Miami Hurricanes Football: Five Positions That Need to Avoid Injury in 2015

Quarterback

I get scared just thinking about the “what if”. Let’s face it though, quarterbacks always have a target on their back. We all know Brad Kaaya is the man. If something were to happen to Brad, the depth behind him is frightening. I am not saying the talent isn’t there but one thing is for sure, the experience definitely isn’t there. There is not one collegiate start between Gray Crow, Malik Rosier, Evan Shirreffs, etc. Now a junior, Gray Crow has had some playing time but not enough for anybody to be comfortable. Fingers crossed for the health of ‘Cobra Kaaya’.

Offensive Line

The offensive line is my biggest concern on this 2015 Canes team. The starting five will likely be Trevor Darling, Alex Gall, Nick Linder, Danny Isidora, and Kc McDermott. I feel fairly confident in the five mentioned but if one of those guys go down, so does my confidence in the offensive line. Of the 17 remaining offensive lineman listed on the roster, only Alex Gall, Sonny Odogwu, and Jahair Jones (JUCO) have played in a college football game. That is downright scary! The health of Brad Kaaya depends on the health of the offensive line, which is all very crucial to the success of the Canes this season.

Kicker/Punter

Kickers and Punters are vastly under appreciated in the sport of American football. It isn’t until an injury occurs that a kicker and punter become appreciated. The Canes are lucky enough to have kicker Mike Badgley and punter Justin Vogel. Both are very good players and have a year of college football experience under their belts. One thing a team DOES NOT want is an inexperienced kicker trying to make a 48+ yard field goal to win the game or an inexperienced punter trying to pin the ball inside the 20 yard line so the opposing team has to drive majority of the field to win the game. Here’s hoping Badgley and Vogel stay healthy this season.

Tight End

Cane fans may be looking at me sideways for mentioning the tight ends but hear me out. There is plenty of talent at the tight end position but the experience isn’t there. Junior tight end Standish Dobard is the most experienced with 16 games played. Jake O’Donnell is a junior but has only played in approximately 5 games and sophomore Chris Herndon played in 3 games last season but didn’t record any stats. There are two talented redshirt freshmen in David Njoku and Jerome Washington but what they bring to the table is unknown at this point. Again, the talent is there but so is the unknown. The preference is that all the tight ends remain healthy, especially Dobard, who is the most experienced.

Defensive End

This is another case of experience being the concern, not the talent. Only Trent Harris (sophomore) has a start under his belt at 1 game started. However, Harris, Jelani Hamilton (who can play DE and DT), Al-Quadin Muhammad and Chad Thomas have all played in at least 9 games or more. In my opinion, there is also a star looming in redshirt freshman Demetrius Jackson, as well as, true freshman Scott Patchan. Once again, the talent is there but a lot is unknown. Hopefully the defensive ends (and the entire team) remain healthy so an inexperienced player isn’t thrown into the fire before he may be ready physically and mentally.

***

In deciding the 5 positions that must remain healthy this season, I noticed something. After the Kicker/Punter, Quarterback and Offensive Line, I really had trouble coming up with the other 2 positions. I feel that maybe I could have swapped cornerback and defensive ends but Howard, Burns and Elder have A LOT of experience. Linebackers crossed my mind as well but there are 6 linebackers that have had playing time at the college level. Anyway, my point is that there is finally some depth on this team. There is also a lot of young talent on this team as well. Let’s all hope for a healthy and successful season. Go Canes!

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