Travis Williams, who spent the past five seasons as linebackers coach at Auburn, will join the Miami Hurricanes staff as inside linebackers coach. per Josh White on twitter
1 Like
Diaz continues to be very good in the offseason
Iām very disappointed he didnāt bring in a veteran DCā¦donāt like him as the HC running the defense, but he made some very good defensive hires and strong portal moves again.
Hopefully Shoop, who has been a part of some really good defense and defensive improvements has an active role
1 Like
I tend to agree. I wonder if Shoop will be helping to call the plays which would make me feel better. At worst: Shoop, Simpson, TRob, TWilliams is one hellva upgrade considering we retain Rumph and Stroud as well.
1 Like
Yup 3 guys with defensive coordinator (ācoā in Williams case) experience thereā¦And I consider Simpson to be very sharp and knowledgable and probably could be at worst a co dc.
Will we see a 2017 like turn around in 2021? Iād like to think so but we have some pretty weak talent in key spots.
LB- there could be some talent not on the field: TAC, Huff, Brooks (healthy), freshmen
CB- Stevenson hopefully can play in '21
DE- Johnson is ok but I donāt think weāve come close to replacing Roche/Phillips with who we have on roster and Johnson. This will be the biggest drop off since the Golden years (Thomas in '14 was the start of a great run).
We have to hope TRob gets the CB and S playing lights out. Simpson get the DT pushing the middle back so much the LB can run free and DE are one on one. Our strength is DT and S at this point.
Is this up in the air?
I thought it was free transfer for everyone this year due to covid.
Iām just hoping Diaz doesnāt block talent with guys Carter and Jennings
-I agree DE is the biggest ? markā¦But believe it or not Iām hoping Mcloud can be a one dimensional pass rusher that gives us a 6 sack, 15 pressure type year and one of the strong side big DEs we have fortify this group (Roberts, Taylor, Blissett)ā¦I had all ticketed for the inside, maybe one can stay at DE permanently or even for 1 year before they move inside (I think Taylor is definitely a DT long-term, so prob one of the other 2 or only Taylor for a year)
-I think CB is fine if Blades comes back AND the right guys are on the fieldā¦Again Ivey is a Diaz favorite, the kid stinks. But a top 3 of TS, Blades, and TC looks good to me and Iām hoping an upgrade. IMO the little we saw of Dunson was good enough.
-Safety has talent everywhere, and god damn it find the best 3ā¦Play the 4th a little and the rest can transfer. I think one of Harrell or J.Williams moves to striker
-I am higher on LB than mostā¦Again though, itās like thereās two kids that can play Mike on this teamā¦One is mediocre and should be at best 3rd string at UM (Jennings), and the other has some promise, but is not without question marks. Itās like these guys are given jobs, while the other 6 LB compete for 1 spot or a two man rotation at that spot. And this is before I even get into the strikers which is a very talented groupā¦I feel better about them than the linebackers. I think one of the outside guysā¦TAC, Steed (he didnāt look terrible), T.Johnson are given a look in the middle with the 3 true Mikes. I think Sam Brooks RIGHT NOW is the best backer we have not counting the top 2 strikers, but we havenāt seen TAC or Huff yet. Keontra Smith looks excellent to me
-Again Iām hoping post spring/early summer gives us a transfer or 2. Carter and Jennings seem like great kidsā¦And Carter will knock your damn head off, but they are both limited and I donāt trust Diaz to not give them between 20 and 40 snaps a game when in all reality they should be getting 1-10 (Carter maybe more but not with whatās behind him is the deepest position on team with possible future stars, Jennings YOU SHOULD JUST HAVE BETTER PLAYERS THAN HIM) and basically none in crunch time AND none in big blowouts (young guys need reps)
Iād love to see 2 deep look like this based on my opinion of these players (assuming no transfers, but hoping for about 1-3)
DE: Harvey, Johnson/Mcloud
DE: (2 of Roberts, Williams, Williams)ā¦The vipers and stand up situational rushers seem to be Mcloud and possibly Harvey.
DT: Ford/Miller
DT: Silvera, JHHā¦Interesting to see how it shakes out behind them. JHH could be a stud and again some of the others could see time at end. Holley no idea
Striker: Frierson/Smithā¦ Not sure if Huff ends up here or WLB. Chase Smith in the wings and possibly Williams or Harrell, not sure yet. I donāt expect every safety to stay there
MLB: Flagg, Troutman/Jennings
WLB: Brooks, Steed/TACā¦See comments above. Most likely landing place for Tyler Johnson is Will imo
CB: Stevenson, Ivey/Dunson
CB: Blades, Couchā¦The NCB is all Couch. With Clarke being groomed behind him. I think Curtis ends up on offense, but he may impress here.
FS: Hall, Kinchens
SS: Bolden, Balom/A.Williamsā¦Again so many names here. I honestly donāt wanna see Carter in the 2 deep. J.Williams best position is free safety imo, I think box safety may be an issue for him at 6ā5 isolated with RB and slot guys in spaceā¦I may be totally wrong there. And he is at least as likely to end up LB or elsewhere. I stuck up for Hall most of his career, and he has time logged at both spots, but he should be handed nothingā¦Shit or get off the pot, thought he actually regressed this year after flashing as a soph. We rotate 3 here, so let em compete and emerge. (novel idea huh) Kinchens in early and may be heard from, may need a little weight and strength. I think K.Wash sticks at safety, I wasnāt high on him, but who knows. Not sure where A.Williams is health wise. I think Balom may be that can play in the box or in deepā¦Will be interesting to see.
