The CaneSport On3: Analyzing the Miami Hurricanes defensive depth chart/biggest position battles
The Miami Hurricanes’ fall practice is around the corner, and off a 5-7 season coach Mario Cristobal has brought in a huge influx of new faces. There are 24 true freshmen joined by 14 transfers, helping transform the roster. Now the hope for Miami is that transforms losses to wins.
Today we’re taking a closer look at the defensive depth chart and the biggest position battles heading into fall practice:
DEFENSIVE END
Projected depth chart:
1st team: Akheem Mesidor, 2nd team Rueben Bain, backups Chantz Williams, Collins Acheampong
1st team: Nyjalik Kelly or Jahfari Harvey, backups Cyrus Moss, Jayden Wayne
What we know for sure here is that Miami has one of the ACC’s top returning ends in Akheem Mesidor, who had seven sacks last season and was a consistently disruptive force. What fall drills will reveal? The guy starting opposite him, and the rotation. Our best guess right now is that Nyjalik Kelly will emerge ahead of veteran Jahfari Harvey. Harvey shared starts last season with the now-graduated Mitchell Agude and was solid, but Kelly flashed in his reps (four sacks as a backup) and had a very strong offseason. So that will be a very interesting battle to watch in fall camp. A wildcard is true freshman Rueben Bain, who had three sacks in the spring game and has a knack for using his strength and quickness to break past offensive linemen into the backfield. He’s a special talent, but might not be quite ready to take over the starting job. So we are projecting him as a key guy in the rotation – and both he and Mesidor can also play tackle in passing situations. Cyrus Moss could also perhaps factor in as a pass rusher, but he’s struggled to put on the weight needed to be an every down difference-maker. Chantz Williams can provide depth, and the team adds a couple of talented true freshmen in Collins Acheampong and Jayden Wayne, who perhaps would be best suited with a redshirt year to get bigger, faster and stronger.
The CaneSport On3: Analyzing the Miami Hurricanes offensive depth chart/biggest position battles
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Projected depth chart:
DT: 1st team Leonard Taylor, 2nd team Jared Harrison-Hunte, backups Ahmad Moten, Thomas Gore
DT: 1st team Branson Deen or Jared Harrison-Hunte; backups Joshua Horton, Anthony Campbell, Jacob Lichtenstein
The lone proven playmaker at defensive tackle is Leonard Taylor, who many project as a first-round NFL pick but has to show improved consistency throughout games. He has the talent to dominate against any team in the nation and should be one of the ACC’s top playmakers in 2023. But the rest of the depth here leaves a lot to be desired. Right now the team appears to be leaning toward starting Purdue transfer Branson Deen opposite Taylor. Deen won’t wow you but has enough size and quickness to make some plays here and there – he was a three-year starter for the Boilermakers and last year had 28 tackles, 4 for losses, with 2.5 sacks. The Canes hope that Jared Harrison-Hunte can finally stay healthy and perhaps push for that starting job – he has a lot of upside but just hasn’t been able to stay on the field. Miami also brought in Anthony Campbell, who has the length and size (6-7, 277) to be a playmaker but never started in his two years at Louisiana-Monroe. Don’t sleep on true freshman Joshua Horton, either. He could easily work into the rotation, although it’s hard to see him earning a starting job after arriving in the summer and needing to acclimate to this level of play. We see Ahmad Moten and Jacob Lichtenstein as depth guys.
LINEBACKER
Projected depth chart:
OLB: 1st team Wesley Bissainthe, 2nd team Keontra Smith, KJ Cloyd or Marcellius Pulliam, backups Raul Aguirre, Bobby Washington
MLB: 1st team Francisco Mauigoa, 2nd team Corey Flagg or KJ Cloyd, backups Chase Smith, Malik Bryant
In the Lance Guidry 4-2-5, more often than not there will be two linebackers on the field with a third player in the box that could either be a safety (James Williams, anyone?) or a nickel (Te’Cory Couch is the returning starter). Miami was very happy with the progress of Francisco Mauigoa at MLB this spring, and he’s supplanted multi-year starter Corey Flagg at the position. Flagg has the capability to play middle or outside linebacker, which is great for depth, and at OLB Wesley Bissainthe was a starter by the end of last season. In Year 2 he should be better – he had no tackles for loss last year – but his spring was just so-so. If he doesn’t step up in fall camp … well, there’s a reason why Miami added veteran Louisville backup KJ Cloyd to the mix in the second portal window. The team wants as much depth and competition as possible. The linebacker position wasn’t very good in 2022, but Mauigoa’s addition means more athleticism and size in the middle. Marcellius Pulliam has also gotten rave reviews this summer and could push into the mix depending how Bissainthe performs. We see Keontra Smith and the freshmen as depth guys/special teams aids for the most part as of now.
SAFETY
Projected depth chart:
S 1st team James Williams, 2nd team Brian Balom or Kaleb Spencer
S 1st team Kam Kinchens, 2nd team Markeith Williams
Miami’s first team safety duo of All-American Kam Kinchens and former five-star James Williams, both returning starters, is as good a combination as you’ll find in the nation. They are both ball hawks with the speed and athleticism to make plays all over the field. The issue here is depth. There are only three other scholarship safeties on the roster, and one of them is a true freshman, Kaleb Spencer (who, by the way, is the most imposing guy in the safety room in terms of the eye test). Markeith Williams will be expected in particular to emerge in year 2, and he would be in line to be the starter when Kinchens/Williams go pro. Brian Balom isn’t going to wow you but he can be good enough – Balom entered the transfer portal prior to the spring but opted to return to the team.
CORNERBACK
Projected depth chart:
CB: 1st team Jaden Davis or Daryl Porter, Jr.; backup Damari Brown
CB: 1st team Davonte Brown, Ja’Dais Richard or Demetrius Freeney; backup Robert Stafford
Nickel: 1st team Te’Cory Couch, 2nd team Ja’Dais Richard, 3rd team Jaden Harris
If you want chaos in a depth chart this fall, look no further than cornerback. Coaches perhaps weren’t thrilled by what they saw in the spring – that much was apparent when they added not one, not two, but three new faces in the second transfer window. That would be Jaden Davis from Oklahoma, Ja’Dais Richard from Vanderbilt and Demetrius Freeney out of junior college. Our best guess is that your two boundary corner starters are going to be Davis, who started 22 games in four seasons at Oklahoma and had 35 tackles last year, and Davonte Brown, a UCF transfer in January who was a two-year starter there and had two INTs last season (Brown was with the ones in the spring). But it will be an all-out competition for first- and second-team roles in fall drills, and anything can happen. Daryl Porter, Jr. was the first-teamer opposite Brown in spring drills, and he isn’t going to go back to the bench quietly after coming in from West Virginia a year ago and losing the job to D.J. Ivey. In Lance Guidry’s defense there’s a premium on corners that can hold up in one-on-one coverage, since he loves to dial up blitzes. So Miami HAS to find a couple of guys that consistently get the job done. And at nickel Te’Cory Couch is a multi-year starter who is solid but won’t wow you (37 tackles 6 PBU last year), and Richard (backup as a freshman at Vanderbilt last year) can also work there so that bears some watching in fall camp. Couch will have to continue to elevate his game to hold off Richard, since Couch (5-10, 170) isn’t as physical a presence as the Vandy arrival (who is 6-2, 196).
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