Hurricanes Put Notre Lame To Shame

Anthony Lawrence Jr.'s breakout game for Miami caught Notre Dame off guard.

It probably caught the Hurricanes a bit by surprise as well.

The freshman - who had a total of six points in the last six weeks and was a bit of an afterthought in the Hurricanes' rotation - needed only six shot attempts to score a season-high 18 off the bench, and No. 17 Miami beat Notre Dame 79-70 on Wednesday night for its ninth consecutive home win.

"Often times when you go to the bench you have a dropoff," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. "We don't."

Angel Rodriguez, Ja'Quan Newton and Sheldon McClellan had 12 points apiece for the Hurricanes (17-4, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Miami shot 63 percent in the first half and finished at 56 percent for the game.

Bonzie Colson scored 17 points for Notre Dame (15-7, 6-4). V.J. Beachem had 14 points and Zach Auguste had all 12 of his in the second half for the Fighting Irish.

"Their maturity, they've got men," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "And they're playing like it."

True, the Hurricanes are loaded with experience. 

And that made Lawrence's breakout night all the more surprising.

His previous best was 13 points at Nebraska on Dec. 1 and to say he was a non-factor in ACC games this season would be an understatement. In seven league-game appearances before Wednesday, Lawrence was 1 for 8 from the field for a total of four points in 39 minutes. But in this one, he was 5 for 6 from the field, including 4 for 4 from 3-point range.

"He really hurt us," Brey said. "It's one of those things, you say maybe you can live with him getting some looks and you worry about the other guys. Then he jumps up and really hurts you. It's great when you're a young guy playing with men, the older guys."

Meanwhile, Notre Dame simply never got going.

Foul trouble limited Auguste, the Irish's leading rebounder, to 6 first-half minutes and the Hurricanes took full advantage. Auguste _ who came in averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds, but was limited to no points and one board in the first 20 minutes on Wednesday _ picked up his second and went to the bench for the rest of the half.

When he left, Miami's lead was 18-17.

When he came back to start the second half, Miami's lead was 45-33. The Hurricanes went on a 13-4 run to close the half, and the Irish never got within single digits again until the final seconds.

"We just have to find a way to stop teams from making runs," Beachem said. "Keep it close and keep it within striking distance. It starts defensively because I know we can score."

Miami eventually pushed the lead out to 20 points, after McClellan's 3-pointer with 8:06 left put the Hurricanes up 65-45.Um

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Comments

[nemo2002]

[T]he ACC is waiting on US to be their 3rd elite team for representation. It's time to start playing up to our recruiting, our reputation, and our standards. We have been mediocre for far too long. Their is no reason why we shouldn't be playing either Clemson or FSU in Charlotte on December 3rd.

Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | February 05, 2016 at 12:37 PM

Excellent comment!

[nemo2002]

Carol City LB De'Andre Wilder lists Canes atop his list.
Posted by: SinisterCane | February 05, 2016 at 11:11 AM

The Wilder the better.

[thirstybuzzardcane]

The Wilder the better.

Posted by: nemo2002 | February 05, 2016 at 01:07 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waiting for it!.......Waiting for it!..........

[thirstybuzzardcane]

Manny Diaz: “The biggest crime I can have as a coach is to recruit speed and slow it down, because when you think of Miami, we should always be able to run. We should always be fast. When you’re fast on defense, things that are open [for offenses] don’t stay open for very long."

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2016/02/new-um-defensive-coordinator-diaz-goes-in-depth-on-his-philosophy-one-canes-fans-will-embrace-dolphi.html

Posted by: Lur-ker | February 05, 2016 at 09:58 AM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ahhhh! Music to my ears!!!!

[CaneRock]

Lousville self imposes 1 year Tourney ban. Made money off these kids, Her daughter, and now She wants to peddle a phuckin' book...ole' triflin' @$$ b!+(h.

[Lur-ker]

Posted by: CaneRock | February 05, 2016 at 01:34 PM

What did I miss?

[Ohio_Cane]

The Associated Press ‏@AP 3m3 minutes ago

BREAKING: Louisville imposes men's basketball postseason ban amid investigations into escort allegations.

