The CaneSport On3: Top 5 position battles heading into fall camp
The Miami Hurricanes are set to kick off fall drills next week, and today we are breaking down the top five position battles we’ll be keeping an eye on as the regular season creeps closer:
5. BACKUP RUNNING BACKS
Miami has a portal RB addition in 1,000-yard Oregon State star Damien Martinez, and he’ll no doubt be the feature back. But coordinator Shannon Dawson will play a backup or two quite a bit to keep Martinez fresh, and it remains unclear entering fall drills who those will be. If Mark Fletcher is back at 100 percent off a major foot injury, he’ll undoubtedly be one of them off a standout freshman season that saw him snatch the starting job from Henry Parrish (who transferred out during the spring) as last year went along. Fletcher is cleared to return to practice this fall, so we’ll be monitoring how he looks. Then there’s Ajay Allen, who was the No. 3 back last season and showed some good things on his way to 350 rush yards. So perhaps the former Nebraska starter will be No. 2 on the depth chart if Fletcher isn’t quite ready, and could get reps regardless. Speedster Christopher Johnson could also factor in, as could highly touted freshman summer arrival Jordan Lyle. It’s safe to say working to earn backup RB reps will be at a premium in fall camp.
4. WHO JOINS RESTREPO, GEORGE AS THE THIRD MAIN WR TARGET
Miami knows what it has in Restrepo and George, a proven 1-2 punch from last year who totaled 1,956 yards and 14 TDs. So now the question becomes who the third starting wideout will be. Heading into fall camp the favorite has to be Sam Brown, a second portal window addition from Houston who was the go-to guy there last season with 815 yards. But his production waned in the second half of last year and the door could be open for a guy like Isaiah Horton or freshman phenom JoJo Trader to emerge. If that third receiver can create some big plays, good luck to a defense trying to figure out how to stop this Miami attack.
3. TWO-DEEP AT DT
The likelihood right now heading into fall camp is that NC State transfer CJ Clark and Michigan State transfer Simeon Barrow will be your starters. Both were successful starting at their prior stops, and there’s no reason they can’t do a solid job at Miami. But who will push them to start/work in behind them? We aren’t sure that Middle Tennessee arrival Marley Cook is a difference-maker, and while Akheem Mesidor can work inside he’s coming off a major foot injury and previously played mainly end at Miami. Ahmad Moten is unproven. And then you have perhaps a redshirt freshman like Josh Horton who can emerge, or maybe even 5-star true freshman summer arrival Justin Scott can make a splash in year 1. Finding the top four guys here this fall is going to be an intriguing battle to watch. Our best guess right now is that Clark and Barrow start with Cook and Horton behind them, but the depth chart battle here is very much up in the air.
2. DEFENSIVE BACKS DEPTH CHART
We only know one sure-fired specific position at which there is a starter locked in – that’s Daryl Porter, who is a solid returning cornerback. The team also brought in Mishael Powell from Washington, but it’s unclear if he’ll wind up starting at nickel, where he was this spring, or start at safety where there isn’t much depth/proven talent. And then it’s an all-out scramble for other starting spots. If Powell stays at nickel, the assumption is that Markeith Williams and Jaden Harris – both unproven in limited reps – will be the safety starters. There’s just not much experience there. But if Powell moves to safety, which we think there’s a good chance of happening, then Williams and Harris will be competing for one spot. And if Powell moves that also opens up a nickel spot that could be filled by Damari Brown (who otherwise could start at corner opposite Porter), which opens up the CB spot for competition between Jadais Richard and Marshall arrival D’yoni Hill. So there are a lot of moving parts here. Our best guess for the Game 1 lineup? Hill and Porter at boundary corner with Brown at nickel and your safeties are Powell and Williams. But that’s going out on a limb, with competition this fall set to determine what transpires.
1. 5TH STARTER ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE
This is the big one, because Miami is really just one talented/productive lineman away from having one of the ACC’s best front lines … and maybe even one of the better ones in the nation if everything comes together. The team has three solid starting returners in Jalen Rivers, Anez Cooper and Francis Mauigoa, plus Indiana multi-year starting center Zach Carpenter is also on board. So if a Samson Okunlola can live up to his five-star billing, or if Matthew McCoy emerges or perhaps JUCO arrival Markel Bell is ready, then that can really make this a great front five. Our best guess right now is that Okunlola will be the fifth guy, but it’s going to be a bigtime battle this fall.
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