In four years under the leadership of Randy Shannon Miami won games but not nearly enough to appease the fans and school especially with some of the best talent in the country. Thus the firing of Shannon was no surprise but the hiring of former Temple coach Al Golden opened a few eyes. However, Golden took a downtrodden Owls program and turned them in to a MAC power in two years with minimal talent base so the thinking is he should have a field day with talent he has in Miami. We’ll see soon enough if that theory is correct and if the Canes can regain national prominence…quickly.
Offense:
The Hurricanes return seven players on the offense led by senior quarterback Jacory Harris who appears to have all the physical attributes with a strong arm and the ability to move around as well as physical toughness. The knock on Harris is that he is prone to mistakes stemming from questionable decisions. If he does struggle, Stephen Morris is waiting in the wings and there are mumblings that Morris could indeed be named the starter. The backfield is somewhat thin with Lamar Miller leading the way with Storm Johnson leaving the program but there is no shortage of talent although this unit isn’t loaded with experience. Whoever takes the snaps has several quality targets to play catch with in LaRon Byrd, Travis Benjamin and Aldarious Johnson. The Hurricanes have plenty of returning muscle up front with four starters back including 350 pound Seantrell Henderson and Brandon Washington.
Defense:
Miami also gets back seven players on defense which was the steadiest unit on the field at times when the quarterback spot struggled. Miami has a deep defensive line with plenty of able bodies with defensive end Oliver Vernon and DT Marcus Forston the most notable. Sean Spence and Ramon Buchanon man the outside line backing spots but they lose leading tackler Colin McCarthy. The Hurricanes do have questions in the secondary with just two players back. Vaughn Telemaque (safety) and JoJo Nicholas (corner) return but are not stout defending the pass. However, as is the case with Miami, there is talent everywhere and Golden will have plenty of capable bodies to fill in the gaps but the team’s top three cover men are playing on Sunday’s and those are big shoes to fill.
Special Teams:
The special teams will have to replace multitalented Matt Bosher who handed both punting and placekicking duties. Miami will miss his big leg but freshman kicker Matt Goudis has a strong leg as well going 12 of 16 as a senior in high school with a long of 55 yards. Dalton Bolts comes out of the junior college ranks after averaging 37.5 yards per punt and was originally recruited by LSU. Travis Benjamin will handle both return duties but this unit will undoubtedly miss Bosher and might be a problem area.
Prognosis:
As a Temple fan Al Golden will be missed but I knew it was just a matter of time before he climbed the coaching ladder but to step up to Miami is a whale of a jump. That said the talent he has at his disposal should make his transition a smooth one. I can see the Hurricanes finishing in the neighborhood of nine wins or so to make them a factor in the Coastal Division of the ACC.
