Head Coach Manny Diaz truly will not know what he has with his football team until the clock strikes zero at AT&T stadium in Dallas, TX Labor Day weekend.  The coach of the Miami Hurricanes will get an idea of the caliber of a football team they potentially will have come Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. The Canes will take on national champions Alabama to start its 2021 regular season and the real question all Hurricanes fans pose to themselves is simply this: Is this the year we see a significant step toward winning the ACC conference for the first time in school history?   

The Clemson Tigers are the gold standard when it comes to ACC conference play for most of the past decade.  Since taking over as head coach of the program in 2008, Dabo Swinney has won seven ACC titles including six in a row to date.  Before Swinney, in the Terry Bowden era from 2008, Clemson fielded bowl-eligible teams that never could win the conference. 

In Swinney’s third full season, the Tigers won the Atlantic Division and the ACC conference defeating Virginia Tech 38-10. It was the school’s first title since 1991.  That season ended with a large thud with a 70-33 Orange Bowl loss to West Virginia.  In 2015 (Swinney’s seventh season), Clemson made it to the national championship game but lost to Alabama 45-40. The following year the Tigers would return to the title game and avenge its loss to Bama with a 35-31 win over the Tide.  The Tigers claimed their first national championship since 1981 in 2016 and would win a second national title in 2019. 

Coach Diaz enters his third season at Miami with presumably his best team yet.  Anything less than the ACC Coastal Division title will be a disappointment to fans of “The U” that still hold the team to a high standard.  If Diaz is aligned with the Swinney model, this should be the year the Canes win its first conference title since 2003 (The Big East). Could this be the year?  Let’s break it down.

Quarterback

Much like the championship seasons for Clemson, Miami will hope to have 2021 Heisman candidate D’Eriq King for the start of the regular season.  King suffered a torn ACL in the final game of the season in 2020 but is on track to return for the opening game of 2021.  

Clemson relied on quarterback Deshaun Watson’s versatility to help carry the Tigers to back-to-back championship appearances.  In those two seasons at Clemson, Watson completed 67.4 % of his passes and rushed for 1,734 yards.  

King won several games for the Hurricanes making plays with his legs but will have to improve his completion percentage throwing the football.  King completed 64 % of his passes and rushed for 467 yards in nine games in 2020.  

This Spring, the two heir apparents to replace King after his final season will be second-year quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and true freshman Jake Garcia.  It’s been a close race between the two QBs all Spring.  In the second official scrimmage, Van Dyke went 13 of 17 for 190 yards with three touchdowns while Garcia went 18 for 27 for 164 yards with one touchdown and an interception. 

What To Watch For In Spring Game

Which quarterback will limit the mistakes and take deep shot opportunities downfield when those opportunities are presented?  

Offensive Line

The O-Line has been vastly inconsistent for the last 15 years but 2021 should be the year the Canes finally turn the corner.  Veteran Corey Gaynor anchors the line at center and NFL caliber guard Navaughn Donaldson returns after injury to add much-needed depth.  Grad transfer Jarrid Williams returns at tackle and sophomores Zion Nelson and John Campbell are the likely candidates to rotate at left tackle.  

What To Watch For In Spring Game

Nelson and Campbell need to step up and show consistency in pass protection or King could be running for his life for another season.  Will we see holes open up in the run game from guards DJ Scaife and Jakai Clarke.

Worked all week on Greentree to show out last night at Hard Rock. pic.twitter.com/pTCTywBqdj

— Canes Football (@CanesFootball) April 11, 2021

Skill Positions

Miami has not significantly seen a drop-off when it comes to running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends over the years.  Miami generally produces the skill players that are good enough to make plays on the field and end up playing in the NFL on Sundays.  Many times wide receivers would drop the football in critical situations last season which simply cannot happen if Miami is looking to compete on an elite level with the likes of Clemson. 

Mike Harley Jr. seems to be the clear-cut number one receiver as his reps were limited in scrimmage two.  Competing for the number one receiver spot will be Oklahoma transfer, Charleston Rambo.  Rambo had seven catches for 107 yards and a touchdown in last week’s scrimmage and Dee Wiggins also added two touchdowns.

Expect to see the three-headed monster of Cam’Ron Harris, Jaylan Knighton, and Don Chaney Jr. this season.  Chaney Jr. is out for the Spring game but should be back for the start of Fall.   

Projected starting tight end Will Mallory is out for the Spring Game with a shoulder injury so expect to see action from Michael Parrot, as Dominic Mamarelli is also out with a minor injury.  

