THE EDGE: Miami Hurricanes vs. Texas A&M, breaking down which team is better position-by-position

With gameday around the corner, it’s time to break down each position and determine which team has the edge, Miami or Texas A&M:

QUARTERBACK

Texas A&M has a five-star in Connor Weigman, and last year in his first season at College Station he got opportunities late in the year and finished with 896 yards and eight passing TDs with no interceptions; he also showed his mobility with 96 rush yards. Oh, and all he did in the opener this year was toss five TDs while adding 31 yards on a pair of scrambles. He will be one of the most talented quarterbacks that Miami faces all year. On the UM side, of course, Tyler Van Dyke had a solid first game with an efficient 17-of-22 passing for 201 yards with a TD and interception. Van Dyke was the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021 with 25 TDs with just six INTs while starting the final nine games. But last season he struggled in Josh Gattis’ offense, with 1,835 passing yards, 10 TDs and five INTs before his season ended due to injury. Van Dyke looks to be back in form notwithstanding a finger injury he played through last weekend, and has all the skills you want with a great arm, accuracy and understanding of where to put the ball. But he doesn’t have Weigman’s wheels and also is dealing with that hand injury, perhaps part of the reason the team didn’t attack down the field much in Game 1. That’s enough to put Weigman as the guy with the edge heading into the game. THE EDGE: TEXAS A&M (slight)

RUNNING BACK

Amari Daniels (AP Photo/Sam Craft)

The Miami Hurricanes unveiled a four-headed attack in Game 1, with freshman Mark Fletcher, returning starter Henry Parrish, Nebraska transfer Ajay Allen and Don Chaney all sharing reps and totaling an impressive 250 yards and 6.9 yards per carry. There are big backs with power and good enough speed in Fletcher and Allen, a smaller, shifty guy in Parrish, and Chaney has a little bit of power and shiftiness to his game. This has all the makings of a really, really good rushing attack. On the other side? The Aggies lose starter Devon Achane from a year ago. All he did was run for 1,102 yards and eight TDs (with another three receiving touchdowns). So now Texas A&M is turning to 5-star freshman Rueben Owens, who played 40 snaps in the opener and had 25 yards on seven carries, Miami Central graduate Amari Daniels (7 carries, 51 yards) and Le’Veon Moss (6 carries, 26 yards, TD). Daniels is in that smaller, shifty mold while Moss and Owens both have the speed to make plays. The Canes benefit from the experience of a returning starter in this early-season game plus the different skillsets at the position. THE EDGE: MIAMI

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END

Evan Stewart (Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Turn on the Texas A&M film vs. the Miami film from the opener, and it couldn’t be more different with the wide receiver usage. The Aggies attacked vertically with a lot of success, while the Canes were in a more conservative mold. Texas A&M put up big numbers with top threat Evan Stewart (649 yards last year) catching eight passes for 115 yards and Noah Thomas reeling in six balls for 74 yards and three TDs. Meanwhile Ainias Smith, who had a pair of 500-plus yard receiving seasons before getting injured last year, had 40 yards on three catches, and you can’t sleep on Moose Muhammad either (he had 610 yards last year, three catches with a TD in the opener). It’s going to be a tall task for Miami to contain a group of wide receivers that might be as talented as UM faces all year. Stewart is that go-to threat every team needs, and with Thomas stepping up and Smith back in action plus Muhammad it’s just a really tough wide receiver room to defend. Miami appears to be a more by-committee WR approach with no true No. 1 threat that can be pointed to right now. Xavier Restrepo in the slot can make some noise, and Colbie Young showed his ability on that quick pass he turned into a long TD early in the game Friday night. But whether a Jacolby George, Tyler Harrell, freshman Ray Ray Joseph or Isaiah Horton are ready to step up big is a big question. The Miami WR group wasn’t real good last year and didn’t have any of the four new additions elevate to a starting job (Joseph, Robby Washington, Alabama transfer Harrell, JUCO arrival Shemar Kirk). At tight end the Canes hope to have back Elijah Arroyo for this game, but it’s hard to believe he’ll be ready for a full load off an injury that’s held him back the better part of a month. And Cam McCormick is being used mainly as a blocker while Jaleel Skinner’s role doesn’t appear to be significant. Texas A&M doesn’t have any real TE receiving threats that it appears the Canes will need to worry about. It’s all about the wide receivers for both teams in the passing game. THE EDGE: TEXAS A&M (strong)

OFFENSIVE LINE

Javion Cohen (Photo by Neil Gershman)

The Miami offensive line still remains a bit of an unknown, mainly because it’s been totally reshaped this offseason. But there were signs in the opener (albeit against overmatched Miami-Ohio) that this can be a really, really good unit. Jalen Rivers is starting at LT after faring well at guard in the past as a veteran starter. The team brought in Alabama starter Javion Cohen at LG and UCF starter Matt Lee at center. Anez Cooper started as a freshman at the end of last year and is the right guard, with 5-star freshman Francis Mauigoa at right tackle. The starting unit held its own in the pass game (no sacks allowed) and opened big lanes for the rushing attack in Game 1. So that was a really good start. As for Texas A&M? The team has back an experienced, talented center in Bryce Foster (limited by injury last year), and the other starters are Layden Robinson (third year starting, was an All-SEC second team pick in 2021), Trey Zuhn III (a second-year starter), Mark Nabou (second-year player in his first starting role) and (like Miami) a freshman right tackle – Chase Bisontis. Bisontis struggled in the opener (allowed 2 QB pressures and a sack), and Miami might try to game him a little bit. We think Miami has more proven talent here. THE EDGE: MIAMI (slight)