[SinisterCane]

Blustein: Class Of 2017 Pre-Spring Elite 75 Prospect List

1. Trevon Grimes, WR, 6-4, 190, St. Thomas Aquinas
2. Jerry Jeudy, WR, 6-1, 175, Deerfield Beach
3. Stanford Samuels III, DB/QB, 6-1, 180, Flanagan
4. Daniel Wright, DB, 6-1, 175, Cardinal Gibbons
5. Kyshaun Bryan, RB, 5-10, 185, Plantation American Heritage
6. Marco Wilson, DB, 5-11, 170, Plantation American Heritage
7. Tedarrell Slaton, OL, 6-5, 325, Plantation American Heritage
8. Kevaughn Dingle, WR, 6-2, 185, Carol City
9. Robert Burns, RB, 5-11, 210, Gulliver Prep
10. Navaughn Donaldson, OL, 6-5, 320, Central
11. D’Andre Wilder, OLB, 6-4, 220, Carol City
12. Trajan Bandy, DB, 5-9, 175, Miami Christopher Columbus
13. Rodney Scott, WR, 6-1, 175, Southridge
14. Waynmon Steed, LB, 6-1, 215, Miami Central
15. Jonathan Ford, DE, 6-3, 250, Fort Lauderdale Dillard
16. Kemore Gamble, WR, 6-3, 220, Southridge
17. Leroy Henley, WR, 6-2, 180, Cardinal Gibbons
18. Naytron Culpepper, DB, 6-1, 175, American
19. Drew White, LB, 6-1, 220, St. Thomas Aquinas
20. Billy Gibson, S, 6-1, 170, Southridge
21. Daewood Davis, WR/KR 6-2, 175, Chaminade-Madonna
22. Faion Hicks, DB, 5-10, 185, Flanagan
23. Diego ***ot, LB, 6-3, 230, Calvary Christian Academy
24. Guy Thomas, DE, 6-3, 200, Miami Columbus
25. Bentavious Thompson, RB, 6-0, 190, Southridge
26. Chei Hill, DE/OLB, 6-1, 215, South Dade
27. Cody Bowes, OL, 6-4, 270, St. Thomas Aquinas
28. Lavarus Tigner, WR, 6-0, 180, Deerfield Beach
29. Clevan Thomas, Jr., WR, 5-11, 195, Flanagan
30. Randall Haynie, DB, 6-0, 175, Cardinal Gibbons
31. Jordan Merrell, WR, 5-10, 178, St. Thomas Aquinas
32. Carmoni Green, WR, 6-1, 180, Central
33. Kenneth Spiller, LB, 6-1, 245, Miami Palmetto
34. Owen Carney, DE/DT, 6-3, 225, Miramar
35. Michael Harley, WR, 5-10, 150, St. Thomas Aquinas
36. Jake Allen, QB, 6-3, 195, St. Thomas Aquinas
37. Tyler Dunning, OLB, 6-1, 225, St. Thomas Aquinas
38. Joshua Dinson, DB, 5-9, 165, Hialeah American
39. Joshua Ali, WR, 5-11, 180, Chaminade-Madonna
40. Kadeem Telfort, OL, 6-6, 315, Norland
41. Christopher Henderson, RB, 6-0, 175, Christopher Columbus
42. Brandon James, LB, 6-3, 185, Southridge
43. Corey Gaynor, OL, 6-4, 318, Douglas
44. Anthony White, Jr., WR, 6-1, 170, Hialeah American
45. Jacob Lichtenstein, DE, 6-5, 240, Cypress Bay
46. Kai-Leon Herbert, OL, 6-5, 260, Plantation American Heritage
47. Henry Colombi, QB, 6-3, 185, Chaminade-Madonna
48. Christopher Williams, DB, 5-10, 170, Miami Central
49. Willa Pierre, OL, 6-3, 288, Booker T. Washington
50. Steve Jean-Baptiste, OL, 6-2, 280, Chaminade-Madonna
51. Teaki Fuller, OL, 6-4, 318, Booker T. Washington
52. Shabazz Telfort, QB, 6-3, 190, Boyd Anderson
53. Latavious Brini, DB, 6-2, 180, Mater Academy
54. Juwan Horne, DB, 5-10, 170, Southridge
55. Brian Edwards, S, 6-3, 175, Miramar
56. Kyron Taylor, OL, 6-3, 275, South Dade
57. Shawn Davis, DB, 6-0, 180, Southridge
58. Massi Gamble, RB, 6-0, 195, Calvary Christian
59. Dedrick Mackey, S, 5-11, 180, Booker T. Washington
60. Sammy Laster, S, 5-11, 185, Miami Central
61. Coemba Jones, DB, 5-7, 160, Southridge
62. Kedonis Haslem, DT, 6-3, 290, St. Thomas Aquinas
63. Allen Jones, DB, 5-11, 174, Miami Central
64. Rennard Bozeman, DB, 5-10, 175, Boyd Anderson
65. Dave Richards, TE/WR, 6-2, 190, Miami Norland
66. Terry Straughter, LB, 6-0, 215, Miami Carol City
67. George Ellis III, DL, 6-3, 300, Plantation American Heritage
68. Colvin Alford, S, 6-0, 190, Miami Coral Reef
69. Kobe Green, DB, 5-11, 185, Deerfield Beach
70. Mike Epstein, RB, 6-0, 195, St. Thomas Aquinas
71. Sharod Johnson, WR, 6-1, 175, Booker T. Washington
72. Will Allen, DB, 5-10, 175, Plantation American Heritage
73. Jason Brown, QB, 6-3, 195, Plantation American Heritage
74. Michael Nesbitt, DB, 6-2, 190, Boyd Anderson
75. Javier Zuniga, RB, 5-9, 175, Miami Sunset

