Miami Hurricanes Football: Depth Chart vs. Cincinnati

After Al Golden said that he thinks road night games are affecting his team in terms of fatigue (I’m serious), he decided to give the team off on Monday to freshen up. Whether that works remains to be seen, but the team returned to the practice field on Tuesday in hopes of putting the loss to Georgia Tech behind them.

The Miami Hurricanes released a depth chart just minutes before the Louisville game, and had not done so since, until Tuesday. Hurricanes beat writers Christy Chirinos and Matt Porter were able to spot the depth chart the Canes have listed in anticipation to their Saturday game against Cincinnati.

Let’s take a look at the Miami Hurricanes depth chart:

Quarterback

Well, this is an easy one. Brad Kaaya is the starter and will be for the rest of the season barring injury. Jake Heaps is listed as his backup, followed by Ryan Williams, who’ll likely not play this season and hope to get a medical redshirt (although I have no idea how that works.)

Running Back/Fullback

Again, easy one. Duke Johnson is going to be the starting running back for the Miami Hurricanes until he decides to take his talents to the NFL. There is a chance that Duke comes back for his senior season a la Denzel Perryman last year, but I wouldn’t bet on that too much, especially with how this season has gone. Behind Johnson is Joseph Yearby and he has the inside track to start next season despite the fury of talent the Canes currently have committed at the running back position. Gus Edwards, who has had a disappointing season, is third on the depth chart.

Walter Tucker gets the start again at fullback with Ronald Regula backing him up.

Wide Receivers

On one side of the field the Canes have Phillip Dorsett as a starter with Malcolm Lewis listed as his backup. Dorsett has been the best receiver for Miami this season in terms of production so this isn’t a surprise. Lewis has shown a lot of improvement since that horrible ankle injury, his continued progress has been one of the bright spots this season. Opposite to Dorsett, you have Herb Waters penciled in as the starter. Waters is a guy that has a lot of tools and many fans want him out there for the majority of the plays. Herb hasn’t consistently put it together, but that hopefully happens with increased opportunity. Waters backup on the depth chart is Stacy Coley. Does anybody know where last year’s Stacy Coley is? Because Miami desperately needs him. In the slot, you have Braxton Berrios as the starter and the freshman has deserved that spot. He’s one of Kaaya’s favorite targets and he was responsible for the only Miami touchdown reception last week against Georgia Tech.

Tight Ends

Clive Walford looks awful at times, but then he looks great other times. It’s all just a guessing game with him at this point. With six games left in his collegiate career, I would like to see Walford step up and produce like one of the top ACC tight ends, because that’s the type of talent he has. Standish Dobard, who will probably be the starting tight end next season is Walford’s backup.

Offensive Line

Defensive Ends

The starting defensive ends for Miami remain the same. Anthony Chickillo on the right side of the line and Tyriq McCord coming in from the left side. That’s when the Canes actually go with a four-man front. Chad Thomas, who returned last week from his muscle spasms (and actually played the pitch really well) is listed as Chickillo’s backup for this weekend’s game. Trent Harris is the player listed behind McCord at the other end spot.

Defensive Tackle

Again, this actually depends on how many times Miami actually goes to a four-man front, but Miami lists two starting defensive tackles on the chart. Calvin Heurtelou is at one of the spots with Olsen Pierre starting in the other spot. Pierre has actually played really well this season (compared to last year’s standards) and Heurtelou has been a nice surprise out coming out of junior college. Courtel Jenkins — who has also been a nice surprise — is listed as Heurtelou’s backup on one side, with Ufomba Kamalu and Anthony Moten backing up Olsen Pierre next to him.

Linebackers

Hurricanes have the same three linebackers we’ve seen all season as their starters this week: Thurston Armbrister, Denzel Perryman and Raphael Kirby. We all know what a good year Armbrister is having for Miami and we all know how good of a player Denzel Perryman is. Kirby, however, has been a little up-and-down this season and is calling for more and more playing time for sophomore Jermaine Grace. The sophomore linebacker is listed behind Kirby for one of the two outside linebacker spots. Darrion Owens is listed behind Armbrister, while Juwon Young is behind Perryman.

Cornerbacks

The secondary has been shaky this season, but they haven’t been tested for the past two weeks against run-heavy teams. Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel looks unlikely to play this week so Miami’s secondary needs to be aggressive against whoever plays in his place. Artie Burns and Ladarius Gunter are the listed starters with Tracy Howard, Corn Elder and Antonio Crawford also slated to get some reps.

Safeties

The aggressiveness comment I made with the cornerbacks applies with the safeties, too. The secondary has failed to make a big play this season, aside from the Tracy Howard interception at Nebraska, and they’re gonna have to change that soon. Deon Bush is starting this week with Nantambu Akil-Fentress starting opposite side of him. I don’t necessarily get the Fentress over Dallas Crawford move but I don’t understand a lot of things this staff has done. I’m sure you all get me on that one.

Special Teams

Michael Badgley is gonna keep kicking field goals for this team with Matt Goudis injured, and he hasn’t been terrible, so that’s good. Justin Vogel has been a good punter for the Canes, but it’s hard to love him when you’re so used to Pat O’Donell. Stacy Coley will resume handling the punt return duties, while Phillip Dorsett joins Coley returning kick-offs.