Rebuilt Secondary Key to Success for Miami Defense

Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz spoke about Delaney and Dean’s abilities.

"“We brought him in with the mentality that he would compete for a starting job…losing [Adrian] Colbert and Corn [Elder] off of last year’s team, we feel like, with the way that our roster is – not just with him, but with Jhavonte Dean – we had to bring in some quick-fix guys. We also knew we had an eye on the recruiting class. We love the 2018 recruiting class. We felt like, being able to have a guy that can come in and compete at a high level early on, help himself, I think it’s going to help him immensely with his future playing career…for us, it was a no-brainer.”"

Delaney could develop into one of the stars of this year’s defense. He has six interceptions last season to finish in the top 10 in FCS. Delaney chose to attend Miami this season instead of turning pro. He spoke about his decision to Hurricane Sports.

"“At first, you don’t want to get out of your comfort zone, but I wanted to challenge myself…In college, I played receiver, but I wanted to be challenged so I switched to cornerback. I felt like coming to Miami would really put me to par to see if I can play with the big guys, so that’s how I made my decision. I just want to prove to myself that I can play with these guys.”"