[Ohio_Cane]

We should get at least 10 on that list ^^

[SOUP]

The Wilder the better.

Posted by: nemo2002 | February 05, 2016 at 01:07 PM

Waiting for it!.......Waiting for it!..........

Posted by: thirstybuzzardcane | February 05, 2016 at 01:29 PM

Tees it up, clears throat, takes a deep breath and...

[Da U N Houston]

Manny Diaz: “We’ve got some guys, but we can’t be defined by talent alone,” he said. “That’s all everyone has talked about – we’re talented, we’re talented. [But] we’ve got to… be productive, stop walking around patting ourselves on the back for being talented. Let’s learn how to be productive. And more than anything, let’s learn how to be tough. You’re hard to beat when you’re tough.”

Great Observation. I think this has been a problem for a long time. Getting a scholie means you have talent, winning games means you're transitioning that talent into production.

[Lur-ker]

Oooohhhh, I forgot about that escort deal with Louisville.

What a shock, since their HC is morally beyond reproach. ;)

That little midget was slinging some bs about Larañaga and concussions last year. Screw him and the midget horse he ride in on.

[SinisterCane]

Here's my 2-4 deep roster for the spring game with some 2 position changes

QB - Kaaya, Rosier, Sheriffs

HB - Gray, Yearby, Walton

FB - Edwards, Batten

WR - Coley, Cager, Bruce, Richards

TE - Njoku, Irvin, Haskins

T - St. Louis, Odogwu, Grimsley, Johnson

G - McDermott, Darling, Milo, Gauthier

C - Linder, Knighton

DE - Thomas, D. Jackson Muhammed, Harris, Bethel

DT – Willis, Norton, Jenkins, Moten

OLB - Owens, Pinckney, Gordinier, McCloud

MLB - Young, Quarterman

CB - Elder, Redwine, Johnson, Jackson

S – Grace, Carter, Jenkins, Knowles

K - Badgley
P - Vogel

[nemo2002]

72. Will Allen

Wait a minute. Didn't Will Allen play basketball for the U?

[WWIN]

Da homie Sin bringin dat HEAT!

[Ohio_Cane]

Barry Jackson ‏@flasportsbuzz 3m3 minutes ago

UM will hold its spring game April 16 at Lockhart in Broward. 2 p.m. start. Sun Life unavailable because of renovations.