Williams seems to be a solid recruiter based on a quick glance of his commit list on 247.
its important to land another strong class. thatās how you build a contenderā¦stringing multiple great classes together in a row.
You missed Taylor at DE/DT. That kid will force someone to the bench in the rotation.
McCloud is LOST most of the time so I canāt see him being a high impact player.
Covid may allow transfers to happen, donāt know.
He actually has a fair amount of pressure rates when used as a blitzer and got pressure in the bowl at DE. With one job, pin your ears back and get QBā¦who knows? I know small sample and heās no lock by any means. Ugh
This is finally a pretty damn solid staff top to bottom. Letās see how they work together, and develop players!
Stevenson is eligible and will be playing along with every other kid that transferred this off season.
Any word on Williams at OT?
The only thing that could make this off-season better is an ncaa ruling to allow one time transfers to not use an IC. That would free up 3 spots in this class: Perry, Tate, and Burns. I could be missing some. That would allow us to upgrade at DE and LB.
Off-season Manny has done it again.
Very likely to play with 85 or more kids from this point forward. Very likely to sign another top class in ā22 due to Covid and the ncaa rules changes. Very good coaching upgrades. He actually retained some NFL talent that could have left for a day 3 pick.
2 Likes
Jarrid Williams? He is coming back, announced it a few weeks ago.
1 Like
Jarridās return is pretty impactful IMO. Not as big as Kingās return but pretty important to the overall success of the OL.
1 Like
I liked the look of the staff before the Baker for Williams swap, primarily because with Lashlee at OC, Diaz could focus on defense play calling. But now with Shoop onboard to be involved with the weekly game planning, which is important as the HC is stretched thinner outside of game day and another recruiter (Williams) to address the desperate need for 'backer talent.
Patke was the young man with the great future just a couple years ago, if that was accurate, this is the way a Miami staff looks.
Thereās a clear hole at linebacker, Jennings is going to play b/c Flagg is still will not be clear cutg, TAC needed a redshirt+ that was true for Huff, who now enters the make or break. Maybe Troutman is instant. Smith with big time potential, probably isnāt an instant impact.
Bissainthe and Graham would be a good start to a class that needs this spot loaded. I have this feeling Robinson is going to pull Little Jr and Rogers as a class, so can Williams go out of state for his group?
At End, thereās no replacement to Phillips/Roche, but I think it comes down to Harvey. All of the recent talent has allow him to be a Y3 kid, and this is now the moment. If Silvera, Harrison can play inside with Johnson needing attention on the other, Harvey becomes the piece to finish.
Finally, at corner, Stevenson changes the whole group. Lock a side down and let the rest of the options fight at the other (and Couch may be the best).
3 Likes
Ugg with the thought of Jennings playing more! Maybe TWill gets his brain working faster. Personally, Iād rather that young talent get on the field! Huff has the physical speed to be an elite LB but the mental is the concern.
'22 could be Elite for a multitude of reasons. Covid for all of the political hate sure has helped Miami in a MASSIVE way. The numbers game is no more! We are going to be over 85 every year moving forward especially IF the ncaa approves one time transfers.
As for the play, DT and S are going to be my keys. Mannyās scheme puts a heavy need on elite safety play. Nesta, HH, Ford, Miller, Roberts, LT= nearing top 10 talent at DT. Harvey, Johnson, 2x Williams doesnāt get me excited at DE. We need an Elite kid added. Hopefully one of the Williams kids takes the next step.
Corner- so long as we can play 2 deep man, Iām good. So sick of the zone and getting picked apart by below average QBs. Of course, going man could mean Jennings has to spy a QB which is not good.
I think we all agree the staff top to bottom is as good as itās been since the last title game, minus Coker 
I feel much better about the future for the first time, I have some hope. In the end, we need to turn the corner within 2-3 years here, or itās gonna be 6-9 wins for the next 20 years again.
2-3 years? We have 4 road games + Bama in ATL, call it 5.
Bama@ATL
AppState
MSU
CCSU
UVA (Thursday)
Bye
@UNC
NCSu
@Pitt
GT
@FSU
VT
@Duke
As of now, Bama and @UNC/@Pitt are the concerns. 10-2 would be my expectations with a trip the ACC unless UNC pulls off a 7-1 record and we drop that game.
8-3 to 9-3 doesnāt cut it for me when youāve upgraded the staff and talent across the board outside of DE/TE. The schedule doesnāt appear to be any more difficult but there will be fans in the stands sooo road games wonāt be as easy. I guess FSU for 5-10 minutes will be loud. HAHA
We donāt have the depth. Yes playing more consistently and performing way better against the average teams, but we arenāt even close to having the talent quality depth we need. One or two injuries in areas we are already lacking depth in, will tank a season at this point. This complete staff is a step in the right direction for recruiting and building quality depth, instead of getting average leftovers.
Letās face reality. In my opinion, since our last championship, we have won ONE real game. ONE GAME in a primetime matchup which was ND in 2017. That is it, thatās one fooking major ranked game win since 2002. We have won like 2 bowl games in 800 years as well. Weāll have turned the corner, when we are consistently top 15 year in, year out, annnnnnnnd actually beat top 10 team instead of batting 0 fer.