There’s only five more weeks until the Canes take on Louisville for their season-opener. You should all get excited. Actually, in even better news — there are only seven days until the start of Canes camp.
During camp, there’s a lot of competition battles going on, but it’s also a chance for some of the younger guys to prove to the coaches that they are ready for some more game action. The Canes have a lot of good young players who are eager to play some more and we’re going to look at three sophomore players, who I believe are ready to make the leap and contribute for this team.
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Jermaine Grace
Coming out of Miramar high school, Jermaine Grace was a highly-touted four-star linebacker that decided to stay home and play for the hometown Canes. His commitment was a big deal for Miami because they had just missed on their other top linebacker target, Matthew Thomas. Grace played primarily on special teams this season, and was bugged by a shoulder injury during the season. With Alex Figueroa and JaWand Blue kicked off the team, the staff will be looking for someone to step up. They are hoping that, that someone is Jermaine Grace.
The linebacker corp is thin right now and Grace should get plenty of playing time, if he’s able to stay healthy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him with the starting group sooner rather than later, because of his playmaking ability. I’m sure the staff would still want to see him fill out his frame a little bit more, but his quickness from sideline-to-sideline makes up for that. Now, I’m not saying he’s going to play like a superstar, but I think he’s due for a really nice year for the Canes.
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Corn Elder
Much like the linebacker position, the cornerback group is a bit thin in depth at the moment. The starting spots seem to be locked up by Tracy Howard and Ladarius Gunter OR Artie Burns, but the playing time after that is up for grabs. Elder was a four-star athlete coming out of Ensworth School in Nashville, but he did most of his damage at running back. Last season, Elder helped out with the return game and played in ten games last season before his freshman campaign was cut short due to a torn meniscus on his knee.
He can help the Canes out covering slot receivers because of his quickness and he can give the starters a much needed rest, especially with the lack of depth at the position. I don’t know how involved he’ll be with the return game this year, but if he’s involved, he can help out in that department also. The staff has had nothing but good things to say about him since he got to Miami last fall, and it’s time for him to make his presence felt out on the field. I expect a solid sophomore season for Corn.
Jamal Carter
Last, but certainly not least — we have Jamal Carter. He’s up to 207 pounds now, and that is frightening. Carter is a hard-hitting, highly-touted safety out of Southridge high school who has his eyes set on taking over a starting safety spot. Last season, the position was a weak spot in the defense, but it appears to be a strength for the Canes in 2014, with their talent and depth. Carter, however, has the big play/hit ability to stand out amongst the group. Some people might argue that he already has his spot locked down after a strong spring. Just how physically gifted is Carter? Last week, Coach Swasey announced that Carter had broken the late Sean Taylor’s defensive back power clean record with 318 pounds, which is 10 more than what Taylor accomplished during his time here at Miami. We’re not comparing him to Sean Taylor, but any time you break one of his weight room records, you have to take note.
Carter played in twelve games last season, although most of it came with the special teams. He’s on the record to admitting that he wasn’t 100% ready in terms of the playbook, but that he knows it from start to finish now. I know the coaches and fans are high on him, and I expect him to be a key contributor for this team in 2014.