[Ohio_Cane]

Barry Jackson ‏@flasportsbuzz 2m2 minutes ago

... Besides the April 16 spring game, UM is also opening up its second scrimmage to the public: April 9 at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm.

[Ohio_Cane]

Canes Football ‏@CanesFootball 6m6 minutes ago

Let the countdown to #Canes spring football begin. First practice is set for March 14 - http://gocan.es/1mioKT9

[SinisterCane]

WUZ UP WILLIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ohio_Cane]

2016 Spring Practice Dates

Tuesday, March 14 – 9 a.m.
Thursday, March 17 – 9 a.m.
Saturday, March 19 – 9 a.m.
Tuesday, March 22 – 9 a.m.
Thursday, March 24 – 9 a.m.
Saturday, March 26 – 9 a.m.
Tuesday, March 29 – 9 a.m.
Thursday, March 31 – 9 a.m.
Saturday, April 2 - (SCRIMMAGE) – Greentree Practice Fields – Time is TBD
Tuesday, April 5 – 9 a.m.
Thursday, April 7 – 9 a.m.
Saturday, April 9 – 2 p.m. (SCRIMMAGE) - Oxbridge Academy (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Tuesday, April 12 – 9 a.m.
Thursday, April 14 – 9 a.m.
Saturday, April 16 – 2 p.m. (SPRING GAME) - Lockhart Stadium

[Lur-ker]

So it's Lockhart for sure?

[thirstybuzzardcane]

The Wilder the better.

Posted by: nemo2002 | February 05, 2016 at 01:07 PM

Waiting for it!.......Waiting for it!..........

Posted by: thirstybuzzardcane | February 05, 2016 at 01:29 PM

Tees it up, clears throat, takes a deep breath and...

Posted by: SOUP | February 05, 2016 at 01:50 PM
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hahahaha!!!!

[thirstybuzzardcane]

Where abouts is Oxbridge Academy located?

[Ohio_Cane]

Where abouts is Oxbridge Academy located?

Posted by: thirstybuzzardcane | February 05, 2016 at 02:14 PM
-----------------------------------------

West Palm Beach, duh! LOL

[TonyCane]

Exactly Soup. Clemson is no joke. Some of Us Get that they have a elite program just like FSU. Our Canes need to join Clemson and FSU again starting this Season. The SEC, Big Ten, Big XII, and PAC-12 have at least 3 Elite Teams, the ACC is waiting on US to be their 3rd elite team for representation. It's time to start playing up to our recruiting, our reputation, and our standards. We have been mediocre for far too long. Their is no reason why we shouldn't be playing either Clemson or FSU in Charlotte on December 3rd.

Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | February 05, 2016 at 12:37 PM

Exactly. Miami essentially hibernated for ten years, as the school administration put the football program on a tight budget and refused to invest the necessary resources to compete at a time when so many other programs upped their games. This gave a decade long window of opportunity for programs like Clemson to gradually build themselves up into powers, and for FSU to establish near hegemony. Basically, we sanctioned ourselves.

Finally that has changed, and I fully expect that by no later than 2017 we'll have a team that can compete with Clemson and FSU.

[Ohio_Cane]

Bunch from Manny:

Friday note: UM announced its spring football schedule today, and Mark Richt has made a significant change from Al Golden's approach.

UM will no longer start spring practice before spring break and resume it afterward. Instead, UM will wait until after spring break to begin practice, then spread 15 practices over five weeks.

The spring game will be 2 p.m. Saturday, April 16 at Lockhart Stadium in Broward County because Sun Life Stadium is unavailable while renovations continue.

UM will practice every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday beginning Tuesday, March 15. All non-scrimmage practices start at 9 a.m.

There will be scrimmages on Saturday, April 2 (at Greentree) and April 9 at Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach.

Richt had great success in Palm Beach County in his first UM recruiting class, and Oxbridge is the school of Travis Homer (the only running back in this class).

The Oxbridge scrimmage will be free and open to the public; the Greentree one will not be open to the public, UM says. And the spring game obviously will be open to the public.

