Anonymous opposing coaches size up Miami going into 2022

June 14, 2022June 14, 2022 Admin

Some of the most interesting preseason college football preseason content comes from Athlon Sports with anonymous coaches sharing thoughts and opinions on the state of a football program.

After the University of Miami made sweeping changes to their football program following the 2021 season, the Hurricanes are one of the more interesting teams going into 2022.

Here is what anonymous coaches had to say about Miami, according to Athlon:

“Obviously there’s a lot of attention here. This move felt like it had nothing to do with football, at least with what Manny Diaz was doing towards the end. Go back and look at the tape; they’re really close in the Virginia and UNC games, and if they go the other way, Miami wins 10…The old staff had finally figured out a plan on offense, and [OC] Rhett Lashlee had it going at the very end. They probably gambled too much on D’Eriq King’s health, and that killed them. If they had gone with Tyler Van Dyke from the jump, they’d still be there. That kid is the absolute real deal. He’s a future first-rounder, and he’s going to be the most talented QB in this league by the end of the ’22 season. The receivers are him as solid-to-good and the back is good. The line is finally decent, so they’ve got a really solid core to build on…The Kevin Steele hire is interesting. I think Mario Cristobal wanted a veteran guy with a lot of SEC evaluation experience who could come in and clean up a lot of the small stuff. And also, hiring Kevin sends a particular kind of message—‘Hey, we’re going to go four-down; we’re going to go after those kind of playmaker linemen and ends you remember Miami having.’ This is not a rebuild, and Mario won’t be evaluated like it is. Some big pieces fell into place very late in Diaz’s time, and there’s a way they can pivot to immediate success.”

Expectations will be high in Mario Cristobal’s first year at the University of Miami as head coach and these thoughts from anonymous coaches reflect that.

The above thoughts highlight two themes as to why it is fair to have some optimism in Miami improving year over year in 2022: quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and improved play on the defensive side.

Van Dyke is widely projected as a future first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft after an impressive 2021 season in which he was thrust into a starter role with D’Eriq King sustaining a season ending shoulder injury.

In ten games of action, Van Dyke threw for 2,931 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 62.3 percent of his passes.

Over his final six starts of the 2021 season, Van Dyke threw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in every game. During that stretch, he averaged 365 passing yards and 3.3 touchdowns per game. The Hurricanes went 5-1 during that span.

On the defensive side, Cristobal hired veteran coach Kevin Steele to coordinate that side of the ball after the Hurricanes graded out as the worst tackling Power Five team in the country, according to Pro Football Focus and after the Hurricanes allowed 37.6 points per game in the five losses.

The Hurricanes also feature former Texas head coach Charlie Strong as the co-defensive coordinator, Jahmile Addae as the defensive backs coach, Joe Salave’a as the interior defensive line coach, and Rod Wright as the defensive ends coach.

Former Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor is also an analyst for Miami.

UM returns plenty of talent from the 2021 defense, including defensive tackle Leonard Taylor, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, and safeties James Williams, Avantae Williams, and Kamren Kinchens.

Cristobal and the defensive staff also added plenty of transfers to improve the overall depth and talent on that side of the ball as well.

Bolstering the defensive line via the transfer portal was a significant priority this offseason with UM adding edge rusher Mitchell Agude along with versatile defensive linemen that can play on the edge or inside like Jake Lichtenstein, Antonio Moultrie, Akheem Mesidor, and Darrell Jackson.