Ten Things We Learned from UM's Season Opener

By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com

ORLANDO, Fla. – It wasn’t quite the season opener the Hurricanes wanted.
 
After an offseason that included a coaching change, several roster changes and a three-man quarterback competition during training camp, Miami came into Saturday night’s game against rival Florida hoping to kick the Manny Diaz era off with a win.
 
Instead, the Hurricanes came up just short, some critical mistakes proving too costly to overcome in what was eventually a 24-20 loss to the eighth-ranked Gators on Saturday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
 
The one significant positive from the night? Diaz, his coaches and his players now know a little bit more about their team than they did a week ago at this time. And now, they’ll focus on fixing those errors and improving on what they did well as the focus shifts to Miami’s ACC opener on Sept. 7 at North Carolina.
 
Here, a look at some of what the Hurricanes learned about themselves against Florida:
 
1. New starting QB Jarren Williams more than held his own
 
Last fall, redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams saw action in just one game, the Hurricanes 77-0 win over Savannah State. That’s part of the reason many outside the locker room were surprised when earlier this month, head coach Manny Diaz and offensive coordinator Dan Enos named Williams the starter, instead of the more experienced N’Kosi Perry or transfer Tate Martell.
 
But against Florida, Williams showed not only his composure in a high-pressure environment, but his ability to make plays. He started the game with six straight completions and led Miami to three first-half scoring drives before finishing the game 19-of-29 for 214 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
 
There were some typical freshman, early-season mistakes, with Williams fumbling the ball twice and conceding later there were plays he tried to run when he shouldn’t have. But for the most part, he more than held his own against a Gator defense that pressured him consistently and managed 10 sacks.
 
“I mean, you probably can’t put a guy in a more adverse situation than in this stadium. The amazing atmosphere from both sets of fans, their defensive front, which we knew was really good,” Diaz said. “Jarren never really blinked. A lot of times he didn’t have a lot of time and I thought he played with a little bit of courage. Made some plays with his feet, scrambled, [had] throws to keep some things alive. I think you can see why we picked him to be our guy.”
 
Said Williams, “A couple times, I got pressured and I became a runner instead of being a passer. That’s definitely something I’m going to learn from. When that rush is coming at you live, it’s a little different. But it was a great learning experience and I feel like I’m only going to get better.”
 
2. Brevin Jordan remains a play-making asset
 
Tight end Brevin Jordan was one of the Hurricanes’ most reliable players a season ago, finishing the year as Miami’s second-leading receiver with 32 catches for 287 yards. The sophomore earned preseason All-ACC recognition last month and on Saturday against the Gators, showed he can shine in Enos’ offense.
 
Jordan became the first player to don Miami’s new Touchdown Rings after scoring Miami’s first TD of the night when he was still able to snag the ball and score on a 25-yard pass that was deflected by a Gators defender in the first half. Jordan stayed with the play, got into the end zone and gave Miami a 13-7.
 
He finished the game with five catches for 88 yards and quickly became one of Williams’ go-to targets, three times making drive-extending catches on the Hurricanes’ opening possession. If he and Williams can connect throughout the season, that could mean big things for the Miami offense.
 
3. DeeJay Dallas had a big night
 
The Hurricanes finished with 94 rushing yards, a number that was diminished by the losses from Williams’ sacks. But both junior running back DeeJay Dallas and sophomore running back Cam’Ron Harris showed why they, too, have the potential to be effective in the Hurricanes’ offense.
 
Dallas finished with a game-high 95 rushing yards and scored on a 50-yard run that put the Hurricanes up 20-17 early in the fourth quarter. He was especially an asset when the Hurricanes went to the Wildcat. And while Harris’ final numbers weren’t as big, his speed was more than evident on a 57-yard run in the third quarter that was negated by a holding penalty. Harris proved late last season he can get down the field and there was a flash of that against Florida, too. Can he build on it moving forward and with Dallas, give the Hurricanes a potent running back combination this year? Time will tell.
 
4. Lou Hedley makes his debut
 
Lou Hedley, the Hurricanes’ 6-foot-4, 230-pound tattooed Australian punter, became a viral sensation when he signed with Miami earlier this year. On Saturday, he made his debut, averaging 42.5 yards on his four punts. That’s a step up from the 38.2 yards per punt the Hurricanes averaged a season ago.
 
Hedley faced intense pressure on some of his punts and was placed in less-than-ideal situations, even punting from inside the Miami 10-yard line twice. Still, he delivered in his first college football game and looks poised to help the Hurricanes improve in an area where they struggled last year.
 
5. Miami’s defense can still force turnovers
 
During Diaz’s tenure as Miami’s defensive coordinator, the Hurricanes put a premium on forcing turnovers, something they’ve celebrated with their famed Turnover Chain in each of the past two seasons.
 
Saturday night against Florida, Turnover Chain 3.0 not only made its debut, it was worn multiple times.
 
Defensive end Scott Patchan was the first to wear the chain, recovering a Feleipe Franks fumble deep inside Miami territory in the second quarter. Linebacker Shaq Quarterman got the chain on the very next UF drive after he recovered a fumble himself.
 
Early in the fourth quarter, with Miami up 20-17 and Florida driving, Amari Carter got his first career interception and two drives later, Romeo Finley intercepted Franks, giving Miami its fourth turnover of the night. All of that was encouraging for the Hurricanes’ defense. What Miami needs to do moving forward, though, is figure out how to capitalize on those turnovers. The Hurricanes managed just three points off the takeaways – and those didn’t come off either of the fourth-quarter picks. More than likely, that will be a focus for the Hurricanes during their off week.
 
