 51-yarder @A&M). They will be in close games this year again, and when you consider the O being inconsistent at times, and not taking any chances in the red zone, they are going to need a kicker that comes up big for them in key spots. They do get Kyle Christy back to handle the punting duties.  

In closing, let’s make no mistake; the Gators are going to be very good again this year. Looking at their schedule, they open with Toledo at home, before coming to town the following week in Armageddon at Noon. Then after a BYE week, they host Tennessee, then go to a Kentucky team that’s going to be very much improved. After that game, they host a dangerous Arkansas team before going to Baton Rouge to play LSU and Columbia, MO the following week to play Missouri. After a 2^nd BYE week, they have the cocktail party in Jacksonville vs a UGa team that some think could de-throne Bama as SEC champions. That will be the first ofa play-in series for the East. Then they close SEC play with two very tough games (Vanderbilt at Home, and a trip to South Carolina, the latter will likely decide the East and the trip to Atlanta that goes with it). After a game with Georgia Southern, who’s a very good FCS team, they close the regular season with FSU at home.

Looking at that schedule, my prediction for Florida this year is 10-2.

n Part 3 of the series, I’ll talk about Savannah State.  

2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent series - Part 1 (FAU - Aug 30th)

Aug 30^th – FAU

Well I’m back for another season of Miami Hurricanes Football and once again I’m going to do the 12 part series on our opponents. The first in the 2013 series is on the Florida Atlantic Owls, our opponent on August 30^th (a Friday Night at home at Sun Life Stadium). Gametime is 8 p.m. on ESPNU.

Here’s what you need to know about FAU:  Last season, this was a Jekyll and Hyde team. Early in the year, they went 1-5, then finished 2-4. Now you would think not too many changes, right? Looks can be deceiving. They did play hard in the 2^nd half of the season, beating Troy and Western Kentucky, (the latter going to the Little Caesars Bowl before losing to Central Michigan in that game), and losing at South Alabama (which won just 2 games last year, finishing 2-11 and 1-7 in the Sun Belt) in overtime and losing another pair by 10 points or less (@Navy 24-17 and vs FIU 34-24), You can see the progression of that team under Carl Pelini, who’s entering Year 2 in Boca Raton.

Its not easy filling the shoes of a legend like Howard and Pelini is going to have to really lean on the experience he obtained under three pretty good coaches in Bill Snyder, Frank Solich and, of course, his brother, Bo. Some more background on Carl Pelini: In 1989, he was a graduate assistant and a restricted-earnings assistant under Snyder at Kansas State, and was part of a rebuilding project that has turned out to be very very successful in the Little Apple. His next stop was on the high school level in both Kansas and Ohio where was for a decade, spending the last three years at the latter. His first real look at the big time came in 2003, when Frank Solich hired his brother Bo to be Nebraska's defensive coordinator; and Bo, brought him in as a graduate assistant.

However, it would not be until 2005, where Carl Pelini would become a full-time college assistant jfor the first time. That would be at Ohio in 2005, when Solich hired him to coach the D-Line. It would not be long before Carl would really be in the big time as an assistant. You see, in 2008, his brother, Bo became the Head Coach of the Huskers, and naturally, he hired his brother, Carl to be the DC, where he the Pelini were pretty successful. It didn’t take too long for some up and coming program to notice that Carl had HC potential. Before the start of last season, Pelini was down to Boca Raton to be the new HC of FAU. Having your brother be the HC at a BCS school like Nebraska and being successful with the Defense there, gave him this shot and now he’s trying to make his own name and make that FAU program very successful, as they go into their 1^st season in Conference USA while, at the same time, he oversees the program's continued growth in one of the most talent-rich states in the country, which happens to be Florida and specifically South Florida.

Enough about the coach, lets get to the players on the field that we’ll need to watch.

Offensively: The O-Line is the big question mark here. They only have two starters back from 2012. The leader of that line, is DeAndre Williams, who easily is the most battle-tested lineman on their roster. After Williams, they do have another upperclassman in Senior, Mustafa Johnson, who’s going to play Center on the O-Line. After that, its take your pick. They need Johnathon Ragoo and Stern Vile to step up this season and be the beasts on that line. (Ragoo is an option on the blind side, but that he has yet to do anything of consequence makes putting him at left tackle a somewhat questionable move.) The FAU coaching staff is pretty high on Sophomore Mike Marsaille, who they think could be a very good player for them and could end up as a starter as the season goes on. The O-Line is one of their weak links and that’s not good, especially with them now in C-USA..

The running game, turned out to be a dud last season. That, you can attribute to switching over to OC Brian Wright's spread system. You can also attribute the lack of a running game to the fact that the O-Line was basically ineffective and out of position a lot. These group of backs are now seniors, and they all return in 2013:

·         Jonathan Wallace (648 yards) is the leader

·         Damian Fortner (313 yards)

·          Martese Jackson (224 yards) and Travis Jones right there in the mix.  

Wallace separated himself a bit late in the season, to have them get away from the by-committee approach. That said, if Jackson, stays healthy and doesn’t suffer from fumblitis, he’s the kind of back that can break a game wide open with his speed and explosiveness

Their go-to guy in 2012 was Junior WR William Dukes, (who had 63 receptions for 979 yards), despite the lack of offense. He was their main guy and he does it very well too. That’s a very underrated and one to watch this year to see if can get to the next level.

