Freshmen Flashing Potential in First Week of Camp
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – There are plenty of well-known names leading the way for the Miami Hurricanes in the opening week of fall camp, but the veterans are not the only ones making plays on the Greentree Practice Fields.
Miami welcomed a signing class ranked No. 1 in the state of Florida. It includes 14 ESPN300 prospects and was ranked in the top-two in the ACC by every major scouting service, meaning the Canes have newcomers that are expected to make a difference.
“Some of the young guys [were] making a few plays here and there,” Head coach Mark Richt said following Day 1 of camp. “I know Dee Wiggins had a really great contested catch in the end zone one time. [Marquez] Ezzard – once he learns what to do – I think is going to be a pretty good ballplayer. I really like the young [defensive backs] – you have [Al] Blades doing a good job. Cam [Davis], the tailback out of Carol City, did a nice job today. You can see his quickness and those types of things.”
While Wiggins, Ezzard, Blades and Davis flashed their skills on the first day of camp, different freshmen have stepped up throughout camp to show they can be contributors early. But flashes of ability alone won’t get you on the field at Miami. Consistency is what will help you climb the depth chart.
“What we do is, the first week, all the freshmen go with the third group,” defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “That way, there’s kind of no status or whatever. That way all of the recruiting stars fall right to the ground. Also though, we can limit some of the calls – make some things easier – so they can show us they can play without having to do so much thinking, not make it so complicated jumping around from this defense to that defense. We’ll scrimmage on Saturday, and after Saturday we’ll start to break up the depth chart. We’ll start to move some guys and maybe some of the young guys can go. But you can’t really make an assessment until you get to that scrimmage day, because it’s just different with a scrimmage. All of a sudden, guys start going crazy. And with our first game being in such an intense environment, it’s not just, ‘can you play?’ But, ‘can you play on that stage? At that level?’ That’s not a talent question, it’s really a [question] of poise, mental toughness and not thinking you know what to do. You have to know what to know what to do in the opener [against LSU in Arlington, Texas].”
Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown has a group of talented freshmen at his disposal, as the Canes brought in a bevy highly-regarded players all across the offensive side of the football.
“I can’t say who has a role early because it’s the fourth practice already,” Brown said. But Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory are going to be really good for us, I think. Those guys are rotating and playing a bunch for us. They still have to learn what to do and have to grow up in a hurry, but they have flashes of some great plays.”
With junior tight end Michael Irvin II sustaining a knee injury earlier this week that will keep him out four months, Jordan and Mallory will need to step up and earn increased roles now that the projected starter is sidelined.
“We’ve only been through five [practices], so I don’t want to put anything on them without having a thorough evaluation,” tight ends coach Todd Hartley said Wednesday. “But through five practices, they’ve kind of exceeded expectations, to be honest. Brevin, specifically, is a kid that has unbelievable athleticism. You saw that in high school. You come out here and he just has stuff that you can’t coach. He runs routes well. He has a good understanding of how to beat press [coverage], how to understand coverages, reading leverage and getting in and out of breaks. He’s an extremely gifted route-runner, but he’s also, for a young kid, he’s pretty good at the point of attack. A long way to go. It really is a benefit to him that he goes against our defensive line every day. He is right where I thought he’d be, if not further along.”
“We didn’t really know what to expect from Mallory getting out here,” Hartley said. “You know his body type, and we knew what kind of role we had for him, but that kid is doing unbelievable. He’s really having a good camp, making a lot of plays and running and catching. The blocking stuff that we’ve put him in there with, he has really done a nice job. Both of them need to just keep doing what they’re doing. They are a long ways away, but they are on track to be where they need to be.”
In addition to Jordan and Mallory, Miami has a quartet of freshmen wide receivers in camp that are trying to earn snaps and build trust with Malik Rosier and the rest of the quarterbacks.
“Those [freshmen wide receivers] are really fast,” Brown said. “They’ve got really good ball skills. They have to learn what to do – learn to line up and function, and also have to learn that, from a skillset standpoint, we run all day. Also be a part of special teams and affect that game in that way. But Mark Pope is obviously very talented. Really all those guys – I can’t just single one of those guys out. Every single last one of them that we signed can do some different things for us. I’m really excited about those guys. We just have to grow up in a hurry. We have to mature fast.”
Brian Hightower and Dee Wiggins got a head start in learning the playbook after enrolling in the spring semester, but Pope are Ezzard are making some noise in camp. Co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Ron Dugans is working the group just as hard as his veterans and holds them to the same standards and expectations.
