Miami (OH) football: Will Redhawks repeat as MAC champions in 2020?
Improvement on offense could lead to repeat
For a conference champion, Miami did not yield a very impressive offense, but some of that can be attributed to having a true freshman at quarterback and wanting to lean on an unsuccessful running game because of that situation and having some of their key skill position players missing time due to injuries.
A lot can go wrong when you turn to a true freshman quarterback, but it could lead to a surprising season and raise the ceiling for your team success.
Both things happened when Miami (OH) decided to turn to Brett Gabbert to take the reins. He went on to throw for over 2,400 yards and 11 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He does have plenty of room to improve, however, as he only completed 55 percent of his passes and did not have the greatest touchdown-to-interception ratio. He needs to improve his accuracy and be better in the big games than he was last year.
Last year’s leading rusher Jaylon Bester is back and is hoping to stay healthy after missing some games in September last year and that gave way to having freshman Tyre Shelton get starts and carries as a true freshman and that should pay dividends this upcoming season. Bester had offseason surgery, but all indications are that he will be ready to go for the start of the season (whenever that is).
The rushing attack finished ranked 105th in the country and the Redhawks are hoping to improve upon that.
Top wide out Jack Sorenson was injured for some of the first part of the season, but really game on during the conference championship and bowl game, having over 100 yards in both games, Sorenson is hoping to keep the momentum going and be a consistent threat for Gabbert all year long.
James Maye was the second-leading receiver and he is a big-play threat, averaging more than 20 yards per catch. Jalen Walker and Dominique Robinson are also back and this gives Miami a deep and talented receiving corps this season.
The offensive line will return four starters, two of which were freshmen last season. In all, the line will have three sophomores on it and they will need to better in the run game and in protecting Gabbert for the Redhawks to have a chance in repeating as conference champs.
The offense has several young pieces back, but they will have to be better than last season because as a unit, Miami just was not very good on this side of the ball a season ago.