The College Football Gametime Podcast is counting down to college football by going around the SEC and ACC to give a 2021 season preview. Join us every Tuesday at 8:00 PM on the 92.9 Facebook Live!
First up, the Miami Hurricanes:
The Manny Diaz era is entering year three down in Coral Gables. He has coached this team to records of 6-7 in 2019 and 8-3, with a Cheez-It Bowl appearance, in 2020. He showed improvement in his second year and Miami returns 19 of 22 starters from that team. With that being said, there remain serious questions that need to be answered before the season kicks off, centering mostly on the health of Quarterback, D’Eriq King.
Let’s break it down.
Offense:
This offense was much improved in 2020. Led by Offensive Coordinator Rhett Lashlee, the unit averaged 34 points on 440 yards per game. What is most encouraging is that this unit returns 95% of their production from a year ago – the most in the country. The only key contributor lost is Tight End Brevin Jordan, who caught 38 passes for 575 yards and seven touchdowns.
Returning are the leading rusher, Cam’Ron Harris (126 rushes for 643 yards and 10 touchdowns), and receiver, Mike Harley (57 catches for 800 yards and seven touchdowns). In addition to those two, Diaz dipped into the transfer portal to acquire a dynamic, big play receiver out of Oklahoma, Charleston Rambo.
These players will be counted on to make plays, especially early on, because of the looming question that looms over Coral Gables – is D’Eriq King healthy?
In last season’s Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma State, D’Eriq King went down with an ACL injury. Losing a starting quarterback is a serious blow to any team’s chances, but especially that of Miami. King is the lifeblood of this unit. Not only did he lead them in the passing attack, accounting for 2,686 yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions, but was also the second leading rusher on this team, rushing for 538 yards and four touchdowns. A healthy D’Eriq King is quite possibly a top-three quarterback in college football and certainly one of the most exciting. Entering year two with OC Rhett Lashlee, he is set to explode, but he has to be healthy. Reports say he should be ready for fall camp and Miami fans certainly hope that’s the case because he makes this offense go.
Defense:
The 2020 season was a bit of a roller coaster for this defense with Manny Diaz re-claiming defensive play calling from former Defensive Coordinator Blake Barker. Diaz will again hold that role going into the 2021 season, but three former defensive coordinators will join him on his staff.
This unit will likely need that wealth of knowledge and experience because it was an underachieving unit in 2020. They finished 67th in college football in total defense giving up 408.4 yards per game, 76th in rush defense, 65th in pass defense, all while giving up 27 points per game. On a positive note, the defense returns a whopping 86% of its production from that season, so they should be much improved.
In the secondary, Miami could be featuring one of the top safeties in the ACC in Bubba Bolden and they made a tremendous addition in transfer cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Overall this is a deep unit with a nice rotation of veteran players. They’ll need that, especially when they take on the expected deluge from Alabama Week 1.
Linebacker is a bit of a work in progress. Gilbert Frierson was the leading tackler for this group, but he was more of a safety playing the position of linebacker. Expect for him to continue to play a hybrid role in 2021, but spend less time inside the box. There isn’t a huge playmaker for this unit, but keep an eye on freshman Corey Flagg.
The defensive line was easily the strongest part of the defense in 2020. They finished fourth in the nation in tackles for loss, but Quincy Roche and Jaelan Phillips left with their 12.5 sacks and 30 tackles for loss. There is still veteran talent here with 318-pound Jonathan Ford and 305-pound Nesta Silverà inside and senior Zach McCloud at defensive end. They also add another veteran transfer, Deandre Johnson from Tennessee, which adds immediate depth.
With the wealth of returning players and additions to the coaching staff, this could be a much better unit in 2021.
Season Outlook:
The Miami Hurricanes could potentially have the most difficult start to the 2021 season of any Power-5 program. They open in Atlanta against the reigning SEC and National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide – yikes. In week three, they host what should be an improved Michigan State team out of the Big Ten. Sandwiched between them is a potential trap-game with Appalachian State. This team is good enough to win the second of those two games. Anything less than that is unacceptable for Manny Diaz and company.
The key stretch of the season falls squarely after their bye-week, starting with their matchup in Chapel Hill against North Carolina. This is the most important game of the season as it will likely decide the winner of the Coastal Conference, but following that are six-consecutive ACC matchups that this team should expect to win.
With a healthy D’Eriq King, this could very well be the favorite to represent the Coastal Conference against Clemson in the ACC Championship. That’s assuming this team takes care of business and doesn’t fall into the numerous traps that litter their schedule.
We can comfortably set a win total of 8.5 for this team in 2021.