There are more wrinkles to be ironed out by Jimbo's skill players than a contortionist's tuxedo. But the defense they'll face on Labor Day is still under construction, as well. Which leads us to our final post-spring game Q & A for Kartik at Canes Rising.
Q: UM's offense and its new coordinator, Mark Whipple, has gotten most of the media attention so far in '09. Coming off the spring game, talk about the Canes new D-coordinator and how good you think his unit will be by Labor Day.
A: John Lovett is an experienced defensive coordinator, having spent much of his coaching career in the SEC and ACC. A former defensive coordinator under Tommy Bowden at Clemson, Lovett knows the league well. But Miami’s defense as FSU fans discovered last year is quite possibly the worst from a personnel standpoint in the league.
Honestly, I don’t think this unit is going to be very good. They are learning a new defensive playbook with the fourth defensive coordinator in four years. Lovett doesn’t have a specific scheme but adjusts it to his personnel which last year blitzed often under Bill Young.
But many of Miami’s upperclassman recall the days of the Cover 2 under Randy Shannon and Tim Walton. The bottom line is the defense is in flux, and is likely to take some knocks early in the season. Even under one of the best defensive coordinators in the nation last year, the Hurricanes were suspect most of the season. Simply put, the majority of players on the defensive side of the ball aren’t of the established caliber of Miami Football.
The flip side of the equation is Miami’s offense. With an experienced NFL coach coming back to the college ranks, the Hurricanes could be in the position to simply outscore teams, unlike last year.
For certain it will be exciting to watch the Canes, who may resemble a PAC 10 or WAC team more than an ACC team this upcoming season.
Comments