6. The mistakes proved costly
 
In his post-game press conference, Diaz was blunt in saying the Hurricanes made some critical errors. There was a muffed punt that led to a Gators touchdown. There were an unexpected number of missed tackles. A missed field goal. And the Hurricanes were penalized 14 times for 125 yards.
 
Expect addressing those issues will be a focus over the course of the next two weeks as Miami begins preparing to face North Carolina on Sept. 7.

“There were a couple major blunders on special teams and the short field right there really ended up being telling in a very low-scoring game where everything mattered,” Diaz said. “I thought our guys played with a lot of courage. I think they played with a lot of effort. But it doesn’t matter because we lost the game. We did not come here to play with courage and effort. We came here to win the game and it’s not okay at the University of Miami ever to lose to the University of Florida. Everybody in that locker room feels the pain of that right now.”
 
7. Miami’s young offensive line was tested
 
The Hurricanes came into Saturday’s game with an offensive line that had to replace several veteran starters including Tyree St. Louis, Tyler Gauthier, Hayden Mahoney and Venzell Boulware. Miami wound up starting a unit that included true freshman Zion Nelson at left tackle, junior Navaughn Donaldson at left guard, redshirt sophomore Corey Gaynor at center, sophomore D.J. Scaife at right tackle and redshirt freshman John Campbell Jr. at right tackle. Between them, that group had a combined 30 starts at the college level entering the opener, with Donaldson making 22 of those starts.
 
The Hurricanes gave up 10 sacks, and after the game, Diaz noted that while most of the sacks weren’t solely on the line, there is room for improvement.
 
“We have a young offensive line. They’ve got an experienced front that we knew would give us some trouble. Then it got to a point where there was going to be a lot of throwing in the second half. That’s all part of it,” Diaz said. “You’ve got to put yourself in some situations where you’ve got to expose yourself to their rush and part of it’s just getting the ball out, too.
 
“And so, I think it’s like anything else. I think it’s always unfair to say well it’s just on this position or that position. Protecting the quarterback is an 11-man job on offense. But I think, again, the way that the game finished, we were obviously in drop back, throw, throw, throw mode.”
 
8. Miami found ways to respond when adversity hit
 
One of the points of emphasis after last year’s season-opening loss to LSU, Diaz said more than once, was that the Hurricanes struggled to respond when things got tough.
 
On that front, Miami was better Saturday against Florida.
 
After Florida took an early 7-3 lead on Kadarius Toney’s big 66-yard touchdown play, Miami answered by scoring on back-to-back second quarter drives that gave the Hurricanes a 13-7 lead. And after Florida recovered a muffed punt deep inside Hurricanes’ territory late in the third quarter, Miami answered again, this time scoring a touchdown on the very next drive.
 
No, the Hurricanes didn’t ultimately win the game, but Diaz said his team showed a toughness that sometimes, wasn’t there last year.
 
“Well, we talked all off season about developing a backbone, being able to withstand a punch, which happened to us in the first half with the long catch and run by Toney. And then that happened in the second half when we fumbled the punt and they scored on the short field,” Diaz said. “[There were] a couple times where it’s like, ‘Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s not your night and you can kind of let go of the rope.’ But I thought our guys looked those situations in the eye, fought through them and ultimately, gave ourselves a chance to win the game with 10 seconds left, throwing the ball in their end zone.
 
“That’s what a big-time program should do. You don’t pat yourself on the back for not quitting, but it is something. And that was a big point of our offseason.”
 
9. Several newcomers made significant plays
 
The Hurricanes had nine players make their first career starts Saturday including Williams, Nelson, Campbell Jr., receiver K.J. Osborn, Hedley, Jon Ford, Patchan, safety Gurvan Hall Jr. and Al Blades Jr.
 
Several of them had impact plays, including of course, Williams, who completed 60 percent of his passes and threw for more than 200 yards. Patchan had a fumble recovery. Osborn finished with four catches for 41 yards and Hall was the team’s leading tackler with 5.5 stops, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry.
 
All of that is encouraging as the Hurricanes look to the rest of the season and the hope now is that each of those first-time starters will be able to build on their debuts.
 
10. It’s time to learn and move forward
 
There’s no doubt the Hurricanes poured a lot of effort and emotion into Saturday’s loss and no one – not Diaz nor any of the players who spoke after the game – was satisfied with the moral victory of keeping it close against a top-10 team.
 
But the Hurricanes looked different from the team that walked off the field in New York City after a tough loss to Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl last December. The focus now becomes learning from Saturday’s mistakes and fixing them before ACC play begins in a little less than two weeks.
 
Like Miami, North Carolina has a new head coach and like the Hurricanes, the Tar Heels are going to want to show they’re a changed team, too.
 
For Miami, growth is key.
 
“Everybody on both sides of the ball has a lot of room for growth,” Diaz said. “The key is we just can’t stop. If anything, now we’ve got to keep going and be more motivated to improve. We could say, ‘Well, we played pretty good’ and all of a sudden we’ll relax and we’ll end up in this exact same position in two weeks’ time. So, if anything, I think we know that our guys found out we can play. We can go toe-to-toe with a top-10 opponent. But now, that should kind of hurt us a little bit to really get in there and study the game and find a way to get better.”
 
Added Dallas, “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to be here for the long haul.”