And Then I'll Rise and Fight Again.

[Captain Canada]

That class is garbage.

[Soapy]

2021 Miami Hurricanes football preview: The talented trio looking to make their mark
Adriana Edwards - Dynasty Sports Staff Writer

Tavita Pritchard did a great job of handling the running back room and the carries last season, especially once Lorenzo Lingard was gone with getting all three heralded recruits in Brett Sharp, Randy Battle and Kirk Banks involved. Miami felt so confident in these three that they're carrying just the three of them into the season on the roster.

A look at Miami’s running back situation:

Projected depth chart
#2 Brett Sharp, So.
#21 Randy Battle, So.
#25 Kirk Banks, So.

Expected starter: Sharp and Battle will split carries.

Major storyline: Sharp is explosive at 188 pounds but can he withstand a full workload? We saw him make an impact as a returner and receiver but as a runner, he never quite fit Pritchard's pro style offense. Will he excel in this one?

[Soapy]

2021 Miami Hurricanes football preview: Complete makeover at wide receiver hopes to get the job done
Adriana Edwards - Dynasty Sports Staff Writer

Miami's receiver's room returns just two players in Dee Wiggins and Eddie Clark. Clark had eleven catches as a freshman while Wiggins' junior season saw him quadruple his catches from the previous total to land him with 20.

Mike Harley graduated, Brian Hightower is off the team and Tate Martell is now a quarterback. Enter Olympic track star Sean Johnson out of Alaska and five-star Kenneth Kent.

With all that being said, a look at Miami’s wide receiver situation:

Projected depth chart
#1 Sean Johnson, Fr.
#3 Kenneth Kent, Fr.
#4 Eddie Clark, So.
#8 Dee Wiggins, Sr.
#7 Justin Sarria, Fr.

Expected starters: Johnson and Kent keep turning heads in practice with their speed. Wiggins' seniority doesn't mean much given his lack of production and a new offensive coordinator in Jonathan Smith.

Major storyline: Clark had a good spring once more and figures to be that third player but does Miami really want to start two true freshman and a true sophomore?

[Soapy]

2021 Miami Hurricanes football preview: Will Mallory finally live up to the hype post Brevin Jordan?
Adriana Edwards - Dynasty Sports Staff Writer

On any other team, tight end Will Mallory is likely a four-year starter if he even gets to his fourth year. Instead, Mallory has had to sit behind first-round pick Brevin Jordan with just 25 catches in the last two seasons.

Jordan is gone which puts Mallory at the forefront now.

A look at Miami’s tight end situation:

Projected depth chart
#85 Will Mallory, Sr.
#81 Larry Hodges, Jr.
#82 Antonio Wilson, RS-Fr.

Expected starter: Mallory, no debate there.

Major storyline: Can Mallory make an impact as TE1? It's not secret that Miami likes him and think the world of him as a receiver but can he finally make that jump from being a really talented tight end to being a really productive tight end.

[Soapy]

2021 Miami Hurricanes football preview: Can OL not be terrible?
Adriana Edwards - Dynasty Sports Staff Writer

Miami's weakness for the better part of a decade has been its offensive line and this year is no different. The good news is that Miami returns nearly everyone on the offensive line and all of the starters from last year's unit that struggled all season.

A look at Miami’s offensive line situation:

Projected depth chart
LT – #60 Zion Nelson, Jr. :: #77 Adam El-Gammal, RS-Fr.
LG – #52 Cleveland Reed Jr., RS-Jr. :: #76 Ousman Traore, RS-Jr.
C – #65 Cory Gaynor, RS Sr. :: #72 Ty Murray, RS So.
RG – #51 D.J. Scaife Jr., Sr. :: #61 Nathan Humprey, RS Fr.
RT – #57 Kai-Leon Herbert, RS-Sr. :: #74 John Campbell Jr., RS-Jr.

Expected starters: The only change from last year is Cleveland Reed Jr. starting in place of the departed Navaughn Donaldson, a four-year starter.

Major storyline: During the 2019 season, Manny Diaz came out and said that he's going to be sticking with his young offensive linemen and that freshmen become seniors and start bullying guys. Zion Nelson is now a junior and a two-year starter at left tackle.. D.J. Scaife is now a senior and so is Cory Gaynor. The day of reckoning is here. Will they step up?