FRIDAY BUZZ COLUMN

New UM defensive coordinator Manny Diaz explained his vision Wednesday, and if this were a campaign speech, he would have received a standing ovation from Canes fans -- even some players and parents -- who detested the read and react elements of predecessor Mark D’Onofrio’s defense.

But this goes beyond the promise to play an attacking 4-3 scheme, something Mark Richt made very clear the day he hired Diaz. This is also about playing the style that fits the talent of South Florida high school players.

“Historically, when you think Miami football, you think speed,” Diaz told me, after his group interview was completed. “[It's] what Jimmy Johnson revolutionized way back when -- we’re going to be undersized on defense, but we can fly and run and hit. To fly and run and hit, you have to play an aggressive style of defense. If you’re big, then you can hold point and you can absorb. This isn’t advanced physics. The smaller you are, the faster you have to play.

“The biggest crime I can have as a coach is to recruit speed and slow it down, because when you think of Miami, we should always be able to run. We should always be fast. When you’re fast on defense, things that are open [for offenses] don’t stay open for very long.

“Stylistically, that’s the style [new defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski] and I like to play anyway. But it does suit Miami because of the type of kid we’re going to find here. We may not necessarily be able to find the largest kids in the world, but the ones we can find that can run and strike, I think it’s up to us to put them in position to best do that. Stylistically, it fits us down here.”

That philosophy, which seems so simple and logical, was never articulated by the former staff. As former All-American center Brett Romberg and the parents of multiple UM players noted, the Golden/D’Onofrio system seemed better suited for a Northeast or Midwest team. Ex-UM defensive tackle Michael Wyche was the latest to vent this week about the former staff’s “bum ass defensive” scheme.

“Who doesn’t want to attack? It almost sounds cliché,” Diaz said. “There’s a running joke. Every new defensive coordinator you hire says, ‘We’re going to be more aggressive than the last guy.’

“Everyone is going to say that. It’s not just about that. But if you look historically, Missouri last season was second in the nation in tackles for loss [with Kuligowski on that staff]. We were ninth [at Mississippi State, where Diaz was defensive coordinator]. We want to make plays behind the line of scrimmage. The only way you do that is you’ve got to get your body across the line of scrimmage. The fact that we’re so aligned on that, I think our players are really going to pick up on that.”

Diaz added: “It’s not just going to a 4-3. It’s a mentality of the way we’re going to play blocks. We want our defensive line to penetrate. And that should sound familiar, because it was here in the ‘80s where that really became the trend in college football. We’re really not doing anything that Miami should not be used to.”

Diaz loves to blitz, and in his last four full seasons as a coordinator, his teams had 133 sacks, compared with 93 for Miami over that period.

“You can try on the front end to penetrate and create as many negative plays as possible, while at the same time on the back end, be as big-play averse as possible,” Diaz said. “Last year, at Mississippi State, we were [12th] in the country in fewest 20-yard plays allowed. We are big on not giving up the big play. A lot of things go into that, not just schematic. You’ve got to be a great tackling team. You lose games by giving up long touchdowns. It’s the quickest way to lose a game.”

He said his first priority is improving a run defense that ranked 105th of 128 FBS schools last season. “I don’t know [what the issue was] last season and I don’t really care,” Diaz said, adding he hasn’t watched tape of UM’s 2015 defense because he wants to give every player a clean slate.

“We are going to make sure we are defined by our toughness first,” he said. “And the toughest guys will play. We have got to at least represent what I think of with a Miami Hurricane defense. What I think of is toughness. We’ve got to get that back.”

The question is whether Diaz has enough talent to execute his vision. He has intriguing personnel in his front seven, led by Al-Quadin Muhammad, Chad Thomas and Jermaine Grace, but no clearly elite defensive tackle. The biggest concern is cornerback, where only one returnee (Corn Elder) has substantial experience.

“We will do some things to help them out coverage wise,” Diaz said, adding he will play both man and zone.

He said he doesn’t have a full grasp yet of how good this defense is.