DEFENSIVE LINE

Walter Nolen and Shemar Turner (AP Photo/Sam Craft)

Miami’s strength is its ends, where Akheem Mesidor is one of the ACC’s top returners and Jahfari Harvey has starting experience but was passed in the starting lineup by a breakout player ready to emerge in Nyjalik Kelly. Rueben Bain is a freshman future star who is getting plenty of reps as well. So it’s a deep, talented group (and Mesidor and Bain can work inside in passing situations). The tackle situation for the Canes isn’t great, though. Leonard Taylor is projected by some as a first round NFL talent, but he only played 15 reps in the opener with coordinator Lance Guidry saying he isn’t in optimal shape to play a big amount yet. Purdue transfer Branson Deen is the other DT starter, but he’s better as a pass rusher than run stopper and isn’t really a dominant force. The tackle depth is also a question mark. On Texas A&M’s side the tackle position is a major strength behind Walter Nolen and McKinnley Jackson. Nolen, a former 5-star, had 16 QB pressures last year and was disruptive in the opener with 7 tackles, one for a loss. Jackson had 14 QB pressures last year with 37 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two sacks. So these are two guys that are a load. Then you’ve also got to deal with guys like Shemar Turner who can play end or tackle and had 4.5 TFL last year, DE Fadil Diggs (5 TFL, 3 sacks, 3 FF last year), LT Overton (3 starts last year) and Shemar Stewart (Miami native had 14 QB pressures last year). The Aggies have as deep and talented a defensive line as there is in the nation, a reason they often feel they can just rush four and still get plenty of pressure on the QB. THE EDGE: TEXAS A&M (medium/strong)

LINEBACKER

Francisco Mauigoa (Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)

Miami’s linebacker position last year was a mess, with missed assignments, big gaps and tackling issues. But the Canes have worked to address that in the transfer portal, and your starters at LB in game 1 were both transfers – MLB Francisco Mauigoa from Washington State and OLB KJ Cloyd, who had been a career backup at Louisville. Cloyd somewhat surprisingly beat out returner Wesley Bissainthe for the first team role. The position looked a lot better than a year ago, but it’s not an area we would call close to elite just yet. And Texas A&M will be a big test to see just what kind of strides have been made here. It’s still somewhat of a question mark area in terms of top talent level and depth. On the other side Texas A&M has a playmaker in Edgerrin Cooper, who started eight games last year and had 61 tackles with eight tackle for loss. He had 58 tackles in 2021 as a freshman, making the SEC All-Freshman Team. So he has some talent. The other main guys here are Chris Russell, Jr. (66 tackles, 7 TFL as starter last year) and Taurean York, a freshman with a lot still to prove. Cooper had 8 tackles, 3 for loss, in the opener; York had 2 tackles and Russell 1. THE EDGE: TEXAS A&M (slight)

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Demani Richardson (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Miami arguably has the best safety duo in the nation with All-American Kam Kinchens and James Williams, who has high round NFL talent. Both have plenty of starting experience and game-changing ability. The question mark for the Canes is going to be at cornerback, where UM started Oklahoma transfer Jaden Davis, former West Virginia transfer Daryl Porter, Jr. and has returning nickel starter Te’Cory Couch back. The trio fared pretty well against Miami (Ohio), but Texas A&M is a totally different class of offense and arguably has the best WR corps the Canes will face. So that’s going to be a major challenge. For the Aggies there’s a big threat here in fifth-year starting safety Demani Richardson. He led the team with 73 tackles last year and had 5 pass breakups. The others of note here are Jardin Gilbert (started last year, 61 tackles, 2 INT), Tyreek Chappell (44 tackles, 8 PBU last year) and BC transfer Josh DeBerry (All-ACC second team as a junior with the Eagles, and the CB had 10 tackles, a sack and INT in the opener this year). The safeties at Miami make the difference in this “edge.” THE EDGE: MIAMI (slight)

SPECIAL TEAMS

Miami freshman P Dylan Joyce (Photo by Neil Gershman)

Miami’s return game hasn’t really put the “special” in special teams in recent seasons, but it’s been relatively solid. And the team also has back kicker Andy Borregales, who is excellent on kickoffs and has a plus leg on field goals (he made 17 of 20 last year with a long of 49, and made all three of his attempts in Game 1 from 32, 34 and 43 yards). So he’s solid. The Canes have a new punter with Lou Hedley gone (and now in the NFL with the Saints). That’s freshman Dylan Joyce. He didn’t get many opportunities in game 1 (two punts, long of 47), but reports are his leg rivals Hedley. On the Texas A&M side the main punt returner is Ainias Smith (he had a 44-yard return in the opener, but last year had eight returns with a long of nine yards). Rueben Owens is a 5-star freshman who is returning kicks, and he had one attempt in Game 1 that he took back 27 yards (departed RB Devon Achane was the main KR weapon for the team last year). The team’s punter is one of the nation’s best in Nik Constantinou, who is in his fourth year handling the job and was an All-SEC Second Team pick each of the last two years. The kicker is Randy Bond, who had an attempt blocked in the opener and made his other try from 39 yards out. His first year as starter was 2022, when he hit 13 of 17 attempts … but with a long of just 39 yards. So we’d rate the return game a wash, with A&M having a clear edge at punter and the Canes with the edge at kicker. THE EDGE: EVEN

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