The bottom line is he needs help, because teams are going to double and triple him because the opposing DC’s know there’s no second or third option in the passing game. One player that has to step up and be that 2^nd option is senior TE Nexon Dorvilus, who in 2012, was their team's third-leading receiver and its top target in the red zone. Outside of Dukes, they have Seniors Daniel McKinney (48-492 in 2012) and DeAndre Richardson, who led their team in catches back in 2011, but was out all last year with an injury. If Richardson stays healthy, he could that 2^nd threat to make opposing DCs have to respect Richardson and not focus so much on Dukes. They would really like to see Junior Marcus Cunningham, step up and produce this year. They also have former Indiana transfer Jay McCants in the core that gives them another tall, lanky option to work with Dukes in the vertical game. When you look at their receiving core, its big, but except for Dukes, there’s not much there to look at that makes you go wow.

Defensively: This is Carl Pelini's baby right here. You’re going to see a team that, given a few years in his system, this is going to be a defense to reckoned with. Right now, this is a work in progress.

With them moving into C-USA, the one area that will be tested right away is the Run Defense. In the Sun Belt, it’s more of a spread league, with finesse valued over size and brute strength. However, in  Conference USA, while it’s not the SEC, they’re going to find out that in that league, they’re going to see team that like to run the ball a lot. To that regard, guys like D-Linemen like 225-pound sophomore Trevon Coley (39 tackles) and senior Brandin Bryant (31 tackles, 4.5 for loss) are going to be really tested, especially on the interior. When you add sophomore Derek Butcher and senior Kayvon Sherill to the rotation, it could be another long season in Boca Raton, if they can’t stop the run. At DE, Seniors Martin Wright (28 tackles, 4.0 for loss), Cory Henry (24 tackles) and Andrew Stryffeler, have to step up and produce and show leadership to the DL. Wright is the leader up front on the line. While you have Henry, who switched to DE from LB, who can give this pass rush a much needed boost. While they have trouble rushing the QB, the key for this D is stopping the run consistently as it’s the #1 issue coming into this year.

The LB core lost a big piece due to David Hinds graduation, however, experience wise, they have enough back to still do some damage. They also bring back an experienced secondary, so their  back seven is good. At LB, they return some quality starters here in Andrae Kirk (70 tackles), Randell Johnson (21 tackles) and Adarius Glanton (75 tackles, 5.5 for loss). Their best LB here is Kirk, not to mention the fact that he has the most talent of the bunch here, however, keep an eye out for Johnson, who because of an injury, missed most of 2012. In 2011, he was their second-leading tackler with 92 tackles, 14.5 of those for loss. The top reserve, sophomore Freedom Whitfield, who had 12 tackles last year, will see extensive time in certain packages.

Their secondary brings a lot of experience back, sans one major contributor, which would be at SS, where the competition is wide open.  A strong candidate to win that job is Senior Winfred Strickland (24 tackles). He would be a good replacement for Brent Harstad (Graduation). They also return  senior Keith Reaser (45 tackles) and junior D'Joun Smith at the CB spot. When you look at Reaser, he’s an all-Conference USA contender. When you add Senior Jeremy McKnight at the FS spot, as well as promising sophomore Cre'von LeBlanc (42 tackles) at the nickel, and you have a group – that’s intact and in 2012, they played well from a statistical standpoint. However, you have to factor in that their opponents were able to run the ball effectively and not have to throw as much, considering how terrible FAU’s DL was. Forcing turnovers in 2012 wasn’t a strong suit for them, and that must improve in 2013, especially now going into C-USA.

Special teams: Let’s put it this way, they were just awful. This will be something Carl Pelini focuses on more in 2013 in every aspect. They have RS Senior Travis Jones back to return Kicks/Punts. They also return Mitch Anderson at kicker and Sophomore Sean Kelly back at punter. However, this is a major work in progress here.

At the QB position, there’s really a two-person battle going for the starting job between JUCO Melvin German and Quez Johnson. This is a battle that will go maybe up to just before gametime vs Miami.

In closing, moving into a new league will present some problems, but also an opportunity to see where they are at and how far they need to come in the future. My prediction for FAU in 2013: 4-8

In Part 2 of the series, I’ll talk about the Florida Gators. 

Countdown to UF

Everyone in South Florida knows that this is the biggest game in the area since Florida State came to the Orange Bowl in 2000. I can tell you from first hand experience that it was one of the greatest games I've ever seen in person. The atmosphere going into that game was off the charts. Some will say the 1989 game vs Notre Dame was the gold standard in reference to big game atmosphere, but I would dare say the 2000 FSU game would be up there. There hasn't been a game this big in Miami since that time. Yes, you can put the 2002 Wide Left I game in there, and the 2003 UF game as well, both of which, I attended by the way and some others in recent years (2009 vs OU and 2011 vs Ohio State), but there's something about the Gator that get my blood boiling. 

• Their fanbase: I have never seen a bunch of arrogant pricks as that fanbase in Gainesville is. If you remember 2008 up there, we had them on the ropes for 3 quarters before some BS calls and questionable penalties that weren't called would ultimately do us in. Now, they will tell you that this is nothing more than a tuneup before SEC play. I would love nothing more than to knock them off and come 4 p.m. Saturday Afternoon, their fans will have a long drive up 75 back to Gainesville knowing they got their asses kicked. 
• Their Athletic department: They know that they want no part of us anymore after this game. We've heard their BS before about wanting a "National schedule", and the last time they played an OOC game outside of Florida was September 21, 1991 @Syracuse and they lost to the Orange 38-21. Outside of FSU, they play no one of note OOC and until they do that, they will be tainted as a team that played no one of note OOC outside of FSU. If you want us on the schedule every 2-3 years, I can live with that. 

Make no mistake, this is easily Al Golden's biggest game in his tenure to date. This is a watershed game for UM. This is a chance to announce to the nation that The U is BACK to stay as a National Power. Winning this game against that team from a conference that has won the last 7 BCS titles (Florida twice in a 3 year stretch), would be a statement win and a validation win for Golden that all that hard work, and the tireless recruiting in the face of the NCAA BS is finally paying off. 

This win would be the biggest FU to the NCAA big time.