[Soapy]

2021 Miami Hurricanes football preview: Will the rotation at defensive end materialize?
Adriana Edwards - Dynasty Sports Staff Writer

Miami lost a lot of production from the defensive end position. Jonathan Garvin is gone and so is 2020 Lombardi Award winner Jaelan Phillips. Greg Rousseau is talented and recorded five sacks as part of that rotation at defensive end but he goes from being at the bottom of the rotation to now at the top with junior Jahfari Harvey being his running mate along with Cameron Williams and Marcus Everett.

A look at Miami’s defensive line situation:

Projected depth chart
DE - #12 Jahfari Harvey, Jr. :: #22 Cameron Williams, So.
DT – #1 Nesta-Jade Silvera, Sr. :: #93 Jordan Tyler, RS-Fr.
DT – #92 Jason Blissett, Jr. :: #91 Jordan Miller, RS-Jr.
DE – #15 Greg Rousseau, RS-Jr. :: #16 Marcus Everett, So.

Expected starters: Nesta sets the tone inside with both his play and his attitude with many expecting a big year from Rousseau on the edge. Harvey flashed at times last season and figures to be a big piece of the defense while Blissett provides some stability on the inside. Expect redshirt freshman Jordan Tyler to get some rotation as well as he figures to be a big contributor in 2022.

Major storyline: Who gets to ten sacks first? Nesta is the best and most proven player but smart money will be on Rousseau who is athletic and can certainly replace the production of Phillips from last season.

[Soapy]

2021 Miami Hurricanes football preview: How good can Kevin Jones end up being?
Adriana Edwards - Dynasty Sports Staff Writer

Kevin Jones had a freshman season for the ages, sweeping the college football awards as he seems to be on his way for a noteworthy college career. The scary part? Sam Brooks was just as good for the latter part of the season.

Miami came into last season unsure what they had at linebacker but enter 2021 with one of the best duos in the country.

Projected depth chart
SLB - #11 Kevin Jones, So. :: #17 Waymond Steed, RS-Sr. ::
MLB – #6 Sam Brooks, Jr. :: #9 Avery Huff, Jr. :: #44 Bradley Jennings Jr., RS-Sr. :: #52 Patrick Joyner Jr., RS-Jr.

Expected starters: Jones and Brooks will set it off but expect Huff to get plenty of playing time this season as well as Bradley Jennings when they deploy three linebackers.

Major storyline: Brooks replaced Jones at Mike linebacker for the bowl game and played very well. They've swapped that position a few times during spring so it remains to be seen who will be the true Mike lienbacker and signal caller of the defense.

[Soapy]

2021 Miami Hurricanes football preview: Blades gets opportunity on the outside
Adriana Edwards - Dynasty Sports Staff Writer

Miami lost Trajan Bandy and Amari Carter but return everyone else. Al Blades has been outstanding in camp and looks prime to be CB1 after playing the nickel spot the last few seasons. The energetic corner is a legacy player and a fan favorite, can he finally put it together as a true starting corner?

Projected depth chart
CB – #8 D.J. Ivey, Sr. :: #23 Te'Cory Couch, Jr. :: #28 Andrew Woods, Fr.
S – #26 Gurvan Hall, Sr. :: #2 Kevin Whitlock, Fr. :: #20 E.J. Bryant, So.
S – #21 Bubba Bolden, Sr. :: #4 Keontra Smith, So.
CB – #7 Al Blades Jr., Sr. :: #24 Christian Williams, Jr. :: #25 Donald Washington, Fr.
Striker – #3 Gilbert Frierson, RS-Jr.

Expected starters: Miami returns pretty much all of its starters except for Bandy as Bolden started splitting snaps with Amari Carter by the time the season was underway.

Major storyline: Frierson has really gotten comfortable into his striker role with a full season as a starter in his belt. Miami will use more this season and expect a big year from the energetic safety.

[James]

Can’t believe Gundy got fired. Where did he end up?

Also I’m interested to see how those two freshman WR do this season.

