Miami Hurricanes edge rushers are loaded with four and five-star talent

The Miami Hurricanes defense remained one of the best in the country as Manny Diaz ascended to head coach and Blake Baker was hired as defensive coordinator in 2019. Miami will be exceptionally deep with edge rushers in 2020.

For all the criticism the Miami Hurricanes faced, and rightfully so, following a 6-7 season, the judgment that the defense was down in 2019 was not at all based in fact. New defensive coordinator Blake Baker continued to run the aggressive defense head coach Manny Diaz prefers. The Miami defense remained elite last season.

The ultimate judge of talent is the NFL Draft. There are a few hundred players in each recruiting class nationally that are ranked as four-star players. The Miami Hurricanes have enough talent on defense to continue to be ranked among the best in the country in 2020. Four-star talent is existent throughout the Miami defense.

Defensive end Greg Rousseau who should be the best defensive player on the Miami Hurricanes roster in 2020 is not among the 17 four-star players coming out of high school on defense. Diaz had preached from the moment Rousseau signed in 2018 that he was far better than his three-star rating.

Rousseau is a freakish athlete at 6’6. He played wide receiver and safety in high school. Because Rousseau was projected as a weakside defensive end without a lot of experience at the position, he was not rated as highly as he could have been coming out of high school. Rousseau was the 485th ranked player in 2018.

A fractured ankle in his second game as a true freshman ended Rousseau’s season. He came back with a vengeance in 2019. Rousseau finished 2020 with 54 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and was second nationally with 15.5 sacks to Ohio State’s Chase Young. Led by Rousseau, Miami will have an elite defensive line in 2020.