“We’ve got some guys, but we can’t be defined by talent alone,” he said. “That’s all everyone has talked about – we’re talented, we’re talented. [But] we’ve got to… be productive, stop walking around patting ourselves on the back for being talented. Let’s learn how to be productive. And more than anything, let’s learn how to be tough. You’re hard to beat when you’re tough.”

In his nine full seasons as a defensive coordinator, Diaz’s teams finished in the top half of FBS teams on five occasions.

His Middle Tennessee State units (2006-2009) ranked 48th, 81st, 64th and 62nd in total defense. His defense at Mississippi State were 52nd (2010) and 55th (2015). His Texas defenses were 12th (2011) and 80th (2012), before he was fired two games into 2013 after Texas allowed 550 yards in a 40-21 loss to BYU. His 2014 Louisiana Tech defense was 54th.

New UM cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph, who went 35-6 and won two state championships at Plantation American Heritage, believes Diaz’s style will attract top local players.

“Manny has a way of simplifying things,” Rumph said. “Most defenses react. We’re going to attack and make them react to us.”

[thirstybuzzardcane]

Where abouts is Oxbridge Academy located?

Posted by: thirstybuzzardcane | February 05, 2016 at 02:14 PM
-----------------------------------------

West Palm Beach, duh! LOL

Posted by: Ohio_Cane | February 05, 2016 at 02:15 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hahaha! Little did I know it's right down the street from my in-laws RV dealership! Thank you google maps! It's on Military Trail between Okeechobee and 45th.

[thirstybuzzardcane]

I will be going to the Oxbridge scrimmage. Anyone else going?

[CoCane]

Sin,

Your list is has issues...

Our best OG Danny Isidora???

You think Irvin Jr and Haskins will be ahead of Herndon and Dobard at TE???

Grace at Safety! Lmao! WTF

Where's OLB Gayot?

I agree with most of it though?

[Ohio_Cane]

Matt Porter ‏@mattyports 3m3 minutes ago

For the unfamiliar, Oxbridge is west of Ex. 71 on I-95. Abt 4 mi. W of downtown WPB, 30 mi. N of where Mark Richt played HS ball in Boca.

[Lur-ker]

I've been to Oxbridge for a running event. I might go if I'm here

[RCCF]

I knew these kids hated the scheme and No'D....

Salute Mr. Wyche, hopefully More blast the Nittanies because they Ruined our identity...

12%

[NicKane]

thirstybuzzardcane
I will be going to the Oxbridge scrimmage. Anyone else going?

Posted by: thirstybuzzardcane | February 05, 2016 at 02:22 PM

I'm going TBC. I live in loxahatchee which is right down the road from that school. So I'll be there for sure!

[SinisterCane]

Sin,

Your list is has issues...

Our best OG Danny Isidora???

You think Irvin Jr and Haskins will be ahead of Herndon and Dobard at TE???

Grace at Safety! Lmao! WTF

Where's OLB Gayot?

I agree with most of it though?

Posted by: CoCane | February 05, 2016 at 02:26 PM

Grace is a LB in a Strong Safety's body beside all he ever did was play coverage for WEFENSE

Herndon and Dobard at TE??? Dobard/Herndon had to many dropped passes and blown blocking assignments which is the reason Njoku leapfrog both of them and lets keep it real there nothing about Herndon/Dobard game play that can't replace by a true freshman

Our best OG Danny Isidora - The Oline as a whole looks like poop on a stick. Our inside running flat out suck with so called "best" OG in that mix. Darling should be playing as a guard. Gall is the worst player on COTDAMM team, EFFF it the whole Oline is a mess

[Ohio_Cane]

KC McDermott is our best G, IMO. Unfortunately, he spent a lot of time at T, which he's not built for.

[CoCane]

Irvin Jr is only 220... redshirt
Haskins is only 230 and converting from QB... redshirt...

Going out on a limb saying Isidora will lose his starting spot is one thing. But not even in the 2 deep? Idk

Grace will not move to safety. Vault it...

I could see Grey taking something though.

