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MIAMI GARDENS, FL– The Miami Hurricanes made quick work of the Savannah State Tigers, 77-0 in their home opener Saturday. The game was highlighted by freshmen performances for the Hurricanes. Five different freshman scored touchdowns for Miami, running back Lorenzo Lingard and tight end Brevin Jordan both scored twice. Both are true freshmen. Overall it was a good night. Here are my thoughts on the team play by position.
QUARTERBACKS
Starting quarterback Malik Rosier didn’t play poorly (8-12 for 131 yards and 2 TDs) but he didn’t improve his passing accuracy missing wide open receivers for the second consecutive game, drawing boo birds from the Hurricane faithful gathered at Hard Rock Stadium. He went to the bench up 21-0 because it was clear the coaching staff wanted to use this game to evaluate their freshman depth at the position.
Back up quarterback, redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry, made his Hurricane debut after serving a one-game suspension last week. His effort was solid. He went 9 for 14 passing for 93 yards and added a touchdown. He seemed reticent to run the football, even when wide open lanes were evident. Odd for a quarterback recruited as a ‘dual-threat’.
Fellow reserve redshirt freshman quarterback Cade Weldon also debuted Saturday going 1 for 2 for 14 yards and a rushing touchdown. Weldon played smart but didn’t have many snaps. Tough to evaluate but he made a very wise read on his TD run. Looked to have decent speed also.
True freshman quarterback Jarren Williams was 1 for 3 for 17 yard and added a rushing touchdown of his own. He looked as comfortable in the game as he did in the spring and made good throws. Freshman wideout Mark Pope slipped on what could have been a touchdown pass.
RUNNING BACKS
Miami ran the ball for 252 yards, much of which was added very late in the game by the leading rusher Lorenzo Lingard who amassed 82 yards on just four carries with two touchdowns on the night. Prior to this outburst, Miami seemed hesitant to run the ball. DeeJay Dallas appears to be the teams most effective runner, but only got five carries. He finished with a 9.6 yard per carry average, however. Travis Homer lead all backs in total carries, rushing for 70 yards total. N’Kosi Perry is the only quarterback who didn’t’ score a rushing touchdown. Trayone Gray had perhaps the best game of his extended career as a redshirt senior getting four carries in the red zone and blocking well all night. Freshmen Robert Burns and Cam’ron Davis didn’t have enough reps to evaluate their play.
THE REST OF THE OFFENSE
When you score 77 points, there are going to be a lot of things to like on offense. Still, Miami has lots of room for improvement. Quarterback accuracy is still a concern for Rosier. His wideouts are getting separation. Jeff Thomas is an absolute beast and needs a mandatory touch count. He caught one ball for 67 yards and made an amazing catch on a ball that was eventually ruled ‘no catch’ after a review. Lawrence Cager nabbed two balls on the night and had a TD reception. Jordan, the freshman tight end lead all receivers with seven catches for 52 yards and two scores. There’s a lot of wide receiver depth and it showed tonight as many true freshman got reps and looked solid.
The offensive line is still an item of concern for this team. The ground game was not able to get going during the period of time where Miami’s front line was still playing. And that’s a tough pill against one of the FCS’ worst teams (3-8 in 2017). Head coach Mark Richt and offensive line coach Stacy Searls must address this before ACC play begins.
Tomorrow we’ll break down the defensive performances from the Hurricanes home opener.
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