[Soapy]

Miami has crawled, it's now time to walk
Adriana Edwards - Dynasty Sports Staff Writer

Miami was still a really young team last season so when they faltered against Georgia Tech and then Virginia Tech, it was expected. An 11-2 season was something to be proud of, even if they failed to make it to Charlotte or a BCS Bowl.

This time around, expectations are raised in Coral Gables and everyone knows it.

Manny Diaz has brought the program back to consistent heights it hasn't been at since the late 90s and early 2000s with many predicting Miami to compete for a national championship, as shown by their number eight preseason rankings.

Ten Best Miami Players
1. S Gurvan Hall Jr, Senior
2. DT Nesta-Jade Silvera, Senior
3. LB Kevin Jones, Sophomore
4. CB Al Blades Jr, Senior
5. CB D.J. Ivey, Senior
6. TE Will Mallory, Senior
7. S Bubba Bolden, RS Senior
8. DE Greg Rousseau, RS Junior
9. QB Tyrone Williams, Sophomore
10. HB Brett Sharp, Sophomore

Schedule
Aug. 29 vs. UAB
Sept. 5 at #22 Michigan State
Sept. 19 vs. #4 Alabama (Georgia Dome)
Sept. 26 at Louisville
Oct. 3 vs. Wake Forest
Oct. 17 vs. Virginia
Oct. 24 at Duke
Oct. 31 vs. #7 Florida State
Nov. 7 vs. Georgia Tech
Nov. 14 at #13 Virginia Tech
Nov. 21 vs. North Carolina
Nov. 28 at Pittsburgh

Miami Hurricanes Starters
QB Tyrone Williams, Sophomore :: 87 ovr, 77 spd, 96 thp, 86 tha
HB Brett Sharp, Sophomore :: 86 ovr, 97 spd, 99 acc, 68 car
FB Realus George, RS Junior :: 81 ovr, 81 spd, 79 str, 67 rbk
WR Sean Johnson, Freshman :: 81 ovr, 97 spd, 93 acc, 77 cth
WR Kenneth Kent, Freshman :: 77 ovr, 90 spd, 91 acc, 78 cth
TE Will Mallory, Senior :: 89 ovr, 84 spd, 93 acc, 85 cth, 73 rbk
LT Zion Nelson, Junior :: 84 ovr, 87 str, 85 pbk, 85 rbk
LG Cleveland Reed Jr, RS Junior :: 89 ovr, 92 str, 89 pbk, 89 rbk
C Cory Gaynor, RS Senior :: 85 ovr, 90 str, 84 pbk, 86 rbk
RG D.J. Scaife Jr, Senior :: 92 ovr, 90 str, 92 pbk, 92 rbk
RT Kai-Leon Herbert, RS Senior :: 85 ovr, 91 str, 89 pbk, 82 rbk
---------
DE Jahfari Harvey, Junior :: 86 ovr, 81 spd, 79 str, 84 bsh
DE Greg Rousseau, RS Junior :: 89 ovr, 76 spd, 85 str, 86 bsh
DT Nesta Jade Silvera, Senior :: 92 ovr, 57 spd, 90 str, 89 bsh
DT Jason Blissett, Junior :: 87 ovr, 66 spd, 87 str, 81 bsh
LB Kevin Jones, Sophomore :: 85 ovr, 88 spd, 97 acc, 87 tkl
LB Sam Brooks, Junior :: 84 ovr, 89 spd, 94 acc, 74 tkl
CB Al Blades Jr, Senior :: 91 ovr, 92 spd, 99 acc, 91 mcv, 91 zcv
CB D.J. Ivey, Senior :: 90 ovr, 92 spd, 97 acc, 91 mcv, 89 zcv
S Gurvan Hall Jr, Senior :: 93 ovr, 91 spd, 96 acc, 88 zcv
S Bubba Bolden, RS Senior :: 89 ovr, 90 spd, 93 acc, 89 zcv, 73 tkl, 85 hit power
Striker Gilbert Frierson, RS Junior :: 88 ovr, 91 spd, 97 acc, 83 zcv, 85 mcv, 69 tkl, 82 hit power
--------
K Bubba Baxa, Senior :: 94 ovr, 99 kp, 90 ka
P Louis Hedley, RS Senior :: 96 ovr, 99 kp, 95 ka

