During practice heralded freshman TreVonte Citizen sustained a knee injury, not evaluated yet, but perceived by coaches as being significant. Hate to hear this since Citizen was challenging others on the depth chart. To date, Knighten and Parrish have been the best performing RBs.
It seems the one area Mario missed on in recruiting at least to date is RB. Was hoping we could persuade Baxter to be a Cane, but he as predicted committed to Texas. Fletcher was another I thought might want to stay at home, but he was persuaded otherwise by Ohio State.
Rushing the football is the key area in which Miami must improve over last year. A potent rushing game keeps us from being one dimensional, makes onrushing defenders tentative, and is important in staying ahead in the down count and being able to sustain drives.
I expect them to land RB/ATH Chris Johnson. And another one wouldn’t surprise me late in the cycle. A flip wouldn’t shock.
If it’s just Johnson they will land 2 next year.
IMO Chaney is the most talented back (at least if I believe my eyes, he is 1A/1B with Citizen)…The question is can he come back from the injury and then stay healthy. And does he want it bad enough. Chaney has clear NFL ability
Johnson appears to be something of a project, but his speed IMO makes him a take. He’d easily be the fastest guy on the team. He reminds me of Alabama’s Henry Ruggs. Ruggs gave defenders fits. If he got a step on any of them, he’ find some daylight. He’s a great candidate for player development.
I looked up Jermaine Love and watched his video. Not quite as fast as Johnson, he’s still very fast, and he looks ready to play. Not a project. He’s very elusive, jukes defenders out of their shoes, and slips through holes in the line. Unfortunately, we’d be a huge dark horse getting his commitment.
It’s a bummer that Citizen sustained an injury. I thought he was the goods, exhibiting both power and speed. Let’s hope Chaney returns to his old form. What’s the deal on Franklin. Haven’t heard much about him. He was formidable in high school, runs hard, delivers a blow on contact. He doesn’t appear to be a break away threat, but behind a beefed up offensive line, his size and strength should be useful in short yardage situations. It has been a long time since Miami was capable of playing smash mouth on third and short. These plays are a true test of a team physicality. I love the fact that Mario was an offensive lineman and takes a special interest in line play. It’s hard to beat a team that can blow you off the defensive line with regularity.
I think Love is a complete stud…Could see him at RB/WR/KR. No idea the extent of UM interest/vice versa (we have to be interested, every school in America is interested…Not sure if he is) . But Gabby on 247 says he is a definite name to know.
Johnson is definitely a project. But many saying he has taking a big step recently. I wouldn’t rule out cornerback with Johnson.