Manny Diaz brought Miami out of the ashes, can he take it to the skies?
Adriana Edwards - Dynasty Sports Staff Writer
It wasn't eighteen months ago that Miami had lost four straight games during the regular season, had an inept offense, had one of the game's most respected coaches quit on the team and had to hire, for the second time, a coach from Temple.
"We sort of reset ourselves last season," said Diaz during ACC media day, "Now we have to assert ourselves."
The smooth talking Diaz takes a group of young players from last year that managed to win eleven games and a bowl game over Auburn to now a team capable of winning the ACC -- something Miami has never done -- and potentially compete for a New Year's Six Bowl.
Ten Best Miami Players
1. DE Jonathan Garvin, Senior.
2. G Navaughn Donaldson, Senior.
3. CB Trajan Bandy, Senior.
4. TE Brevin Jordan, Junior
5. HB Cam'Ron Harris, Junior
6. S Gurvan Hall, Junior.
7. S Amari Carter, Senior.
8. QB Jarren Williams, Sophomore.
9. DT Nesta Jade Silvera, Junior.
10. OG D.J. Scaife Jr., Junior.
Schedule
Sept. 6 vs. Rutgers
Sept. 13 vs. Temple
Sept. 20 at Louisville
Sept. 27 vs. #5 Michigan State
Oct. 4 vs. Boston College
Oct. 11 at #9 Florida State
Oct. 18 at #23 Virginia
Oct. 25 vs. Duke
Nov. 8 at Georgia Tech
Nov. 15 vs. #10 Virginia Tech
Nov. 22 at North Carolina
Nov. 29 vs. Pittsburgh
Preseason All-Americans
G Navaughn Donaldson, Senior
S Guvan Hall Jr., Junior
S Amari Carter, Senior
Preseason All-ACC
QB Jarren Williams, RS Sophomore
G D.J. Scaife Jr., Junior
TE Brevin Jordan, Junior
G Navaughn Donaldson, Senior
S Guvan Hall Jr., Junior
S Amari Carter, Senior
What to watch for on offense: How will Miami utilize it's bevy of talent at the running back position? Miami has two of the best running backs -- talent wise -- in the conference with the duo of Cam'Ron Harris and Lorenzo Lingard but they are unproven. Behind them is Brett Sharp, Randy Battle and Kirk Banks, all highly recruited freshman that bring something to the table.
What to watch for on defense: Miami lost three starters at linebacker in Shaq Quarterman, Michael Pinckney and Zach McCloud. Miami plans to use a platoon of players for their linebackers. Will this strategy work and can freshman Kevin Jones be the next great Miami linebacker?
The team will be far better if... they can limit their turnovers. Jarren Williams threw eighteen interceptions last season and if they can bring that total to under ten for this season, Miami can easily beat the tougher teams in their schedule.
The Schedule: We will know very early how good this Miami team is.
Rutgers, Temple and Louisville are all great measuring stick games as Miami should be, by a good margin, better than those teams. And then there's the Michigan State game against a preseason top five team. We saw Miami last year lose to Florida and then rally to almost win out the rest of their games.
After Michigan State, Miami plays its toughest games on the schedule which is at Florida State and at Virginia in back-to-back weeks. After that, it's a lull except for a home game against Virginia Tech.
Best offensive player: TE Brevin Jordan. He's arguably the best tight end in the country, it's either him or Oklahoma's Grant Calcaterra. He's physical, tough to bring down and Miami will go to him early and often in their biggest games.
Best defensive player: DE Jonathan Garvin. He's gone under the radar the past few seasons but expect a big year out of Garvin this season as Miami perhaps tightens their defensive end rotation and lets Garvin play some heavy minutes.
Key players to a successful season: Jarren Williams is the easy answer here but going to go with Mark Pope. A former top recruit, he's yet to put together any sort of dominant performances and is pretty close to being a bust of a recruit but with Jeff Thomas and K.J. Osborn gone, if Pope can become a dominant WR1 option for Williams, Miami's offense will keep on clicking.
Defensively, it's linebacker Kevin Jones. Shaq Quarterman cleaned up so many things last season for the defense and with him gone, Jones is going to have to be that clean up guy and we'll see if he's able to do so as a true freshman.
The season will be a success if...the Hurricanes win the coastal, play Clemson and/or Florida State tough in the conference championship game and compete for a top tier bowl.
Key game: Michigan State. With a win, Miami can go into the Florida State perhaps in the top-ten and a chance to get back in that top five.
Game by Game Predictions
Sept. 6 vs. Rutgers :: W 42-20
Sept. 13 vs. Temple :: W 38 - 17
Sept. 20 at Louisville :: W 24 - 21
Sept. 27 vs. #5 Michigan State :: L 35 - 24
Oct. 4 vs. Boston College :: W 42 - 28
Oct. 11 at #9 Florida State :: L 21 - 17
Oct. 18 at #23 Virginia :: W 48 - 14
Oct. 25 vs. Duke :: W 31 - 10
Nov. 8 at Georgia Tech :: W 56 - 7
Nov. 15 vs. #10 Virginia Tech :: W 17 - 10
Nov. 22 at North Carolina :: W 27 - 24
Nov. 29 vs. Pittsburgh :: W 48 - 28