Preseason All-Americans
DT Nesta Jade Silvera, Senior
LB Kevin Jones, Sophomore
S Gurvan Hall Jr, Senior
S Bubba Bolden, RS Senior
AP Brett Sharp, Sophomore

Preseason All-ACC
HB Randy Battle, Sophomore
G D.J. Scaife Jr., Senior
DT Nesta Jade Silvera, Senior
LB Sam Brooks, Junior
LB Kevin Jones, Sophomore
CB D.J. Ivey, Senior
S Gurvan Hall Jr, Senior
S Bubba Bolden, RS Senior
S Gilbert Frierson, RS Junior
AP Brett Sharp, Sophomore
P Louis Hedley, RS Senior

What to watch for on offense: Jonathan Smith brings in a more wide open, spread offense to Coral Gables which should suit the big arm of Tyrone Williams more than previous offensive coordinator Tavita Pritchard's pro-style offense. Smith might be a rental but if he can bring the best out of Williams, who served more as a game manager as a true freshman, then it will be worth it.

What to watch for on defense: Miami has some studs on defense in Jones, Brooks and Silvera along with a back five that has two All-Americans. This has all the makings of a top-ten defense which can be one of the elite units in the country.

The team will be far better if... they can start using their receivers. Miami's WR room got a makeover this offseason and with some explosive freshman in Kenneth Kent and Sean Johnson, they hope that they'll be able to stretch the field as opposed to the limited passing game of last season which primarily featured tight ends and running back.

The Schedule: Can Miami survive the beginning of the schedule?

Outside of the opener against UAB, Miami opens the season on the road against Michigan State and then the highly anticipated match-up against Alabama. There is a world where Miami is 1-2 heading into Louisville, on the road, in a potential night game. They'll want to avoid that at all cost.

The schedule lightens up after that with home games against Wake Forest and Virginia and then a road game at Duke before they host Florida State and Georgia Tech. Miami ends the season at Virginia, home against North Carolina for senior night and at Pittsburgh which should be interesting given the weather.

Outside of the stretch of Florida State - Georgia Tech - at Virginia Tech, Miami's schedule is fairly easy once they get past Alabama but that's a big ask.

Best offensive player: TE Will Mallory. Mallory's sat for a while behind a great player in Brevin Jordan and while Randy Battle was productive as a goal-line option with fifteen touchdowns and Brett Sharp is uber talented but ultimately, Mallory is Miami's best offensive player and probably going to have the best season.

Best defensive player: S Gurvan Hall. Kevin Jones gets the awards and Silvera makes the noise but Hall is the backbone of the defense, reminiscence of Jaquan Johnson a few seasons ago.

Key players to a successful season: It starts with Tyrone Williams but going to throw Brett Sharp in there as well. Cam'ron Harris isn't here anymore to quietly put together a 75-yard rushing night and get the tough yardage and Batte is a nice goal-line option but lacks the speed to be a game changer. Can Sharp's slight frame handle the workload as HB1?

Defensively, it's defensive end Greg Rousseau. Miami's had an elite pass rusher almost everyone season under Manny Diaz from Joe Jackson to Jonathan Garvin to Jaelan Phillips. Is Rousseau next in line?

The season will be a success if...the Hurricanes win the ACC and compete for a national championship. Clemson is a tough hurdle but Miami will need to knock off a giant in order to be one.

Key game: Alabama. If Miami beats Alabama, they might be looking at a number one ranking.

Game by Game Predictions
Aug. 29 vs. UAB: W
Sept. 5 at #22 Michigan State: W
Sept. 19 vs. #4 Alabama (Georgia Dome): L
Sept. 26 at Louisville: W
Oct. 3 vs. Wake Forest: W
Oct. 17 vs. Virginia: W
Oct. 24 at Duke: W
Oct. 31 vs. #7 Florida State: W
Nov. 7 vs. Georgia Tech: W
Nov. 14 at #13 Virginia Tech: L
Nov. 21 vs. North Carolina: W
Nov. 28 at Pittsburgh: W