What To Watch For In The Spring Game

Will there be explosive plays? Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee orchestrates an offense that puts his playmakers in space so will we see big plays Saturday.  Also, is this the year highly touted receiver Mark Pope takes the next step or will another young wide receiver emerge?

Defense

The defense often looked quite pedestrian in the 2020 season. The Canes gave up huge chunk plays in the running and passing game and will need a significant improvement if they want to compete with Clemson.  Last year Clemson cruised to a 42-17 win over Miami while rushing for 258 yards on 44 carries.  Diaz takes over as the defensive play-caller in hopes to close the gap between Miami and Clemson.

“I think the defense has discovered a love for stopping the run,” said Head Coach Manny Diaz.  “Our front is starting to show signs of a Miami front again in terms of how we set a line of scrimmage and how we limit someones running game.”

The leading tackler in that game, safety Bubba Bolden will sit out the Spring game with a toe injury.  Linebacker Sam Brooks Jr. will also sit out with a toe injury giving the opportunity for Bradley Jennings, Waynmon Steed, and Corey Flagg to step up in a big way.  Also, linebacker Avery Huff, will who has impressed the coaches this Spring will get his chances to make an impact Saturday and possibly this season.  Keontra Smith will also get some work at linebacker as he saw action at striker last season.

“I believe our linebackers have taken a step forward, as I would’ve expected they would have, said Diaz.  “Avery Huff just needed at-bats and getting five weeks of at-bats this Spring, Avery, he made a big of an improvement as anybody on our entire defense.”

Cornerbacks Al Blades Jr., Te’Cory Couch, and Marcus Clarke will also be out due to injury so expect to see DJ Ivey, Tyrique Stevenson play most of those snaps Saturday. Amari Carter, Gibert Frierson, and Chase Smith should rotate at the striker position while Gurvan Hall, Kamren Kinchens, and Avantae Williams will roam at the safety positions.  Williams rated the best safety in the country by Rivals in 2020 coming out of high school has impressed in Spring play and has a chance to be one of Miami’s greats at the position. 

The Canes will be without Nesta Silvera at defensive tackle for the Spring game due to a shoulder injury.  Expect to see a rotation of Jonathan Ford, Jared Harrison-Hunte, Jordan Miller, and Jalar Holley at D-Tackle.

What To Watch For In The Spring Game

Will there be lapses in defense as we saw so often in 2020. Will the tackling improve and will the defensive backs win on one-on-one coverage?

Also, who will emerge as a pass rusher on the defensive line?  The Hurricanes lose two defensive ends from last season to the NFL in the 2021 draft in Jaelen Phillps and Quincy Roche leaving an opportunity for someone to claim the pass rusher thrones.  Senior defender Zach McCloud shifts his position from linebacker to defensive end to help fill that void and Tennessee transfer DeAndre Johnson, Jahfari Harvey, Cameron Williams, Chantz Williams, and Elijah Roberts are all likely candidates and will all be rotating on the defensive line.  

Special Teams

This is a bright spot for the Hurricanes again much like 2020. Now that the Lou Groza award winner Jose Borregales awaits his next destination in the NFL, younger brother and freshman Andy Borregales will assume the kicking duties with the same jersey number 30. Punter Lou Hedley, a Ray Guy candidate for next season will likely be the next kicking specialist to go to the NFL for the Hurricanes.

What To Watch For In The Spring Game

How much power can young Andy generate on field-goal attempts as a freshman? Who will be the return specialist opportunities?  Xavier Restrepo, Charleston Rambo, and Mark Pope are likely candidates.

The Coastal Division Is A Start

Can Diaz pull a Swinney and finally bring back the University of Miami to look like well the University of Miami?

Well, there cannot be a setback at any of the position groups and play has to elevate significantly at linebacker and cornerback.

The kickoff for the Hurricanes Spring game is set for 11 am and will be televised on ACC Network and will be closed to fans to attend.

“We’re looking forward to coming back here on Saturday,” said Diaz after scrimmage two at Hard Rock Stadium.  “The game [is] on ACC Network for all of our fans to see.  We wish we could have all of our fans here in the stadium. Hopefully the last reality of the pandemic but we will be here. We have to get healthy we got a couple of guys nicked up, get our team healthy maybe look at a couple of things schematically that will help us out in the Fall, and come out for a great Spring game here on Saturday.”

All Photos Courtesy of Miami Athletics