Miami Football: Hurricanes could be playoff bound in 2018
Defense
Miami’s strength last season was the same strength of almost every great Miami team since the Hurricanes moved into national prominence in the 1980s. Their defense was mean, dominant, and played with the kind of swagger that can only be found in southern Florida. They delivered massive hits, forced turnovers, and rocked a gold turnover chain after doing it.
They dismantled great offenses with ease all year long and kept the Hurricanes in just about every game. If it wasn’t for the defense being as good as it was, Miami probably goes 8-4, or 7-5 last year. Manny Diaz did an excellent job with his unit, and with seven starters returning, hopes are high for this season too.
They’ve got to answer a bunch of questions up front though. Chad Thomas, Trent Harris, RJ McIntosh, Kendrick Norton and coach Craig Kuligowski are all gone. Luckily, Miami has recruited very well up front, and they have plenty of talent returning. Joe Jackson returns on the end, and across from him, Demetrius Jackson was awesome in limited time last year.
Florida transfer Gerald Willis and sophomore Jonathan Ford are both unproven at tackle, as are Illinois transfer Tito Odenigbo and junior Pat Bethel, but I’m assuming at least two will step up. If they do, this line won’t be as great as it was last year, but it should still be very good.
Very good may be enough because the rest of this defense is stellar. Michael Pinckney, Shaquille Quarterman and Zach McCloud were all good last year. They should be even better this year, and Quarterman is one of the more exciting young players in the country. He racked up 83 total tackles last year, including seven for a loss and two and a half sacks. This would be the strongest part of the team if it wasn’t for this backfield.
I’m so excited about this defensive backfield. They were deadly last year, snatching interceptions with ease all year long, and terrorizing every quarterback they faced. Both safeties, Jaquon Johnson and Sheldrick Redwine are back. They combined for 155 total tackles, six interceptions, and five forced fumbles last year, which, in other words, means they were great.
Lockdown cornerback Michael Jackson is back, and ready to evolve into a smooth criminal this year, snatching even more interceptions than the four he collected in 2017. He’ll be tasked with covering the best receivers on the field all year long, and if last year was any indication, he’s up for the task.
At the second cornerback spot, Al Blades Jr, and Jhavonte Dean both look more than ready to jump into the starting lineup. There may not be a more dominant secondary in the ACC than this one. There may not be a more dominant secondary in the country than this one.
Chain of events
Miami’s ability to create turnovers last season was a huge part of what made them so successful. They were able to compete with great offenses and give their own offense a big advantage by simply keeping the other team out of scoring territory. They were bend-don’t-break when they needed to be, and aggressive for the rest of the time. With their talent up front and smothering coverage, this defense was extremely difficult to beat last year.
The 30 turnovers they forced last year will be nearly impossible to replicate this year. That’s a huge number, and I just don’t think the line will be good enough to cause the chaos to get it done. However, if this secondary is as good as I expect, they could still be in for a season with tons of turnovers. That may be the key for a playoff run in 2018.