Defensive Fury
By David Villavicencio
“Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.”
Legendary football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant is attributed with that quote and his ferocious defenses helped him win six national championships and 15 conference titles during his illustrious career.
The 2016 Miami Hurricanes are hoping their defense, which ranks among the best in FBS through two weeks, will continue its dominance this week at Appalachian State and beyond.
Through two games, Miami ranks first among FBS schools in team tackles for loss (28.0), rushing defense (34.5 ypg) and blocked punts (two). The Canes are also second in team sacks with 10 and rank third in scoring defense, allowing just 6.5 points per game.
Small sample size or not, the numbers cannot be ignored, as Miami’s aggressive defense has been consistently penetrating the opponent’s backfield and making plays behind the line of scrimmage. That is something redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Demetrius Jackson says this year’s unit takes tremendous pride in.
“We want to be better than last year,” Jackson said. “We want to do something great. This is a great institution and a lot of great players came through here and played here. We want to continue that and be part of that legacy.”
Jackson and his teammates will face their toughest test yet, as Appalachian State is an experienced team that has had success in all facets of the game. Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz says that the Hurricanes will face their toughest test yet.
“Playing on the road with everybody yelling at you, the atmosphere that’s going to be there will be electric,” Diaz said. “We have guys that have never traveled to a college game before, guys that may have never been on an airplane before. They may be playing with the flight attendant call button the whole time.
“The adversity of the game last week came through the sudden changes in the first half, the turnovers, the roughing the punter, the things where you have to get called back out on the field. Ultimately there’s different types of adversity. Is it falling behind, giving up big plays? We have to have the ability to take a punch.”
Jackson and sophomore defensive lineman RJ McIntosh will be leaders of the defensive line this weekend at Appalachian State. Both players have emerged as starters this year and have made the most of an opportunity that they have earned.
“Starting is a blessing,” Jackson said. “Coach Diaz always comes out here and tells us to prepare like we’re starters, practice like we’re starters because you never know what can happen. Every night I get on my knees and I thank God for it. I don’t take anything for granted. I don’t take it for granted at all.”
Each player in the duo ranks among the top 50 individuals in tackles for loss among FBS players, with Jackson at No. 19 and McIntosh coming in at No. 35. Jackson, along with freshman Joe Jackson, also are among the top pass rushers in the country, checking in at No. 28 with two sacks apiece this season.
All of that pressure behind the line of scrimmage has translated to turnovers by opposing offenses. Senior defensive backs Adrian Colbert, Corn Elder and Rayshawn Jenkins each have an interception this season and opponents are averaging just 87.08 in passing efficiency against the Canes.
Miami also sports a talented trio of freshmen linebackers who have been making an impact. Shaq Quarterman, Mike Pinckney and Zach McCloud have risen to the challenge of being freshmen starters and are helping make Miami’s current defense meet the standards the previous greats set.
“We came in with a mindset and the mindset is to always keep up to the standard,” Quarterman said. “We don’t get involved in the bright lights and the atmosphere as much as going out there and doing what we’re supposed to do, which is to play as hard as we can, stop the ball and play as a unit.”
That freshmen trio will have to elevate their game once again as they and their fellow defenders will face a potent Appalachian State rushing attack.
“Well, it’s the best thing they do, and they were one of the best in a country at it a year ago,” Diaz said of the Appalachian State running game. “They really know what they’re doing. They doctor it up a million different ways with formations and motions and heavy alignments and unbalanced alignments and so on and so forth, so that is a massive challenge for our defense. As the year unfolds, it might be one of the better running attacks we go against all season.”
The trio could not be more excited to finally don the orange and green Miami U on their helmets. After years of dreaming of playing for the Hurricanes, Pinckney says the three linebackers love finally being part of the tradition of excellence and dominance that Miami linebackers represent.
“Being a Hurricane is being someone that’s dominant,” Pinckney said. “We’ve been talking about this since ninth grade; we’ve been committed since the ninth or 10th grade. I was talking to Shaq in the first game and I told him, ‘Man, we’re here now, it’s finally here.’”
Quarterman, Pinckney and McCloud will face the toughest task of their young careers on Saturday and that is something that could be daunting for some, but McCloud insists they are ready to go, no matter the opponent.
“We fear nothing,” McCloud said. “We’re Miami linebackers, we fear nothing.”