[thirstybuzzardcane]

I'm going TBC. I live in loxahatchee which is right down the road from that school. So I'll be there for sure!

Posted by: NicKane | February 05, 2016 at 02:48 PM

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cool! Maybe I'll see you down there then.

[CaneRock]

I wanna see what Washington has at TE...He haD a nice grab in the FAU game, and then crickets. And I read where Gordinier (LB) was coming on last season, but they didn't want to burn His RS.

[Go Canes!]

Herndon is a fine young player.

He'll see as much action as Dobard, both will be behind the next monster this school will put out at TE.

Njouko will leave here a 1st rounder.

Agree with Co on Isidora. Also think Bethel gets a RS. Guys like Dimitrius and others will be in the rotation before him.

Grace is a LB. Always was and will be.

[Ohio_Cane]

With Diaz's defense, I actually see more guys like Grace playing LB for us. Smaller and faster guys. We'll still have our Juwon Young or Quarterman in the middle, but those boys can run too

[SinisterCane]

Posted by: CoCane | February 05, 2016 at 03:10 PM

Herndon is a fine young player.

Herndon is a marginal player and didn't he start ahead of Njoku at the beginning of the season? JMO but a "fine" player with suspect hands don't go together

Grace starting as a SS is not far fetched, how many missed open field tackles did we get from Carter and Jenkins this past season???

[SinisterCane]

That was for GO Canes

[SinisterCane]

The projected depth chart is all for fun and debate, carry on

[SinisterCane]

From CIS:

QB: Kaaya -- Rosier -- Shirreffs/Testaverde -- Allison (RS)

RB: Yearby/Walton/Edwards -- Tucker/Gray -- Homer (RS)

TE: Njoku -- Herndon/Dobard -- Washington -- Irvin/Haskins (RS)

WR1: Cager -- Langham
WR SLOT: Berrios -- Bruce -- Mullins
WR2: Coley -- Lewis -- Richards

LT: St. Louis -- Milo/McDermott -- J. Jones -- T. Johnson (RS)
LG: McDermott -- Milo -- Gall -- Brown
C: Linder -- Knighton
RG: Darling -- Isadora -- Gauthier -- Loftus
RT: Odogwu -- Darling -- Mahoney

DEFENSE:
SDE: Thomas -- Bethel -- J.Jackson (RS)
A gap DT: Norton -- C. Jenkins -- Fines -- Moore
B gap DT: Willis -- Moten -- Mcintosh -- Tyreic Martin (RS)
WDE: Muhammed -- Harris -- Patchan/D. Jackson -- Smith

SLB: Owens -- Gayot
MLB: Young -- Shaq -- McCray -- Pinckney (RS)
WLB: Grace -- Perry -- King/McCloud (RS)

Boundary CB: Elder -- M. Jackson -- Henley
SS: Carter -- Johnson -- Wright (RS)
FS: R. Jenkins -- Knowles -- Finley (RS)
Field CB: Redwine -- Mayes -- M. Young (RS)

[Go Canes!]

The answer to missed tackles is not to play perhaps your best defensive player next year out of position, and in turn leaving our thinnest position without any real experience.

[CoCane]

2-3 years from now, Jeff James will be a beast

[SinisterCane]

Posted by: Go Canes! | February 05, 2016 at 04:06 PM

With the 3 incoming LB's to go alone with Young, Owens plus the other career depth residents I wouldn't call that a thin position

[Herbieibis]

Can see grace as a bandit or rover in some situations. Might be in his best interest to move to strong safety. To small to play lb at the next level weighing only about 220!, that. Both te's will redshirt. Aside from McDermott, darling, Linder and isadora, who else plays is a toss up. Diaz has some talent to work with but will have some depth issues and can he get these loungers to play every down, tackle better and stop with the dumb penalties. What killed us a lot last year, were the dumb penalties, no guts in the red zone, third down conversions and we couldn't consistently run between the tackles but it would help if we had better quality up front and bigger backs.

[Go Canes!]

Imo if you are talking about three true freshmen being the potential answer, you are incredibly thin at a position.

[nemo2002]

100