“At the ‘Z,’ you’ve got Pope,” Dugans said. “He has done some really good things. His thing coming in was just confidence. He’s got to learn the plays and trust the coaching. He has done a really good job. He has shown some flashes. We’ve got [to get] him to be consistent. Hightower has shown some flashes also. That group at the ‘Z’ position, as far as the young guys, my biggest thing with those guys is being consistent – because you’re not just ball-catchers. You have to be able to block on the perimeter also. If they’re not blocking, they’re not going to play.”
In addition to being Miami’s offensive coordinator, Brown also coaches the running backs and he is excited about the two newest additions in the Canes’ backfield, as Lorenzo Lingard and Cam’Ron Davis each bring a unique skillset to the group.
“Obviously Lorenzo has been here already,” Brown said. “He continues to work himself into a more prominent role as he’s learning what to do. He’s always a super “try hard” guy – he gives phenomenal effort every day. Cam Davis has flashes, but he doesn’t get it yet. Obviously he’s the newest one to get here. Just from how we do stuff practice-wise, how we finish stuff, the mindset we have every day – he’s got a long way to go with that. But he has really good ball skills, he runs the ball well.”
The Canes brought in four offensive linemen, with graduate transfer Venzell Boulware joining freshmen John Campbell, Jr., Cleveland Reed, Jr., and DJ Scaife, Jr., but one of the newcomers has stood out above the rest in Brown’s opinion.
“DJ Scaife has been here since January, but I’m really pleased with his progress,” Brown said. “He’s obviously not there yet, but he’s definitely worked himself into the rotation and demanding to get more reps in practice.”
Jarren Williams enrolled in January and joined the quarterback group that is headlined by Rosier and also includes redshirt freshmen N’Kosi Perry and Cade Weldon. Overall, Brown believes this is the deepest talented pool the Hurricanes have had on offense in a long time, but he wants to see more consistency so they can reach their full potential.
“We’ve got more talent than we’ve ever had at every single position,” Brown said. “We’ve got really good depth now. We have some young guys who don’t know what the heck is going on, which is kind of normal for young guys. They have to grow up in a hurry because those guys can help us – from a depth standpoint but also probably to beat some guys out and possibly end up earning some starting jobs. Too much of a rollercoaster. We’ve got some super, super tough dudes on offense – not enough of them. A handful of guys who come out every single day and they’re physical, mentally tough and they finish everything. Those guys have to command [the same] from the rest of the group, so that they can bring it every day as a whole, as a unit. We have some really bright moments and some really terrible moments. We can’t have that. We have to be consistent every single day.”
The Hurricanes are also very excited about their newcomers on defense, including several early standouts on the defensive line and in the defensive backfield.
Gregory Rousseau was a star at defensive end in the spring after enrolling early and continues to shine this fall camp, while tackles Nesta Jade Silvera and Jordan Miller have shown they can make some noise at defensive tackle early on in camp.
“The two freshmen, in terms of Miller and Silvera, they look like what Miami d-tackles should look like,” defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “Everyone knows in the Miami 4-3, the d-tackle position is kind of where it all starts and we’re as concerned at every position to make sure that everyone plays at a high level, but we think we’ve got guys that can hold the standard in there.”
Five defensive backs have shown they will push for playing time once the season begins. Early enrollees DJ Ivey, Gilbert Frierson and Gurvan Hall got a leg up in learning the system, while Al Blades, Jr. and Nigel Bethel are hungry to prove themselves since arriving this summer.
“It’s a lot deeper than it’s ever been and the same thing with the wideout position,” Diaz said of the defensive backs. “It’s fun finally watching 1-on-1s and watching these guys compete in practice. We’ve got some guys out there. We’ve got some wide receivers that can really run and some DBs that can really compete, so it’s been fun to watch. It’s what a 1-on-1 drill should look like at the University of Miami.”
“We do have a bunch of freshmen that have come in,” Diaz said. “Obviously, Ivey and Frierson were here in the spring at the corner position. It’s fun to see Gurvan Hall back because he was here for the spring but got hurt. Then you add Al Blades and Nigel Bethel who both really have done a good job the first couple of days back there. It just adds competition, which is so important and what we need. It adds depth because you always get late in the year and you start talking about your nickel and dime packages and you’re always looking around hunting for defensive backs as the calendar wears on. We’re pleased with what we have.”
