Miami Hurricanes Football: Depth Chart Vs. Florida State
By Juan Toribio
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Well, these are always fun.
The Miami Hurricanes haven’t updated their depth chart much this season, but they’ve done so before Saturday’s game against the Florida State Seminoles. My guess is that due to some injuries — particularly to the offensive line — the Hurricanes decided to update their depth chart. Last season, it would get updated every week, but the Canes have opted against that this season.
Anyway, now we’re going to go group-by-group and see who will be starting for the Hurricanes, and who will be backing the starters up.
Quarterback
You already know who’s the starter here. Brad Kaaya gets his first taste of the Miami Hurricanes-Florida State Seminoles rivalry, and the good thing is, he gets to do it in front of his home crowd. Jake Heaps and Ryan Williams are the primary backups for Kaaya on Saturday.
Running Back/Full Back
We also know who’s starting here. Duke Johnson will look to bounce back against the team that fractured his ankle last season and he’s looking to beat Florida State for the first time in his career. This could be the last chance for Johnson, as he’s likely headed to the NFL draft after the season. Gus Edwards, who suffered an ankle injury during the North Carolina game, seems to be fine and him and Joe Yearby will handle the backup role behind Duke Johnson.
Walter Tucker has been mauling guys lately and he’s really developing into a nice fullback. He’s a freak athlete and he’ll have his biggest test against Florida State. Interesting enough, Christopher Herndon is backing up Tucker with Ronald Regula out for the season.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Miami is starting Phillip Dorsett and Herb Waters on the outside, and will go with Stacy Coley starting in the slot. Coley has been struggling all season, but if he wants to pick a game to shine, this would be it. Dorsett and Waters are the receivers you would want going up against P.J. Williams Jalen Ramsey. The other wide receivers listed on the depth chart are Malcolm Lewis and Braxton Berrios. One of those guys needs to come up big for Miami to have a chance.
Clive Walford is still the starter for Miami and he’s coming off a two touchdown game against North Carolina. Kaaya will look early and often for Walford in the passing game and Clive will have to be on his A-game on Saturday. Standish Dobard is the backup for Walford and he’ll have to make an impact whether it’s catching the ball, blocking or hell, maybe even if it’s just trash talking.
Offensive Line
This is where things get tricky. Ereck Flowers’ status for Saturday’s game still hangs in the balance, so for now, Trevor Darling is the starting left tackle. Darling is a really good player, but it’s not easy containing the big guys on FSU’s defensive line. Sunny Odogwu got beat badly last week against North Carolina, and he would be the back-up to Darling, if Flowers can’t give it a go.
Another true freshman starting on the offensive line would be Nick Linder. The younger brother of Brandon Linder has done an excellent job since taking over the left guard position for the Hurricanes. Miami needs that to continue on Saturday. Hunter Wells will be backing him up in the two-deep rotation.
While the offensive line has been in flux this season, the one steady spot has been the center position. Shane McDermott is the starter at center, and he tries to beat FSU for the first time in his career.
Danny Isidora started off on the wrong foot in the first couple of games but he has really turned it around. The redshirt sophomore has really done a nice job, and he’ll look to hold off the interior for Miami’s offensive line.
Jonathan Feliciano is the starting right tackle because he literally does whatever the coaching staff asks him to do. Miami fans should appreciate this guy while he’s still wearing a “U” on the side of his helmet.
Defensive Ends
No surprise here with Anthony Chickillo and Tyriq McCord listed as the starting defensive ends this week. Chad Thomas and Ufomba Kamalu will be rotating in-and-out backing up Chickillo on the right side, while Trent Harris is listed as McCord’s backup. All these guys will get a good amount of snaps and their goal is to hit Jameis Winston, and to hit him often.
Defensive Tackles
Olsen Pierre is one of the starting defensive tackles for Miami and he’s done a nice job there this season. Alongside of him will be a rotating pattern that includes, Calvin Heurtelou, Courtel Jenkins and Michael Wyche. None of those three guys were on the roster last year for Miami so this will be their first crack at the Seminoles. One of the three (ideally two of them) have to step up and dominate the inside so Miami’s pass rushers can do some damage on the outside. Like always, this is a battle that Miami must win to have a chance against the Seminoles.
Linebackers
The man in the middle is Denzel Perryman and boy would I love to see him go off for a big game on Saturday. Perryman had a bad game against Nebraska and this is his last chance to beat Florida State. You know The President will be looking to punish people on Saturday.
On the outsides, the Canes will go with Thurston Armbrister and Raphael Kirby. Armbrister hasn’t really done much lately since his fast start but doing something on Saturday would go a long way. Kirby had a nice game against North Carolina, but Jermaine Grace has been getting a lot of burn and he seems to be gaining ground on that starting spot.
Defensive Backs
Artie Burns is starting again for the Canes and he has established himself as “the” guy in the Miami secondary. He’s been an absolute monster the last couple of weeks and we can now see why the Miami staff relegated Tracy Howard to a backup for this guy. Burns will be tasked with handling Rashad Greene, which will not be an easy one. On the other side of Burns is Ladarius Gunter. Gunter has been spending some time at safety too, and that’s something to keep an eye on. Behind him is Corn Elder, and he’s been one of the most pleasant surprises of this season. Antonio Crawford is listed as third behind Gunter and Elder, but I think Miami will use him against Nick O’Leary in the passing game.
The safeties are Deon Bush, who has four forced fumbles this season, and… Nantambu Akil-Fentress? Yeah, Fentress will be getting the start for Miami on Saturday and you already know the Seminoles will be looking to go after him early on. We’ve seen Gunter out there at safety, along with Dallas Crawford — who is listed as the primary backup for Fentress at the free safety spot. Jamal Carter is the guy listed behind Deon Bush on the new depth chart.